The Ultimate Fighting Championship made its way to the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, Louisiana tonight for UFC Fight Night 25: “Battle on the Bayou.” The card was headlined by a welterweight battle between contenders Jake Shields and Jake “The Juggernaut” Ellenberger.
Also on the card, Court “The Crusher” McGee looked for his third straight UFC victory when he faced Dongi “The Ox” Yang, while TUF 12 winner Jonathan Brookins took on top featherweight contender Erik “New Breed” Koch. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for tonight’s UFC card.
Jake “The Juggernaut” Ellenberger vs Jake Shields
Round 1:
Shields looked for a takedown early on and Ellenberger shrugged him off. Shields tried again and Ellenberger once again stayed on his feet. Ellenberger landed a huge knee that dropped Shields face-first and Ellenberger unloaded with punches with his left hand until the fight was stopped. Big win for Ellenberger.
Winner: Jake Ellenberger by TKO (Knee & Punches) at 0:53 of round one. He improves to 26-5-0.
Court “The Crusher” McGee vs Dongi “The Ox” Yang
Round 1:
Yang landed left and right hooks early on and McGee replied with leg kicks. A hard left cross backed McGee up momentarily, but he regained his footing and Yang landed a nice leg kick. McGee tagged him with a hook and Yang threw more leg kicks. The fighters continued to trade leg kicks and Yang landed a pair of left hands.
Yang targeted McGee’s lead leg with more kicks and McGee mixed up his kicks by throwing to the upper body. A right hook and a body kick scored for Yang, but he fell against the cage after throwing a kick. Both fighters landed punches after Yang stood and McGee became more aggressive. The fighters exchanged leg kicks and McGee flurried at the bell. 10-9 Yang.
Round 2:
Punches were exchanged in round two and Yang easily shrugged off a takedown attempt from McGee. The fighters broke free of the clinch and McGee landed a right hand to the body. Yang swarmed with punches and McGee backed up. McGee threw a head kick that was blocked, but he landed another right to the body. Yang snapped out a jab and both landed punches in close.
McGee attempted another takedown, but met with no success. Both fighters landed hooks at the same time and Yang followed with a leg kick, left cross combo. He landed a knee and another left, which set off a brief exchange of power punches. McGee flashed out a head kick that landed and he followed with three good punches in succession. Close round. 10-9 Yang by a slim margin.
Round 3:
Yang jabbed to open the final round and McGee pushed forward with a three-punch combo. Yang countered a head kick with a lead right hook and snapped McGee’s head back with a left cross. Yang looked for a takedown and McGee stuffed it with ease. Yang stayed on the outside and threw single leg kicks and punches, then rocked McGee with a left hook. McGee stumbled and fell to a knee. As he stood, Yang drilled him with a knee. Yang took McGee down and moved to the back, but McGee scrambled to his feet and flurried with punches.
A now-bloodied Yang rocked him again with three more punches, but McGee held on and both fighters landed punches. Yang began to slow down, but he stuffed a McGee takedown attempt. McGee got him down on the second try and moved to mount. Yang battled back to his feet and the fighters traded slow punches. McGee took Yang down again and landed elbows. He secured a guillotine choke from the top, but time expired. Another extremely close round due to McGee’s late rally. 10-9 McGee, barely. Fight could go either way.
Winner: Court McGee by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 14-1-0.
Erik “New Breed” Koch vs Jonathan Brookins
Round 1:
Brookins landed a lead right hook early on and clinched for a takedown. Koch stayed up, but Brookins landed another right hand. Koch countered with a knee, but Brookins scored with a hard elbow strike over the top. He continued to hunt for a takedown as Koch threw knees to the body and defended against the cage. The fighters traded strikes and broke free of the clinch.
Koch landed a nice one-two and Brookins clinched up once again. He drove in for a single-leg takedown and Koch worked to stay on his feet. Brookins got Koch down to a knee briefly, but Koch stood and the fighters continued to battle for position against the fence. Brookins scored a takedown, but it came a second after the bell. 10-9 Brookins, barely.
Round 2:
Koch opened round two with leg kicks and quick one-twos, but Brookins backed him up to the cage and the fighters resumed the clinch battle. Koch circled out and threw a head kick. He followed with more quick punches in succession, but Brookins landed two good right hands and dropped down for a takedown. He dragged Koch down, but Koch wound up on top. The fighters stood and Koch landed a knee on the way.
The crowd grew restless with Brookins’s strategy of keeping Koch pinned against the fence. Koch reversed and landed a knee. He missed with a right hook and backed away. Koch landed a leg kick, but missed with a punching flurry. He threw another leg kick and Brookins took him down. Koch kicked Brookins off and stood, but ate a knee. The round ended in another clinch. 10-9 Brookins.
Round 3:
Brookins landed a knee in the final round and Koch answered with a leg kick. Brookins tried to clinch for a takedown, but Koch landed two punches and backed away. He jabbed and forced Brookins to circle away. The crowd booed and Koch landed a short left hook. Brookins rushed in for another takedown and clinched. He threw punches and Koch landed some of his own.
The fighters separated and Koch landed a combination. A leg kick and a one-two also scored for Koch and he just missed with a looping right hook. Koch reversed a takedown on the way down and the fight returned to the feet. Koch pressed Brookins up against the fence and both landed left hooks in close. Very close fight. 10-9 Koch.
Winner: Erik Koch by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 13-1-0.
Alan “The Talent” Belcher vs Jason “The Athlete” MacDonald
Round 1:
MacDonald clinched right away and looked for a takedown, but Belcher shrugged it off and clinched against the cage. The fighters battled for position with knees to the body and short punches until MacDonald pulled guard. Belcher punched from the top as MacDonald tried to set up a triangle choke. Belcher unloaded with punches and elbows as MacDonald tried to hold on.
MacDonald worked for a Kimura from the bottom, but Belcher escaped and tried for one of his own. He threw short elbows from side control, then stood and rained down punches. MacDonald again tried for a Kimura, but Belcher punished him with punches and elbows until MacDonald submitted and the fight was stopped. Good win for Belcher, who was competing for the first time since a serious eye injury.
Winner: Alan Belcher by Submission (Punches & Elbows) at 3:48 of round one. He improves to 17-6-0.
(Undercard results and play-by-play on Page Two.)