UFC Fight Night 17 Results
by Robert Sargent
Just one week after UFC 94 saw all but two fights go to the judges, only one bout made it the distance at UFC Fight Night 17, with Anthony Johnson, Josh Neer, Cain Velasquez and Joe Lauzon all picking up stoppage victories on the main card.
The main event of the evening saw Lauzon counter the aggression of Stephens by taking the fight to the ground, and a second-round armbar gave Lauzon the victory.
Joe "J-Lau" Lauzon vs Jeremy "Lil' Heathen" Stephens
Stephens came out looking to throw big punches early on, but an intelligent game plan from Lauzon allowed him to avoid damage on the ground, where he eventually secured a fight-ending armbar.Lauzon ducked under a pair of haymakers from Stephens and pulled half-guard, then grabbed double underhooks. Lauzon used this to get back to his feet and the fighters clinched against the cage. Lauzon landed knees in the clinch, then used a flying scissor heel hook to take Stephens down. Stephens escaped the submission, but Lauzon grabbed a body lock as Stephens stood up and threw Stephens down to the mat. Lauzon postured up and landed punches and elbows from the top, then took Stephens's back momentarily. Lauzon moved to mount, then locked on an armbar. Stephens escaped and landed elbows from Lauzon's guard. Stephens stood up and teed off with huge punches and elbows, but Lauzon blocked most of the strikes. Lauzon got to his feet and looked for a guillotine choke, but Stephens slammed him to the mat and landed two punches before the bell. 10-9 Lauzon.
Stephens opened up round two with overhand rights, which began a wild exchange where both fighters landed big punches. Lauzon used a fireman's carry to take Stephens down, then moved to half-guard. He landed elbows to the body, then moved to side-control. Lauzon moved to north-south position, then back to side-control. He passed to mount and landed elbows, and Stephens gave up his back. Lauzon looked for a rear naked choke, but Stephens rolled over and reversed. Stephens cut Lauzon badly on the top of the head with elbows, then tried to take Lauzon's back, but Lauzon quickly reversed. He moved back to mount and grabbed onto Stephens's arm. Stephens gamely tried to roll to escape the armbar, but could not and was forced to submit. Impressive performance by Lauzon.
Winner: Joe Lauzon by Submission (Armbar) at 4:42 of round two. He improves to 18-4-0.
Cain Velasquez vs Denis "The Menace" Stojnic
Though the ending was anti-climactic, Velasquez's annihilation of Stojnic was another step in the highly-touted MMA prodigy's rise toward future title contention.Both fighters threw heavy punches in an early exchange, with Velasquez mixing in kicks to the legs. He clinched and landed knees to the body of Stojnic, then targeted Stojnic's lead leg. Velasquez pushed forward with kicks, then pressed Stojnic against the cage and unleashed a barrage of knees and big punches to the face. Stojnic held on, but threw extremely wild punches in return. Velasquez continued to pick Stojnic apart with knees and punches, forcing Stojnic to turtle. Another flurry of punches from Velasquez forced Stojnic to cover up again. The fighters traded kicks, and Velasquez drilled Stojnic with another combination. Velasquez landed kicks, punches and knees at will, while Stojnic could do little in return. Velasquez rocked Stojnic with more strikes, but could not put him away. Velasquez switched to leg kicks, then landed another punching flurry before the bell. Complete domination. 10-8 Velasquez.
Velasquez used leg kicks to set up another combination to the body early in round two, which sent Stojnic backpedalling to the fence. Velasquez followed up with a rapid-fire combination of punches and knees, and Stojnic fired back with sloppy punches. Stojnic missed badly with a spinning back fist and Velasquez scored a takedown. Velasquez passed to side-control and landed elbows, then took Stojnic's back and teed off with punches. Stojnic, bleeding from above the right eye, had no defence and laid on the ground taking punishment until the referee waved Velasquez off. However, he did not immediately make it clear that he was calling off the fight, so there was some confusion, but Velasquez was awarded a TKO victory due to the unanswered strikes. The victory ensures that Velasquez's future remains as bright as anyone in the UFC.
Winner: Cain Velasquez by TKO (Punches) at 2:31 of round two. He improves to 4-0-0.
Josh "The Dentist" Neer vs Mac Danzig
Battling back after getting rocked in round one, Neer pushed the pace in the second round and eventually trapped Danzig in a triangle choke that forced The Ultimate Fighter winner to submit.Danzig threw a head kick to begin the fight, but Neer caught it and sent Danzig to the mat with an overhand right, then followed up with more punches. Danzig remained calm and countered with a solid uppercut. The fighters traded punches and clinched, and Danzig caught Neer with a one-two as they separated. Neer's legs wobbled, and Danzig rocked him with two more quick combinations. Neer recovered quickly and landed elbows against the cage, but Danzig fired back with effective uppercuts. Danzig cut Neer beside the left eye, then landed a combination to the body. Neer landed knees in a clinch, but Danzig dropped him with a punch moments later. Neer immediately pulled guard and attempted a triangle, then an omoplata, but Danzig escaped back to his feet. Neer hammered Danzig with punches and the two taunted each other, then threw more punches. Neer finished strong, but one round was Danzig's. 10-9 Danzig.
Neer stalked forward with punches in round two, and Danzig pulled guard to get the fight to the ground. Neer made him pay, however, with vicious elbows from the top. Neer cut Danzig with the elbows, then switched to hammerfists. More elbows landed for Neer, who stood up and threw punches from the top. Neer took Danzig's back and looked for a choke, but Danzig shook him off and took top position. Danzig managed to land some punches and short elbows, but Neer prevented him from doing any real damage. Danzig left an arm in and Neer took the opportunity to lock on a triangle choke. Danzig tried to roll to escape, but could not and tapped out for the first time in his career. A big win for Josh Neer.
Winner: Josh Neer by Submission (Triangle Choke) at 3:25 of round two. He improves to 25-7-1.
Anthony "Rumble" Johnson vs Luigi Fioravanti
Continuing his reign of terror over the middle of the UFC's welterweight division, Johnson used impressive and varied striking to stop Fioravanti late in round one.Fioravanti came forward looking to land a combination early in round one, but Johnson stopped him in his tracks with a left hook. The fighters traded leg kicks and Johnson followed up with a head kick. Fioravanti grazed Johnson with a looping overhand right, but Johnson threw another pair of stiff leg kicks. More leg kicks followed from both fighters, and Fioravanti attempted a takedown. Johnson defended and was drilled with an unintentional low blow. After a brief break, the fight resumed and Johnson landed crisp strikes in an exchange. He rocked Fioravanti with a huge right hook seconds later, and Fioravanti stumbled backwards to the cage. Johnson followed up with knees and punches that dropped Fioravanti, and finished the fight with hammerfists on the ground. Another great win for Johnson.
Winner: Anthony Johnson by TKO (Strikes) at 4:39 of round one. He improves to 7-2-0.
Matt "The Real One" Grice vs Matt Veach
Grice dropped late-replacement Veach early in round one and seemed to have easily hurt Veach badly enough to warrant a stoppage, but the referee allowed the fight to continue. Later, Veach dropped Grice and the referee did stop the fight, even though Grice appeared to be much more coherent.The fighters traded strikes right away, and Veach scored a takedown. Grice worked his way back to his feet and stuffed a takedown, then used an Anaconda Choke to take Veach down briefly. Veach landed a right hook and an uppercut, but Grice floored him with two uppercuts of his own. Grice blasted Veach with huge punches and hammerfists on the ground, as Veach's head flailed, but the referee did not stop the fight. Again, Grice seemed to have Veach in a state of semi-consciousness from punches, yet the fight continued. Veach regained his composure as Grice moved to mount.
Veach then defended an arm-triangle choke and regained half-guard. Grice landed elbows and attempted a guillotine choke, but Veach escaped and took top position. Grice got back to his feet and the two traded sloppy punches. Grice connected with a one-two, then stuffed a takedown. Another one-two landed for Grice, then a knee and a right hook. Three more punches landed for Grice, but Veach dropped him with a left-right combination. Veach then followed up with some terribly weak looking punches, as Grice looked to grab a leg, and the referee stopped the fight. Grice immediately protested, and with good reason. The refereeing in the fight was extremely inconsistent.
Winner: Matt Veach by TKO (Punches) at 4:34 of round one. He improves to 11-0-0.
Dan Miller vs Jake Rosholt
Countering a takedown attempt, Miller locked on a modified guillotine choke that forced Rosholt to submit just over one minute into the first round.Rosholt came forward punching and looked for a takedown, but ate a pair of knees in the process. He got Miller down and landed punches from the top, but left a leg in and had to twist to escape a heel hook. The fight returned to the feet in a clinch and Rosholt's corner implored him to watch out for a guillotine. Mere seconds later, Miller locked on a modified guillotine choke and pulled Rosholt to the mat, forcing Rosholt to tap out extremely quickly. Very impressive submission.
Winner: Dan Miller by Submission (Modified Guillotine Choke) at 1:01 of round one. He improves to 11-1-0, 1 NC.
Undercard Fights:
Kurt "Batman" Pellegrino defeated Rob "The Saint" Emerson by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 3:14 of round two. Rebounding after a slow first round, Pellegrino scored a big takedown in round two and quickly transitioned to the back, where he secured the fight-ending choke. Pellegrino improves to 13-4-0 with the win.Gleison Tibau defeated Rich "No Love" Clementi by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 4:35 of round one. Tibau, one of the largest lightweights in the UFC but also one of the most inconsistent, put on the performance of his career as he dominated Clementi throughout the fight and locked on the choke late in round one. Tibau improves to 16-6-0 with the win.
Nick Catone defeated Derek "The Gentleman" Downey by Submission (Keylock) at 1:15 of round two. After forming a gigantic mouse on Downey's forehead with strikes in round one, Catone took the fight back to the ground in the second round and quickly locked on a keylock that forced an overmatched Downey to submit. Catone improves to 6-0-0 with the win.
Matt Riddle defeated Steve "Hollywood" Bruno by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. Round one was very close, with both fighters landing strikes and scoring takedowns, but Riddle turned it up in round two and dropped Bruno just before the final bell in round three, which secured him the hard-fought decision win. Riddle improves to 2-0-0 with the win.
While Cain Velasquez's latest showcase fight ended with little fanfare, his dominant victory and Joe Lauzon's performance against Jeremy Stephens ensured that the main card of UFC Fight Night 17 was a good one.
