"Jim Miller weathers Melvin Guillard's opening round blitz, winning by rear naked choke. Josh Neer puts Duane Ludwig to sleep and Pat Barry knocks out Christian Morecraft."
The UFC's debut on FX was an exciting card with a lot of finishes and exciting fights.
The main event went just as I thought as Jim Miller (21-3) defeated Melvin Guillard (29-10-2-1NC) via rear naked choke at 2:04 of the first round. Guillard came out aggressive as he usually does and landed some big knees and punches which rocked Miller, but Miller stay composed and weathered the storm.
However, Guillard made one tiny mistake throwing a flying knee which enabled Miller to get a double leg takedown and from there it was academic.
Guillard, is a completely different fighter when it comes to grappling and during a scramble, Miller took Guillard's back, locked in the figure four body triangle, put his arm under Guillard's chin, forcing the tap out.
As a fan of Melvin Guillard, it is extremely frustrating to watch him fight, because he is so talented but always loses the same exact way. If Guillard does not score a knockout within the first three minutes of the contest, the same scenario always happens, as his opponent takes him down and makes him tap.
Put it this way, Guillard has lost ten times in his career and all but one have come via submission.
Miller, on the other hand is one of the best fighters in the Lightweight division and I look forward to his next fight, hopefully against Nate Diaz or Edson Barboza for a chance to fight for the title.
In the co-main event, Josh Neer (33-10-1) submitted Duane “Bang” Ludwig (21-12) via modified guillotine choke at 3:04 of the first round, in the fight I was most looking forward too on the night.
The two heavy handed Welterweights traded on the feet for the majority of the contest, with Ludwig landing the better blows, but Neer kept coming forward and eventually scored a takedown and was able to secure a high elbow guillotine which is impossible to counter, putting Ludwig to sleep and picking up his sixth straight win. I have to be honest I did not see this fight ending via submission, but the bout was still as exciting as I thought it would be.
The Bantamweight division is by far the most exciting division in the UFC. The little guys are nonstop action, who never tire, maintaining a furious pace from bell to bell.
Mike Easton (12-1), a mean mugging, 24 hour energy drink, who is a physical specimen at 135 showed just how tough and talented he is as he picked up a majority decision over UFC newcomer Jared Papazian (14-7-1NC) (30-27, 29-28, 29,29) in a very entertaining scrap.
A ridiculous pace set right from the get go, Easton and Papazian essentially fought in a phone booth, as the two stood toe to toe with one another, trading leather in very technical fashion. The opening seconds even payed homage to Frye/Takayama from the old PRIDE days.
How can you not love the Bantamweights!
The opening contest on the card featured 5'11 Pat Barry (7-4) knocking out 6'6 Christian Morecraft (7-3) in Mike Tyson-esque fashion at 3:38 of the first round in their Heavyweight contest.
Finally showing off his much hyped, top level kickboxing, Barry slipped a punch by Moorecraft and delivered a huge left hook of his own knocking Morecraft to the canvass. From there, Barry finished up Morecraft with some ground and pound to a defenseless Morecraft, for a much needed victory.
That is how you start off a card!
The win was even more impressive, because finally after eight fights inside the Octagon, Barry showed submission defense. I guess James Toney is not his BJJ coach.
Bonuses:
Knockout of the Night - Nick Denis
Submission of the Night - Jim Miller
Fight of the Night - Pat Barry vs. Christian Morecraft
Results:
Jim Miller def. Melvin Guillard via submission (rear-naked choke) - Round 1, 2:04
Josh Neer def. Duane Ludwig via submission (guillotine choke) - Round 1, 3:04
Mike Easton def. Jared Papazian via majority decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-29)
Pat Barry def. Christian Morecraft via knockout (punches) - Round 1, 3:38
Jorge Rivera def. Eric Schafer via TKO (punches) - Round 2, 1:31
Khabib Nurmagomedov def. Kamal Shalorus via submission (rear-naked choke) - Round 3, 2:08
Charlie Brenneman def. Daniel Roberts via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Fabricio Camoes def. Tommy Hayden via submission (rear-naked choke) - Round 1, 4:03
Daniel Pineda def. Pat Schilling via submission (rear-naked choke) - Round 1, 1:37
Nick Denis def. Joseph Sandoval via KO (elbows) - Round 1, 0:22
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