Deja Big Blue

In a repeat of their 2008 Super Bowl XLII season, the New York Giants (9-7) are the 2011-2012 NFL Champions with a 21-17 victory over the New England Patriots (13-3) in Super Bowl XLVI. 

 The game was once again down to the wire, but it was Giants QB Eli Manning who threw a perfectly executed pass down the sideline to WR Mario Manningham, who made an equally amazing 38 yard catch, which will live in New York Giant's history. The catch which was reminiscent of David Tyree's catch in Super Bowl XLII, in terms of importance, set up the game winning touchdown by Giants RB Ahmad Bradshaw, who ran straight down the middle of the New England defense. However, the touchdown gave the ball back to New England and Tom Brady for the last :57 who almost completed the comeback, but fell just short. 

 

With the win, Eli Manning out-Brady-ed Tom Brady for the third straight game, making him a two-time Super Bowl MVP. At the beginning of the year, Eli Manning was asked whether he thought he was "elite" and all season we heard the "experts" proclaim he was absurd for comparing himself to Brady and his brother, Peyton Manning, but Eli now has two Super Bowl victories over Brady and one more championship than his 11x  Pro Bowl brother. Be-Eli-Ve, Eli Manning is ELIte!

 

In other news, if you hold your tongue and say "Battleship." That is exactly how I think the movie will be.

UFC 143: The Natural Born Killer is Champion

Carlos Condit defeats Nick Diaz via Unanimous Decision for the UFC Interim Welterweight Championship (48-47, 49-49, 49-46) 

The main event of the night was a fight between two killers, two complete mixed martial artists, and two skilled champions in the primes of their careers. It was also a fight featuring the best Welterweight in WEC history, Carlos Condit (28-5), fighting the best Welterweight in Strikeforce history, Nick Diaz (26-8-1NC), for a chance to fight the best Welterweight in UFC history, Georges St. Pierre (22-2). 

In a very close/ controversial fight, it was Carlos Condit who emerged victorious with a Unanimous Decision victory over Nick Diaz. Condit fought a brilliant fight, utilizing a smart game plan and sticking to it throughout the duration of the contest. Condit was constantly moving and most importantly stayed away from the cage, which did not allow Diaz to unload those vicious body assaults, which he has become known for. Condit's elusiveness was also effective, because he beat Diaz to the punch, and did not fall into any of Nick Diaz's traps.

Personally, I had the fight even going into the 5th round, and while Condit was busier on the feet, Diaz scored a late takedown and managed to take the back of Condit until the final bell. To me, this allowed Diaz to take the fight 3 rounds to 2, but the judges disagreed and thus Carlos Condit is now the UFC interim Welterweight Champion and has a date set with UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre later this year. 

Fabricio Werdum defeats Roy Nelson via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

The co-main event of the evening, featured an exciting Heavyweight contest as Fabricio Werdum (15-5-1) successfully returned to the UFC with a unanimous decision victory over Roy “Big Country” Nelson (16-7). Werdum who is best known for ending the myth of Fedor Emelianenko in Strikeforce, showcased much improved striking and excellent Maui Thai, landing vicious knees to the chin of Roy Nelson, which would have put any other man unconscious. However, Nelson kept coming forward and never gave up, but it was not enough to beat Werdum on this night. If Werdum's striking continues to improve, he could very well get his desired rematch with Heavyweight Champion Junior dos Santos, sooner rather than later. An excellent return to the UFC for Fabricio Werdum. 

Josh Kosheck defeated Mike Pierce via Split Decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)

In the 20th fight of his UFC career, Josh Koscheck (17-5) defeated Mike Pierce (13-5) via split decision in a much closer fight than most people, including Kosheck expected. Koscheck never seemed to find his rhythm in the contest, as he was constantly looking to land his big right hand, but could never find the target. On the feet, Pierce was the much busier fighter for the duration of the bout, but it was Koscheck's two late takedown's which more than likely gave him the nod in the eyes of the judges. It seemed as if Koscheck underestimated Pierce, however Pierce proved he belongs in the upper echelon of the Welterweight devision. 

Renan Barao defeats Scott Jorgenson via Unanimous Decision (30 -27, 30-27, 30-27) 

In the second fight of the PPV, dangerous Bantamweight Renan Barao (28-1-1NC), extended his win streak to 28 with a unanimous decision victory over the ultra tough Scott Jorgenson (13-5). A training partner of Jose Aldo at Nova Uniao in Brazil, many people in the MMA community consider Barao to be the best fighter in the world without a world title. Having not lost a fight since April of 2005, Barao may very well be the 135 lbs. Jose Aldo and should be next in line to fight for the Bantamweight Championship after Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber fight later this year. 

Bonuses:
Fight of the Night: Fabricio Werdum vs. Roy Nelson
Submission of the Night - Dustin Poirier
Knockout of the Night - Steven Thompson

Results: 

Carlos Condit defeats Nick Diaz via Unanimous Decision for the UFC Interim Welterweight Championship (48-47, 49-49, 49-46)

Fabricio Werdum def. Roy Nelson via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Josh Koscheck def. Mike Pierce via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)

Renan Barao def. Scott Jorgensen via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Ed Herman def. Clifford Starks via submission (rear-naked choke) - Round 2, 1:43

Dustin Poirier def. Max Holloway via submission (mounted triangle-armbar) - Round 1, 3:23

Edwin Figueroa def. Alex Caceres via split decision (28-27, 27-28, 28-27)

Matt Brown def. Chris Cope via knockout (punches) - Round 2, 1:19

Matt Riddle def. via Henry Martinez via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)

Rafael Natal def. Michael Kuiper via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

Steven Thompson def. Dan Stittgen via knockout (head kick) - Round 1, 4:13

UFC 143: Diaz vs Condit Preview and Predictions

"On February 4th, two Welterweight warriors battle for the interim UFC Welterweight Championship, as Nick Diaz fights Carlos Condit. Also, Heavyweights Roy "Big Country" Nelson and Fabricio Werdum collide and Josh Koscheck faces Mike Pierce." 

Saturday February 4^th 2012, the UFC returns to action for UFC 143 live from Las Vegas, Nevada. The main event of the card features two of the world’s top Welterweights as former Strikeforce Champion Nick Diaz (26-7-1NC) and former WEC Champion Carlos Condit (27-5), fight for the UFC interim Welterweight Championship.

Originally division champion Georges St. Pierre was supposed to fight Diaz, but due to sustaining an ACL injury to his left knee while preparing for the bout, he had to pull out of the contest. Because of the injury, St. Pierre will be unable to defend his title in a year span, thus meaning an Interim belt must be created during his time away from action. It also means that for the first time since 2006, St. Pierre will not be in the UFC Welterweight Championship picture.

In his place, will be former WEC Champion Carlos Condit who is on a four fight winning streak, since his UFC debut split decision loss to Martin Kampmann in April of 2009.

Since that time, Condit has defeated top prospects Jake Ellenberger and Rory McDonald, while also posting back to back Knockout of the Night finishes over Dan Hardy and Dong Hyun Kim. An aggressive fighter who lives up to his “Natural Born Killer” moniker, Condit pushes the pace and is always looking for a finish.

Diverse in his approach to fighting, Condit is comfortable in all areas of martial arts but is particularly a striker and a jiu-jitsu fighter, with 13 submission victories and 13 knockout victories to his credit. Possessing vicious knees and one punch knockout power, any opponent has to be careful when striking with Condit, but should the fight hit the ground, Condit is just as dangerous and quite different from most jiu-jitsu practitioners.

On the mat, Condit utilizes a chaotic approach instead of the normal controlled based jiu-jitsu attack. This hectic style, is not usually seen by most fighters and causes his opponents to make mistakes where they normally wouldn’t, thus creating space for Condit to capitalize and submit his opponent. However, Condit is going to have his work cut out for him Saturday night, when he faces one of the pound for pound most dangerous and technically gifted fighters on the planet in Nick Diaz.

Diaz, a native of Stockton California, has been unbeaten for four plus years, and is not only one of the best martial artists alive, but also one of the sport’s most intriguing competitors.

A black belt in jiu-jitsu under Cesar Gracie, the last place any fighter wants to end up is on the ground with Nick Diaz. Incredibly flexible and one of the best in terms of transitions, Diaz is capable of submitting any man alive in multiple ways. One of Diaz’ most impressive submissions occurred in February 2007, when Diaz became one of the first competitors to successfully pull off a Gogoplata submission, when he defeated Pride Lightweight Champion Takanori Gomi.

Although his ground game is outstanding, Diaz’ boxing is just as phenomenal and might possibly be the best in MMA. Extremely unorthodox, Diaz puts together punches in bunches and repeatedly batters his opponents with nonstop strikes which land from every angle.

Labeled by UFC commentator Mike Goldberg as the ‘Stockton Slap’, Diaz’ strikes don’t look to be powerful, but due to the pressure he constantly applies and the sheer volume in which he throws and lands his punches, his opponents wilt under the pressure and tire out, setting them up for the finish.

Training with 2004 Olympic Boxing Gold Medalist, Super Six World Boxing Classic Champion and the 2011 BWAA Fighter of the Year undefeated Andre Ward, Diaz shows just how great his striking is in every fight. His last contest a unanimous decision victory over BJ Penn this past October, showed just how highly skilled Diaz is, as we have never seen a fighter cause that much damage to Penn on the feet.  

Another reason Diaz is so dangerous is because of his endurance. Diaz is able to fight the way he fights, never taking his foot off the pedal, because he never runs out of gas. A side from being a professional MMA fighter, Diaz is also a triathlete and regularly competes in Ironman triathlon events, during the course of his training. This gives him a distinct advantage of always being fresh and continuously able to keep pressure on his opponents from the opening bell to the final bell.

A true fighter, Diaz will fight anybody at any time and has fought in multiple weight classes and emerged victorious. Also, Diaz does not fight for points or to win contests on the judge’s scorecards. Diaz will throw his hands up, instigate his opponent in the cage by talking smack and is always moving forward, he also holds a very distinct honor of never being submitted and has only been stopped via strikes once early in his career.

I predict, Diaz to keep this streak alive Saturday, as he becomes the new UFC interim Welterweight Champion, setting himself up on a date with Georges St. Pierre sometime later this year around November.

As with every Diaz fight before, I think the pressure will be too much for Condit to handle and he will fold and tire out due to Diaz’ constant attack. Although, I’m sure Condit will be in the best shape of his life, I do not think it will be enough to withstand Diaz and predict that Condit’s cardio will be completely zapped around the third or fourth round and for Diaz to finish him whether by TKO or submission.

This is one of the biggest fights the UFC has put on in quite some time and I am very much looking forward to it. Diaz is without a doubt, my favorite fighter to watch because he always brings it and is always entertaining and I look forward to seeing UFC gold around his waist.

It is also my belief, that Diaz is the only Welterweight fighter on the planet who could realistically defeat Georges St. Pierre and I hope Diaz wins to ensure that dream matchup becomes a reality.

Predictions:

Nick Diaz defeats Carlos Condit via TKO 4^th Round to become the NEW UFC interim Welterweight Champion

Roy Nelson defeats Fabricio Werdum via unanimous decision

Josh Koscheck defeats Mike Pierce via 2^nd Round KO

UFC on FX Results: Jim Miller Submits Guillard

"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

UFC on FX: Guillard vs. Miller Preview and Predictions

"The UFC begins its relationship with FOX as Lightweights Melvin Guillard and Jim Miller fight, as well as an explosive Welterweight battle between Duane "Bang" Ludwig and Josh Neer"

UFC begins its relationship with FOX TV tonight, as lightweights Melvin Guillard (29-9-2-(1)) and Jim Miller (20-3) battle each other at UFC on FX1. 

This event, the new type of Fight Night, features two highly regarded and respected lightweights, who are both coming off of losses. Guillard, a devastating .47 second loss at UFC 136 to Joe Lauzon , which snapped a 5 fight winning streak and Miller who lost a three round unanimous decision to Benson Henderson in a number one contender’s bout in August, which snapped his 7 fight win streak. 

In my opinion, both Guillard and Miller are top 10 lightweight fighters in the world, however each fighter employ's a vastly different fighting style. 

Guillard is as talented and athletically gifted as they come in MMA, with blitzing hand speed and huge power in both hands. Miller, on the other hand is just as talented but is a blue collar fighter, who wares down his opponent with excellent wrestling and BJJ. 

While Guillard may seem to be the favorite coming into this contest in a lot of people’s minds, mainly because he is the more attractive choice, due to his monstrous highlight reel of knockout finishes in the UFC, I like Miller to walk away victorious at the end of the night, for a number of reasons.

First and foremost, Guillard could be the most dominant champion in the UFC right now. He possesses all the physical attributes for success, but he is his own worst enemy. Guillard does not have the mental fortitude, and at times appears to be arrogant, which hurts him.

Guillard should not have had trouble defeating Joe Lauzon, but came out swinging recklessly with his hands down, and chin straight up not respecting the skill of Lauzon. Thus, Guillard essentially knocked himself out as he walked straight into a JAB from Lauzon which knocked him down, allowing Lauzon to take his back and choke him out. 

I would love to sit here and say, ‘oh, it was just a foolish mistake’, but it’s not. Guillard has fought 41 times, he has a lot of experience, he should know better than to disrespect an opponent, especially someone as crafty as Lauzon, who is one of the most dangerous opening round fighters in the sport. 

The second reason why I won’t pick Guillard, is because of his decision to leave Greg Jackson’s camp in favor of the Blackzilians. 

Guillard went on the greatest run of his UFC career as soon as he joined Jackson’s MMA. Greg Jackson who is the best trainer in the sport, taught Guillard patience and substantially improved his submission defense, thus Guillard went on a five fight winning streak. 

Now, after one minor setback, Guillard left the camp which dramatically improved his shortcomings to join Rashad Evans and the Blackzilians. A fresh, up and coming team, the Blackzilians as a team have not shown a lot of success in the Octagon, and I personally, think was a horrible move and shows just how Guillard is his own worst enemy. 

The third reason is Guillard’s opponent, Jim Miller. Miller is as good as they come in the UFC lightweight division and I absolutely love his fighting style. 

A tough as nails, hard worker, with never ending cardio, Miller’s three losess have come to the best of the best, UFC Lightweight Champion Frankie Edgar, former contender Grey Maynard and current number one contender Ben Henderson. Knowing what type of fighter Miller is, and how he continuously gets better after every fight, I fully expect Miller to have worked harder than ever before in training camp to get back to his winning ways, especially coming off of a loss. 

As long as Miller, is able to avoid the first couple of minutes with a fresh and aggressive Guillard and avoid Guillard’s power, I expect Miller to outwork and find a way to take Guillard down to the mat and put him into uncomfortable territory, eventually submitting him. 

That’s not to say, Guillard does not have a chance, as one strike from him could put Miller to sleep, but I believe Miller is too smart of a fighter and will have a proper strategy, to make Guillard look like a rookie and push him further back down the line of Lightweight contenders. 

I predict a late first or second round submission for Jim Miller, Friday night. 

Also on the card, an explosive hard hitting Welterweight battle between Duane “Bang” Ludwig, the record holder for fastest UFC knockout (21-11) and Josh Neer  (32-10-1) as well as Heavyweight Pat Barry (6-4) returning to action. 

UFC on FOX 2: America vs. England for the Chance To Fight the Brazilian Spider

"An injury to Mark Munoz has caused British fighter Michael Bisping to replace him at UFC on FOX 2 opposite Chael Sonnen"

The UFC on Fox 2 event took a hit earlier this afternoon as UFC President Dana White tweeted that UFC Middleweight contender Mark Munoz  (12-2) was injured and out of his number one contender’s bout with Chael Sonnen (26-11-1) on January 28^th.

Luckily, a replacement was immediately named as the UFC’s top British fighter Michael Bisping (22-3) will replace Munoz and fight Sonnen at the event.

Bisping was previously scheduled to fight Damien Maia (15-3), but is stepping up in competition to fight Sonnen who is widely considered to be the 2^nd best Middleweight in the world, after UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva (31-4).

The contest will still serve as a number one contender’s fight, with the victor receiving the next crack at the “Spider.”

To be honest, the Sonnen vs. Bisping fight intrigues me more than the two previous announced contests, although I believe it to be a much easier fight for Sonnen.

Bisping is not an elite wrestler and will most likely get taken down in this contest, but I feel his overall game is enough to keep things interesting with Sonnen, especially on the feet. Bisping has a very underrated standup game, as well as a severely underrated ground game, but he is going to have to pull out every trick in his book if he wants to defeat Sonnen.

Without a question of a doubt, Sonnen will immediately look to take Bisping down, and in all likelihood he will succeed, however, Sonnen has a habit of getting caught in submissions, as 8 of his 11 career losses have come via some sort of submission, and as I said Bisping has a very underrated ground game.

This bout intrigues me more than the previously announced fight between Sonnen and Munoz because while Munoz is a fantastic wrestler with heavy ground and pound, he just is not as complete a fighter as Bisping especially on the feet, and I feel he is not ready for a title shot just yet.

However, Munoz did beat Sonnen in a wrestling competition back in college, but this is MMA and on a strictly MMA level, I feel Sonnen would have gotten the better of Munoz, mainly due to experience.

Bisping, on the other hand, has experience in MMA and has fought on the biggest shows against the best fighters in the world consistently. He only has three losses on his record, two of which have been controversial decisions against former champions Rashad Evans when he was competing at Light Heavyweight and Wanderlei Silva, and has only been thoroughly defeated by the right hand of Dan Henderson at UFC 100 (knockout of the century).

The trash talk for this fight could be legendary as well, as both Sonnen and Bisping are pound for pound the best talkers in the sport.  Both are incredibly witty and should be an easy promotional weapon for the UFC to help draw interest towards the fight and the event.

When the two step into the cage, however, I expect Sonnen to emerge with his hand raised via decision. Bisping is tough and I doubt Sonnen will be able to finish him, but Sonnen’s wrestling is so strong that I see him taking Bisping down and having his way with him. However, there is always the possibility of Bisping catching him in a submission but I do not see it happening.

I am pretty confident that after this fight, we will finally see the long anticipated rematch between Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen, possibly in a soccer stadium in Brazil, which would be nothing short of epic!

UFC 142: Jose Aldo The Featherweight King

"Jose Aldo retains his Featherweight Championship over Chad Mendes, then celebrates with the crowd. Vitor Belfort submits Anthony Johnson in the first round. Edson Barboza provides the greatest head kick knockout in UFC history."

The UFC returned to Rio de Janeiro for UFC 142 and was headlined by one of the pound for pound best fighters on the planet, UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo (21-1) defending his championship against Chad Mendes (11-1). 

Mendes, one of the best wrestlers in the Featherweight devision was supposed to be the biggest test for Aldo's young career, but Aldo had his way with the challenger and brushed off every single takedown attempted by Mendes. 

The brilliant takedown defense was the key to this fight, as late in the first round, Mendes had Aldo's back but because he could not take Aldo down, he separated. It was during this brief second opportunity, that Aldo quickly spun around and unloaded a big violent knee which dropped Mendes. Two quick punches followed and just like that, Aldo retained his Featherweight championship and handed Mendes his first ever professional loss at 4:59 of the first round. 

What happened next, is potentially one of the greatest non MMA moments of all time, as Aldo ran out of the cage and celebrated with the crowd, as the fans hoisted their hero on their shoulders. It was an incredible scene, and one which I am sure we will see for years. 

Not only did Jose Aldo cement his place as arguably the best pound for pound fighter in the world, but he is coming close to cleaning out the newly implemented UFC Featherweight devision. 

I can not think of one fighter in the 145 devision who can complete with this man, and the scary thing is, is that he is only 25 years old. 

The co-main event of the evening, was the contest I was most looking forward to between Vitor Belfort (21-9) and Anthony Johnson (10-4). 

This bout was supposed to be Anthony Johnson's debut as a Middleweight, but at the weigh in's, Johnson missed weight by an unbelievable 11 pounds, coming in at 197lbs. 

The fight was almost cancelled, but the UFC and Vitor Belfort agreed to continue with the contest as long as Johnson did not weigh more than 205 pounds at high noon on fight day. Johnson made weight the second time coming in at 204.2 pounds, and the fight was on.

As soon as the fight started, Johnson came out aggressive and landed some big shots and takedowns on Belfort, but tired out quickly and was eventually submitted by Belfort via rear naked choke at 4:49 of the first round. 

Rio went absolutely apeshit at the conclusion and erupted for their hero who came back from diversity and defeated the bigger fighter. 

Phenom-anol! 

Another interesting bout came in the Middleweight devision, as the potentially most feared man in MMA Rousimar Palhares (14-3) submitted Mike Massenzio (13-6) via heel hook in 1:03 of the first round. 

A ruthless fighter, Palhares is the best leg lock specialist in all of MMA due to his crushing power. If given the opportunity, Palhares will rip your limbs off and that is what he did in this fight tonight. 

Pulling guard, Palhares sneaked his left leg around Massenzio's thigh, then using the butterfly guard elevated Massenzio while grabbing Massenzio's foot at the same time. This allowed Palhares to sink  Massenzio's heel in the crack of his elbow and he cranked on it until Massenzio had no choice but to tap out. 

To put it in perspective, if Palhares ever tripped and fell anywhere near me, I would highstep out of the area ASAP just in case, because I do not want my leg/ankle ripped off!

The opening bout of the main card between lightweights Terry Etim (15-4) and Edson Barboza (10-0) was touted as the early favorite to win fight of the night, but Barboza potentially earned knockout of the year with his spinning heel kick head kick knockout at 2:02 of the 3rd round. 

The kick was an absolutely spectacular finish which is arguably one of the greatest and most brutal knockouts in UFC history. The knockout was even more impressive, because Etim was one of the most promising fighters in the devision, but was out before he even hit the floor, as Barboza caught him perfectly on the jaw with his heel, for the first ever spinning wheel kick KO in UFC history. 

The crowds in Brazil are unlike any other fans throughout the world, as they bring an extra energy to the atmosphere which made the fights seem that much bigger and more high profile. 

UFC 142 was not heavily promoted, and this once again continued the tradition of the lower key UFC events providing the most exciting action. Not one fight on the main card went the distance and all the fights ended in some sort of spectacular finish. 

The UFC certainly kicked off  2012 with a bang! 

Fight of the Night: Edson Barboza vs. Terry Etim

Submission of the Night: Rousimar Palhares 

Knockout of the Night: Edson Barboza

Results:

Jose Aldo def. Chad Mendes via knockout (knee and punches) - Round 1, 4:59 - retains featherweight title

Vitor Belfort def. Anthony Johnson via submission (rear-naked choke) - Round 1, 4:45

Rousimar Palhares def. Mike Massenzio via submission (heel hook) - Round 1, 1:03

Carlo Prater def. Erick Silva via disqualification (illegal punches) - Round 1, 0:29

Edson Barboza def. Terry Etim via knockout (spinning heel kick) - Round 3, 2:02

Thiago Tavares def. Sam Stout via unanimous decision (no scores given)

Gabriel Gonzaga def. Ednaldo Oliveira via submission (rear-naked choke) - Round 1, 3:22

Yuri Alcantara def. Michihiro Omigawa via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)

Mike Pyle def. Ricardo Funch via TKO (knees and punches) - Round 1, 1:22

Felipe Arantes def. Antonio Carvalho via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)