· UFC On Fox 2 Recap & Results
UFC’s second show on broadcast network FOX gave fans considerably more MMA action than their debut event a month ago. Rather than a quick first round finish in the lone fight of the night, this showed offered 11 rounds, 55 minutes worth, of broadcasted fights. When it was all over from the United Center in Chicago the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions had two title challenges, both who have been in that spot before.
In the main event, former champion Rashad Evans made it look easy in his effort to get back the title he once held. He was able to back up his claims that although his opponent Phil Davis has a better amateur wrestling resume, he had the better wrestling for success in the Octagon.
Evans controlled Davis with his wrestling throughout the five round number one contender bout. Evans also proved to be a riddle when it came to striking, defending most of Davis’ exchanges with ease, and returning just enough strikes to edge his opponent on the feet. In the end, the judges gave all five rounds to Evans, who now moves on to an April match up with rival and former teammate Jon “Bones” Jones for the UFC light heavyweight championship.
The co-main event between Chael Sonnen and Michael Bisping, also with a title shot on the line, was quite a different fight. The two battled back and forth for three rounds with Bisping appearing to edge Sonnen in the striking game, but losing the wrestling battle. And although Sonnen was not as effective as many had anticipated the judges saw enough dominance to declare him the winner.
UFC on Fox’s opening bout pitted Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace Demian Maia against decorated amateur wrestler Chris Weidman. And as seen in many cases, when two grappling stars face off, the fight turned in to a striking contest. While Maia mostly pawed with his jab through two rounds, Weidman sat back, content to counterstrike. As both men faded down the stretch Maia’s striking became more and more damaging, but when the final scores were read, Weidman had shown enough to win a split decision victory.
Highlighting the preliminary action, Evan Dunham was able to continue his climb back toward contender status with an impressive win over Nik Lentz via doctor stoppage at the end of the second round. The win earned both fighters a “Fight of the Night” bonus, worth $65,000 each. Cub Swanson and Lavar Johnson picked up their first UFC wins with impressive knockout victories in their match ups. Johnson’s win earned him the $65,000 “Knockout of the Night” bonus.
Charles “Do Bronx” Oliveira made a successful featherweight debut, picking up the “Submission of the Night” award, with a rarely seen calf crusher submission over Eric Wisely. Chris Camozzi also notched a submission victory, defeating Dustin Jacoby via guillotine choke.
Full UFC on Fox 2 results:
• Rashad Evans defeated Phil Davis via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45)
• Chael Sonnen defeated Michael Bisping via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
• Chris Weidman defeated Demian Maia via split decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Evan Dunham defeated Nik Lentz via TKO (doctor's stoppage) - Round 2, 5:00
• Mike Russow defeated John-Olav Einemo via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
• Cub Swanson defeated George Roop via TKO (punches) - Round 2, 2:22
• Charles Oliveira defeated Eric Wisely via submission (calf crusher) - Round 1, 1:43
• Michael Johnson defeated Shane Roller via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Lavar Johnson defeated Joey Beltran via KO (punches) - Round 1, 4:24
• Chris Camozzi defeated Dustin Jacoby via submission (guillotine choke) - Round 3, 1:08
