Weekend Rundown: TUF Winner Escudero Scores Submission

“The Ultimate Fighter” Season 8 winner Efrain Escudero submitted Jeremy Larsen with a third-round armbar in the Rage in the Cage 148 headliner on Saturday at the Wild Horse Pass Casino in Chandler, Ariz. Escudero finished it 3:21 into round three.

A surprising roster cut casualty following his defeat to Brazilian prospect Charles Oliveira at UFC Fight Night 22 in September, Escudero has since rattled off back-to-back wins. The 25-year-old MMA Lab representative burst on the scene in 2008, when he defeated Ido Pariente, Shane Nelson, Junie Allen Browning and Phillipe Nover to win “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series.

Other winners at Rage in the Cage 148 included journeyman Shannon Ritch (first-round knockout over Scott Guenther) and Arizona Combat Sports product Jade Porter (unanimous decision against Ruben S. Gonzales).

Canadian Martial Arts Centre representative Jordan Mein sprang the upset at Wreck MMA “Strong and Proud” on Friday at the Casino de Lac-Leamy in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada, as he stopped UFC and Strikeforce veteran Joe Riggs on second-round punches. The end came 4:30 into round two.

Mein floored Riggs with a right hook and followed him to the canvas, where he polished off the 28-year-old Phoenix native. The defeat halted a two-fight winning streak for Riggs, who had not been finished by strikes in more than four years. Mein has posted five wins in his past six appearances.

Meanwhile, UFC exile Mark Holst submitted Markhaile Wedderburn with a second-round rear-naked choke in the co-main event. Holst, who had previously announced plans to retire following the match, finished the job 4:56 into round two. The 25-year-old was cut by the UFC in wake of losses to John Gunderson and Paul Sass.

Finally, “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 3 semi-finalist Kalib Starnes won for the third time in four outings, as he coaxed a tapout from Matt MacGrath with a rear-naked choke 3:14 into round two of their encounter. Starnes, 36, has now secured nine of his 12 career victories by submission. He will meet fellow UFC veteran Patrick Cote in the Ringside MMA 10 main event on April 9.

Former World Extreme Cagefighting featherweight champion Cole Escovedo put away Steven Siler with a first-round triangle choke in the Showdown Fights “New Blood” headliner on Friday at the UCCU Center in Orem, Utah. The victory brought an end to a two-fight losing streak for the 29-year-old Escovedo, who was forced into semi-retirement in 2007 by a staph infection that left him partially paralyzed.

Meanwhile, once-beaten prospect Radley Martinez took a unanimous decision from UFC veteran Brian Cobb at the event. Spawned by the same Victory MMA camp as “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 11 winner Court McGee, Martinez has won eight fights in a row.

Other winners at “New Blood” included Jeremy Horn protégé Travis Marx (split decision over Trevor Mellen) and undefeated welterweight prospect Jordan Clements (unanimous decision against Eddie Rincon).

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UFC hall of famer Dan Severn captured the Elite 1 MMA heavyweight championship with a second-round arm-triangle choke submission over Scott Fraser at Elite 1 MMA “Tapping Out” on Saturday at the Casino New Brunswick in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada. The 52-year-old Severn, owner of 97 professional victories, will carry an eight-fight winning streak into his next appearance … Mikel Bronzoulis posted his third straight win, as he stopped Bellator Fighting Championships veteran Joe Christopher on punches 3:34 into round three of their Legacy Fighting Championships 4 main event on Saturday at the Houston Arena Theater in Houston … UFC veteran Diego Saraiva submitted Joe Elmore with a second-round armbar in the Wild Bill’s Fight Night 33 headliner on Saturday at Wild Bill’s Atlanta in Duluth, Ga. A 28-year-old Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, Saraiva snapped a two-fight losing streak with the victory … “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 8 runner-up Vinny Magalhaes submitted the previously unbeaten Robert Scott with a second-round armbar in the MMA Xplosion “International Team Challenge” main event on Saturday at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. The end came 3:51 into round two … Justin Salas earned a unanimous decision over “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 5 alum Robert Emerson at Full Force Fighting Championships 1 on Saturday at the Paramount Theater in Denver. Emerson entered the matchup on a two-fight winning streak.
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Weekend Rundown: Graham Stops Emelianenko in Russia

Peter Graham finally has a meaningful mixed martial arts victory upon which to hang his hat.

Graham stunned Aleksander Emelianenko in the Draka “Governor’s Cub 2010” main event on Saturday at the Platinum Arena in Khabarovsk, Russia, as he finished the Pride Fighting Championships veteran with leg kicks 2:59 into the second round. It has not been a banner year for the Emelianenkos. Older brother, Fedor Emelianenko, suffered his first defeat in nearly a decade in June, as he succumbed to a first-round triangle choke from Fabricio Werdum under the Strikeforce banner.

A 35-year-old Sydney, Australia, native with a 55-11 kickboxing record, Graham made his MMA debut in March 2008 and lost five of his first six fights. He has won three in a row since, none more significant than his victory over Emelianenko.

The younger Emelianenko, who had not lost in more than four years, entered the match on a considerable roll, having finished eight consecutive opponents inside the first round. What’s more, no one had stopped him on strikes since Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic did the honors with a patented head kick in August 2004.

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Lyubo Simeonov stopped shopworn Pride and UFC veteran Gary Goodridge on first-round punches in the Bulgarian MMA Federation “Warriors 18” headliner on Friday at Universiada Hall in Sofia, Bulgaria. The end came 3:01 into round one, as the soon-to-be 45-year-old Goodridge lost his seventh consecutive bout … The once-beaten Bislan Isaev submitted UFC alum Xavier Foupa-Pokam with a guillotine choke 4:12 into their main event matchup at ProFC “Union Nation Cup 11” on Friday at the CSC Express Arena in Rostov-on-Don, Russia. Foupa-Pokam has lost five fights in six appearances … Undefeated Canadian prospect Chase Maxwell coaxed a tapout from Robert Curtis with a first-round triangle choke at Unified MMA 6 on Friday at the Mirage Banquet Hall in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Curtis met his demise 2:00 into round one.

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MMA Weekend: A Viewer's Guide

By Mike Whitman (mwhitman@sherdog.com)Thursday, November 18 4:21 pm PT: Episode 10 of Spike TV's “The Ultimate Fighter 12” held steady, matching last week's mark of 1.8 million viewers.

In fact, this week's stanza registered nearly identical numbers in both average viewership and the Nielsen ratings as well. Week 10 earned a 1.3 household rating, netting a 1.8 from males 18-49 and a 2.10 in the M18-34 demographic. The M18-49 demo was the only one to change this week, as it experienced a fractional increase from 1.79 to 1.8.

While the episode followed the typical blueprint of ratings increasing throughout the course of the hour and peaking in the last 15 minutes, the rating for the episode's final quarter hour was an exceptionally high 1.42.

The show finished with the last quarterfinal bout between Michael Johnson and Alex Caceres. Both members of Team GSP, Johnson and Caceres bickered for several weeks in the fighter house, inspiring coach St. Pierre to suggest the matchup.

The bout itself was an exciting one, with the elusive and lanky Caceres clashing with the straight-ahead power and wrestling skills of Johnson. In the end, Johnson proved to be too much for the younger fighter, as he scored multiple takedowns en route to a unanimous decision victory. Johnson will face Team Koscheck's Nam Phan in the semifinal.

By Jake Rossen (jrossen@sherdog.com)Thursday, November 18 9:00 am PT: Quinton Jackson: Dave Mandel | Sherdog.com

Scheduling Quinton Jackson and Lyoto Machida as the main event for Saturday’s UFC 123 is almost certainly a nod to Jackson’s ratings winner of a program against Rashad Evans last summer; why else top a show with two fighters coming off losses? It’s more of a I’m-still-here declaration than a lot of forward progress. It also has the potential to be a bit of a bore, with counter-striking (Machida) moving laterally around a self-conscious offensive fighter (Jackson).

It might also be good. But it’s all just billing, and the real headliner for many will be a third bout between B.J. Penn and Matt Hughes. Hughes has experienced a late-career resurgence, while Penn is looking for a new path after Frankie Edgar more or less temporarily ran him out of the 155-pound division.

If Hughes wins, it might be time to consider his place as one of the few former champions who keep a steady pace instead of fading out. If Penn wins, he might be motivated to test his chances against bigger men who don’t have the speed to buzz around him like an insect infestation. Either way, it’s a fight with more at stake than anything else on the card. And isn’t that why we watch?

Continue Reading » Primer: UFC 123

By Jeff Sherwood (Jeff@Sherdog.com)Thursday, November 18 1:15 am PT:

12:00 a.m. ET Spike TV: The Ultimate Fighter 12 -- Episode 10 (Replay)
1:00 a.m. ET Spike TV: UFC Unleashed (Replay)
1:00 a.m. ET Versus: WEC WrekCage (Replay)
2:30 a.m. ET MAVTV: MMA30 (Replay)
3:00 a.m. ET MAVTV: Ultimate Combat Experience (Replay)
4:00 a.m. ET MAVTV: MMA HEAT (Replay)
4:30 a.m. ET HDNet: K-1 World MAX 2010 -- 70kg Final 16 (Replay)

12:00 a.m. ET Versus: UFC 123 Countdown (Replay)
12:30 a.m. ET ESPN2: MMA Live (Premiere)
1:00 a.m. ET Versus: WEC WrekCage -- Cruz vs. Benavidez (Replay)
4:30 a.m. ET HDNet: Sengoku 15 (Replay)
6:00 a.m. ET Spike TV: UFC Unleashed -- Silva vs. Marquart (Replay)
7:00 a.m. ET HDNet: Inside MMA (Premiere)
11:00 a.m. ET Showtime: Strikeforce Challengers 12 (Live Event)

1:00 a.m. ET Versus: WEC 51 “Aldo vs. Gamburyan” (Replay)
5:00 a.m. ET HDNet: The Voice vs. Tito Ortiz (Replay)
6:00 a.m. ET Spike TV: UFC 123 Countdown (Replay)
7:00 a.m. ET Spike TV: UFC Unleashed
8:00 a.m. ET Spike TV: UFC Unleashed -- Hughes vs. Penn (Replay)
9:00 a.m. ET Spike TV: UFC 123 Prelims (Live Event)
10:00 a.m. ET PPV: UFC 123 “Jackson vs. Machida” (Live Event)

3:00 a.m. ET NBC: Bellator Highlights

By Chris Nelson (cnelson@sherdog.com)

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Weekend Rundown: Aoki Flawless in Deep Return

Dream lightweight champion Shinya Aoki (pictured left) needed exactly 60 seconds to show Thai boxing champion Yokthai Sithoar he was out of his element.

The world-ranked Aoki submitted the mixed martial arts newcomer with a first-round keylock at Deep 50 Impact on Sunday at JCB Hall in Tokyo. The 35-year-old Sithoar, a former World Boxing Association champion at 115 pounds, met his demise one minute into round one.

Aoki closed the distance on the stand-up savant, changed levels, hoisted Sithoar skyward and deposited him in the center of the cage. He passed immediately to side mount and threatened Sithoar with a reverse triangle choke before targeting the arm. Aoki secured the tapout soon after, as the 27-year-old Japanese superstar posted his sixth win in seven fights.

Meanwhile, Deep lightweight king Katsunori Kikuno defended his crown in a majority decision over Pride Fighting Championships veteran Nobuhiro Obiya. Four of the five ringside judges sided with the champion, who rebounded nicely from his split decision defeat to Gesias “JZ” Cavalcante at Dream 15 three months ago.

Kikuno threatened to finish his challenger inside the first round, as he roared out of the gates with a barrage of punches, answered a takedown with one of his own and spent the final minute of the period on Obiya’s back, battering him with punches. Kikuno’s pace slowed, and Obiya capitalized in the third round. He wobbled the champion with punches, reversed into top position during a scramble and mounted Kikuno near the end of the fight. Obiya’s efforts, however, fell short.

Finally, Deep welterweight champion Yuya Shirai retained his title with a unanimous decision over journeyman Shigetoshi Iwase. Shirai has rattled off five consecutive victories since his submission loss to UFC veteran Jason High in the 2009 Dream welterweight grand prix.

Other winners at Deep 50 Impact included Masakazu Imanari (majority decision over Daiki Hata), the prolific Ikuhisa Minowa (first-round armbar submission against Chang Hee Kim), UFC veteran Ryo Chonan (third-round technical knockout over Jun Hee Moon) and former World Extreme Cagefighting bantamweight title contender Yoshiro Maeda (majority decision against Takafumi Otsuka).

Former UFC heavyweight title contender Jeff Monson submitted Travis Fulton with a first-round armbar in the Elite Promotions/Fight Time Promotions “Fight Time 2” headliner on Saturday at Club Cinema in Pompano Beach, Fla. Fulton raised the white flag 4:40 into round one.

A two-time Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championships winner, Monson has won four fights in a row, three of them by submission. The 39-year-old American Top Team representative kept Fulton from his 200th career victory, as he became the first man to submit “The Ironman” inside the first round in more than five years.

Monson, who has secured 24 of his 38 career victories via submission, will face Sergey Shemetov under the Israeli Fight Club banner on Nov. 9 in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Surging Russian heavyweight Shamil Abdurahimov stopped Pride and UFC veteran Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou on third-round punches in the semi-finals of the Abu Dhabi Fighting Championship open weight grand prix at ADFC “Battle of the Champions 2” on Friday at Abu Dhabi Hall in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

More than three years removed from back-to-back knockouts against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Ricardo Arona, Sokoudjou has thus far fallen short of the enormous expectations that had been placed upon him. The 26-year-old Team Quest representative will carry a two-fight losing streak into his next appearance. The once-beaten Abdurahimov has pieced together a streak of five consecutive wins.

Other winners at “Battle of the Champions 2” included 2009 world grappling champion Marcos Oliveira (unanimous decision over Neil Wain) and King of the Cage veteran Jake Short (second-round arm-triangle choke submission against Abdullah Hamdan). Oliveira will meet Abdurahimov in the grand prix final in 2011.

Shooto veteran Tom Niinimaki earned a unanimous decision against Dave Hill in the Turku Fight 2 main event on Saturday at Caribia Hall in Turku, Finland. Niinimaki has won five in a row since losing consecutive matches to Danny Batten, the world-ranked Hatsu Hioki and Tristan Yunker … Journeyman Daisuke Hanazawa submitted Sengoku veteran Seung Hwan Bang with a first-round rear-naked choke at Road Fighting Championship 1 “The Resurrection of Champions” on Saturday at the Seoul Fashion Center in Seoul, South Korea … Pride veteran Daisuke Sugie posted a unanimous decision against Shin Kochiwa at Shooto “Gig Central 21” on Sunday at the Asunai Kanayama Hall in Nagoya, Japan. Sugie, who owns victories over Kultar Gill and Mitsuhiro Ishida, has rattled off three wins in four appearances.

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