Thumbs way up. Some upsets, burst bubbles, and stylistic surprises, and as expected an off the chart main event. Some questionable decisions but what else is new.
Best fight: Lawler-Condit
Worst fight: wasn’t one
Best performance: Condit even losing
KO: Stipe
Sub: Ortega
Sheldon Westcott eats a couple of Edgar Garcia right hands and very quickly takes it down, ties him in knots, and gets the rather late TKO off about a zillion unanswered punches. Michonori Tanaka aggressive early but Joe Soto threatens off his back throughout and comes on very strong in the 3rd. Entertaining and competitive. 29-28 split Tanaka. Soto would have won by whole fight but by the rounds/points system you can see how it went that way. Dustin Poirer looks outstanding back at LW busting the Joe Duffy bubble, taking a wide but also entertaining and competitive UD with one 30-26.
Striker Drew Dober surprisingly widely dominates the TD game and takes the 29-28 upset UD over wrestler Scott Holtzman. Similarly, Nina Ansaroff outstrikes Justine Kish, who seems overanxious, and Kish comes on late to dominate the ground game. Could go either way. Kish takes the the UD with two 30-27s, which seems weird, as Ansaroff certainly looked to win the 1st. Alex Morono takes a dubious 29-28 x 2, 27-30 SD over Kyle Noke in a very close one. Michael McDonald looking very rusty after two years off gets used as a mat rag by Masanori Kanehara but somehow reverses a sunk-looking arm tri into RNC for the tap in the 2nd.
Tony Sims looks good early at long range and stuffing Abel Trujillo’s TD, but Trujillo counters a power double with a Guillotine for the tap. He’s so strong he didn’t even need proper position, getting pressure using his neck, shoulder and chest. Facially Trujillo and Roman Reigns could be twins.
Diego Brandao outboxes and outwrestles Brian Ortega for 2 1/2 rounds but misses a punch badly in the 3rd allowing Ortega to get position to chain subs till he locks up a triangle for the tap.
Very interesting fight that might have been too subtle for the audience. Basically Lorenz Larkin’s low kicks vs. Albert Tumenov’s body punches. Very close. Like the earlier fight whole fight scoring would be Larkin who finished strong but points go 29-28 split Tumenov. Not popular decision. Both looked very good.
A bigger bubble bursts as Stipe Miocic catches Andrei Arlovski’s always questionable chin with a short right that rocks him and does not let him off the hook and it’s over in 54s. Stipe screams at Dana for a title shot, which seems unarguable. Stipe was just ranting (not in a bad way) and I think on his promo he said at one point ‘I’m CM Punk, bro.’
Carlos Condit turns in a career-best performance in his WW title challenge to Robbie Lawler. Most fluid and instinctive he’s ever looked. Pattern is set in the 1st with Condit constantly moving and leading and Robbie looking to counter after Carlos scores a flash KD. He then dictates the rest of the round, 10-9. Pattern holds in the 2nd but Robbie finds the range and drops Carlos, a lot harder and has him in brief trouble and evens it up. The 3rd is the swing round as it turns out with Carlos again just much much busier and Robbie throwing very little but landing most of it clean and hard. I thought the sheer volume made it Condit’s round. The 4th was similar until late when Carlos rocked Robbie late and had him in some trouble and I thought was enough for a 10-8. The corner told Robbie he needed a KO and he went out and tried to get it, hitting Carlos with everything but the kitchen sink, but he couldn’t drop him and Carlos fought back every time. Early round of the year candidate and fight of the year also. Robbie took the 5th, borderline but IMO not quite 10-8. Both collapsed against the fence at the bell. I had Condit 49-46 but the judges went 48-47 split for Robbie. No losers here. A rematch could be called for but Carlos said he may retire.
Crimson Mask
Good morning Dave, I ordered the show on UFC.tv with a fight pass discount. I definitely got my money’s worth. A solid thumbs up show, with very good prelims, and a great main event. I think a rematch at UFC 200 or that weekend HAS TO happen (sorry Tyrone). And have a #1 contender fight on standby that weekend. I scored the main event 47-47, with the champ winning rounds 2, 3, 5 @ 10-9. I scored Condit winning 1 @ 10-9 and 4 @ 10-8. Lawler did nothing in 4 and CC’s striking stats showed I was justified having a 10-8 score.
Happy WK Eve, James Brown
Thumbs up
Best fight Robbie Lawler vs Carlos Condit
Worst fight Drew Dober vs Scott Holtzman
Best KO Stipe Miocic
Best Sub Michael MacDonald
Best Performance Robbie Lawler & Carlos Condit
Robbie and Carlos was a war, scored it for Condit but 3rd round was so close that i cant be upset about it, way more upset over the Kyle Noke decision. Poirier vs Duffy was also a great fight that is gonna go unnoticed because it aired on Fight Pass and due to the main event euphoria
Wade Haugen
Thumbs Up
Best Fight: Lawler vs. Condit
What a terrible decision. I could see a draw if you gave Lawler a 10-8 2nd round and a 10-9 5th but I can’t see how you give him the fight. Rest of the show was fun if not inconsequential outside of the Miocic KO win.
Mike Hiscoe
Thumbs up show fight of the night lawler vs condit. Worst fight was Justine kish vs Nina Anasaroff. Just an awesome main event. I think the reason I had lawler winning 48-47 was in that third round even though condit threw more, a lot of the punches didn’t land while when they were exchanging lawler got the better of him. Three was the only close round. Every other one was solid by condit in 1 and 4 while lawler in 2 and 5. Again great show.
Corey Lieb
Thumbs up. Best fight lawler vs condit. Think fight is great but being overhyped. Maybe best round 5 I’ve seen, but lot of fight was lawler failing to get off. I scored 3 to 2 for condit. Lawler would have won pride rules. Enjoyed lawler macdonald and lawler Hendricks both times better. Wish Hendricks hadn’t missed weight as I still think he and lawler is best fight to make. Love condit but don’t think he’s top 3 in division at moment. Other than lawler , think Hendricks, woodley, and macdonald all beat him. Don’t think this decision was any more controversial than Hendricks lawler 2 which I thought was more clearly for Hendricks than this was for lawler.
All that said, loved the fight.
Mark Libell
Thumbs way up. Best match was obviously Lawler/Condit. One of the best fights ever, I think. Hope they run it back, I’d pay double to watch it. Worst match I’d say Kish/Ansaroff for lacking anything that looked like pro-level technique. With that main event, easy thumbs up, but the co-main was a great performance and Brian Ortega and Michael McDonald had 2 outstanding submissions. Fun show on the whole.
Kansas City, Kansas: – Heart of America Champion Bob Orton Sr. beat The Masked Monster 2/3 falls (“Masked Monster” unmasked revealing Slim Zimbleman) – Chief Big Heart and Dutch Hefner drew in 45-minutes – Jim Coffield beat Dick Hatcher
1957
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada: – Stan Mykietowich and Ted Stefanyk defeated Frenchy Champagne and John DePaulo for the Madison Wrestling Club Tag Team Title
Amarillo, Texas: – Dizzy Davis defeated Jim Wright to win the Amarillo version of the NWA North American Heavyweight Title
Kansas City, Kansas: – World Tag Team Champions, Ernie Dusek and Joe Dusek beat Mighty Atlas and Bob Orton to retain titles – Sonny Myers beat Mario DeSouza
1963
Rochester, Minnesota: – Non Title:Doug Gilbert & Dick Steinborn beat AWA Tag Team Champions Ivan Kalmikoff & Karol Kalmikoff – AWA Champion Verne Gagne no contest Rocky Hamilton – Gene Anderson beat Pepe Gonzales
1964
Portland, Oregon: – The Destroyer defeated Mad Dog Vachon to win the NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Title
1965
Portland, Oregon: – Pat Patterson defeated Pepper Martin for the NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Title
Toronto, Ontario, Canada: – Johnny Valentine defeated The Sheik to win the Toronto version of the NWA United States Heavyweight Title
1970
Milwaukee, Wisconsin: – AWA Tag Team Champions Mad Dog Vachon & Butcher Vachon beat Flying Redheads Red Bastien & Billy Red Lyons – The Crusher beat Luke Graham – Dr X beat Joe Scarpello – Blackjack Lanza beat Bob Windham – Lars Anderson beat Buddy Smith
Chicago, Illinois: – AWA Champion Verne Gagne beat Bill Watts – Chain Gang Jim Dillinger & Jack Dillinger beat Wilbur Snyder & Moose Cholak – Baron Von Raschke beat Larry Hennig – Pepper Gomez beat Angelo Poffo
1974
Kansas City, Kansas: – Mike George & Jim Brunzell defeated Chuck Riley & Taro Kabayoshi – Tokyo Joe defeated Jim Ledford – Baron Scicluna & Bob Orton defeated Frank Diamond & Danny Little Bear – Bob Brown defeated Pat O’Connor via DQ – Lord Alfred Hayes & Roger Kirby defeated Harley Race & Rufus R. Jones in three falls
1976
Milwaukee, Wisconsin: – AWA Tag Team Champions Dick the Bruiser & the Crusher beat Jimmy Valiant & Johnny Valiant in 2 out of 3 falls – Pampero Firpo beat Baron Von Raschke – Greg Gagne beat Kim Duk – Jim Brunzell no contest Bobby Duncum – Larry Hennig beat Frankie Hill – Jos Leduc beat Don Wade – Khosrow Vaziri beat Paul Perschmann
1977
Atlanta, Georgia: – Bruiser Brody defeated Fritz Von Erich to win the World Class American Heavyweight Title
Memphis, Tennessee: – Dutch Mantel and David Schultz defeated Danny Little Bear and Chief Thundercloud for the Mid-America version of the NWA Southern Tag Team Title
1978
Birmingham, Alabama: – Randy Savage defeated Don Kent for the NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Title
1980
Jackson, Tennessee: – Jimmy Valiant won the AWA Southern Heavyweight Title from Jerry Lawler
1981
Chicago, Illinois: – Dick The Bruiser & The Crusher beat Jerry Blackwell & John Studd by countout – Nick Bockwinkel beat Billy Robinson – Tito Santana beat King Kong Brody dq – Bobo Brazil beat Bobby Vann – Spike Huber beat Ali Hassan – Steve Regal drew El Bracero – Jerry Graham Jr beat Buck Zumhofe
1983
Fort Worth, Texas: – The Great Kabuki defeated Al Madril to win the World Class Television Title
San Antonio, Texas: – Tully Blanchard defeated Bob Sweetan in a tournament final for the vacant Southwest Championship Wrestling Southwest Heavyweight Title
1986
Dallas, Texas: – The Fabulous Freebirds (Terry Gordy, Michael Hayes and Buddy Roberts) defeated Brian Adias and Kerry and Kevin Von Erich to win the World Class Six-Man Tag Team Title
1987
Topeka, Kansas: – Bill Dundee defeated Sam Houston to win the NWA Central States Heavyweight Title
1988
Montgomery, Alabama: – Moondog Spot defeated Tom Prichard for the NWA Alabama Heavyweight Title
Tokyo, Japan: – Abdullah The Butcher & TNT beat Jumbo Tsuruta & Great Kabuki – Non Title: AWA Champion Curt Hennig dcor John Tenta – Genichiro Tenryu & Ashara Hara & Samson Fuyuki beat Yoshiaki Yatsu & Wajima & Ishikawa – Shohei Giant Baba & Akira Taue beat Kimura & Gori Tsurumi – Buddy Landel beat Toshiaki Kawada – Tiger Mask II & Nakano beat Pete Roberts & Paul Harris
1993
Windsor Locks, Connecticut: – The Tazmaniac defeated Flex Wheeler in a tournament final to become the first Century Wrestling Alliance Light Heavyweight Champion
1996
Memphis, Tennessee: – Doug Gilbert and Tommy Rich win the USWA Tag Team Title defeating Jesse James Armstrong and Tracy Smothers
1999
Louisville, Kentucky: – Rip Rogers defeated Doug Basham for the OVW Heavyweight Title
2000
Greenville, South Carolina: – David Flair and Crowbar defeated Kevin Nash and Scott Steiner in the finals of a one night tournament to win the vacant WCW World Tag Team Titles
Miami, Florida: – Triple H defeated the Big Show to win the WWF Title
2004
Bayaman, Puerto Rico: – Abdullah the Butcher won the Universal Heavyweight Title from Carly Colon – Jose Rivera, Jr. defeated Eddie Colon for the vacant WWC Puerto Rico Heavyweight Title
Dana White said he believed Carlos Condit won the fight 3 rounds to 2. Media scores had 15 for Condit, three for Lawler and two had it a draw.
Every judge agreed that Lawler won rounds two and five and Condit won one and four. It came down to the third round, where Tony Weeks gave it to Condit, while Chris Lee and Derek Cleary gave it to Lawler.
The big surprise post-match is that Condit talked of retiring.
“It’s not an emotional thing,” said Condit, who didn’t appear mad at all about losing the decision, even though he said he felt he won rounds one, three and five. “I’m not really dejected. I have to evaluate, but there’s a possibility this fight will be the last one. I’ve been doing this a long time, over 40 professional MMA fights. I came up short tonight. I don’t know. Tonight was kind of a do-or-die moment for my career. I was all in. If I got the strap, I was going to keep on fighting. If I didn’t, I’d have to see if I can continue to do this.”
White pushed pretty strongly that he agreed Stipe Miocic deserved the next heavyweight title shot, but was noncommittal about whether Condit would get a rematch.
We will have more on this story, UFC 195, the Tokyo Dome and more weekend news on the new Wrestling Observer Radio.
Welcome to F4WOnline.com’s live coverage of UFC 195: Lawler vs. Condit from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is the first event for the UFC in 2016 and airs on pay-per-view as UFC Welterweight Champion Robbie Lawler makes his second title defense against former Interim UFC Welterweight Champion Carlos Condit in the main event. The co-main event is a heavyweight bout that could secure the winner a title shot as Stipe Miocic takes on former UFC Heavyweight Champion Andrei Arlovski. Follow along with our live coverage of the event beginning at 6:30 PM eastern time with the preliminary action all the way thru the main card.
We are looking for your thoughts on the event, so send a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best fight and worst fight to Dave Meltzer.
WELTERWEIGHTS- SHELDON WESTCOTT (8-3-1, 0-2 UFC) VS. EDGAR GARCIA (14-4, 0-3 UFC)
First round: Wescott with a bodylock takedown Wescott throwing lefts. He’s got the back and working for a choke. Wescott landing all kinds of punchex from back position. Wescott landing a ton of punches. I’m surpised it wasn’t stopped. This is too many punches. It was stopped way too late. Not as bad as the Sakuraba fight, but it was feeling like the same kind of nightmare.
BANTAMWEIGHTS- JOE SOTO (15-4, 0-2 UFC) VS. MICHINORI TANAKA (10-1, 1-1 UFC)
First round: Holy crap does Mario Yamasaki look like he hasn’t slept in a month. Soto using low kicks. Soto tried a takedown, Tanaka blocked and landed punches. Tanaka landed a right. Soto with another low kick. Hard low kick by Tanaka. Nice left by Soto. Low kick by Tanaka and Tanaka took him down. Soto working for a googplata. Elbows by Soto. Tanaka out of trouble. Tanaka escaped and had a huge smile on his face. Soto 10-9, but close.
Second round: Head kick by Tanaka. Tanaka missing punches. Tanaka staring to land now. Knee by Tanaka but Soto back with a punch. Soto with a hard low kick. Body kick by Soto. Tanaka’s left leg is all red from the low kicks. Knee by Tanaka and a judo hip toss took Soto down. Soto working for a guillotine now. Tanaka cleared it and on top. Tanaka landing some elbows. Nice groundwork by Tanaka. Tanaka with some punches and elbows. Tanaka with more punches. Tanaka’s round so 19-19.
Third round: Tanaka landing some punches. Knee by Tanaka. Left by Soto. Left by Tanaka. Tanaka landing more punches and Soto back with a left. Tanaka with a takedown attempt but Soto back up. Left by Soto. Left by Tanaka as Soto taunted him. Tanaka with a takedown. Soto again working for a guillotine. Soto has a body triangle as well. Tanaka escaped and on top. Soto back up. Soto with a left and right. Crowd really into this. Uppercut by Soto. Trading punches but Soto landing more solidly. Nice left by Soto. Tanaka bleeding from the nose and mouth. Takedown by Soto and he got mount and his back and is working for a choke as time ran out. The crowd really liked the fight, 29-28 Soto.
Scores: Tony Weeks 29-28 Tanaka Adelaide Byrd 29-28 Soto, Chris Lee 29-28 Tanaka. Bad call. Not terrible call but bad call.
LIGHTWEIGHTS- (#12) DUSTIN POIRIER (18-4, 9-3 UFC) VS. JOSEPH DUFFY (14-1, 2-0 UFC)
First round: Poirier landing good shots from a clinch. Duffy with punches. Leg kick by Duffy. Body kick by Poirier. Right by Duffy. Big right by Duffy hurt Poirier to the body. Poirier looks out of trouble. Duffy with a body shot. Two right uppercuts by Duffy. Another right by Duffy. Poirier landing shots from the clihch. Both swinging. This is geat. Takedown by Poirier. Duffy bleeding from the nose. Duffy bleeding from the nose Poirier with a shot. Punch and knee by Poirier as Duffy got up. Hard elbow by Duffy. Both landed good rights. Close round, Poirier 10-9.
Second round: Poirier with a takedown. Poirier bleeding badly from the nose. Blood is pouring out of Poirier’s nose all over Duffy, who is on the bottom. The nose looks broken. Poirier just bleeding all over him. Poirier with an elbow from the top. Nice elbows from the top by Poirier. More hard elbows by Poirier. Lots of elbows by Poirier. Hard elbows by Poirier. Now Duffy bleeding badly from the elbows. He’s got a ton of different cuts. Big rights from the top by Poirier 10-8 round I’ve got so 20-17 Poirier
Third round: Poirier with a low kick. Good body shot by Duffy. Poirier took him down again. Duffy tried to roll out. Duffy went for a heel hook. Poirier escaped and back on top. The ref ordered a standup. There was no reason and fans booed that call. Duffy now landing punches. Left and right to the body. Poirier with a punch and takedown. Poirier with an elbow. Duffy with a triangle right as the fight ended. Really good fight. 30-26 Poirier.
Scores: 30-26, 30-27 and 30-27 for Poirier.
Poirier said he’s coming after the strap. Poirier said I don’t get triangled, I’ve got double jointed shoulders and I don’t get tired.
PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX SPORTS 1- 8 PM ET/5 PM PT)
LIGHTWEIGHTS- SCOTT HOLTZMAN (8-0, 1-0 UFC) VS. DREW DOBER (15-7 1 NC, 1-3 1 NC UFC)
First round: Dober with a left. Body kick by Holtzman. Holtzman tied him up in a clinch. Holtzman has him against the cage. Holtzman trying for a takedown but Dober blocking the attempts. Dober with a takedown. Dober with another takedown. Dober 10-9.
Second round: Elbow by Dober hurt him. Dober shot in for a takedown but Holtzman blocked it this time. Dober with elbows standing. Holtzman with a shin to the face. Takedown by Holtzman. Another takedown by Holtzman. Holtzman with ground and pound. Holtzman with good punches from the top. Holtzman with more punches and elbows from the top. Holtzman’s round for sure so 19-19.
Third round: Dober with a nice left. Dober looking for a takedown and got him down after a struggle. Spinning backfist by Holtzman. Dober took him down again. Holtzman all bloody from an elbow and Herb Dean stopped the fight for the doctor to check on him. Head kick by Hotlzman and Dober back with a punch. Right by Dober. Another right and left by Dobrer. Dober working for a takedown and got it. Hotltzman back up. Another takedown by Dober. He’s got his back. Dober 29-28.
Scores: All three have it 29-28 for Dober. All three rounds were clear.
First round: Ansaroff got poked in the right eye. Kish’s left thumbs went right in the eye. Ansaroff landing punches and kicks. Kish blocked a takedown. Both trading. Kish with elbows. Kish now landing punches. Kish with a knee to the body. Body kick by Ansaroff. Ansaroff with punches. They traded knees to the body. Takedown by Kish. Body kick by Ansaroff and Kish with punches. Ansaroff with some punches. Very close round. 10-9 Ansaroff.
Second round: Kick by Kish. Low kicks by Kish. Both landing hard shots. Ansaroff hurt him with a left hook and a kick. Left jab by Ansaroff. Right by Ansaroff. Kish used a headlock takedown. Kish’s round 19-19, but this round was close as well as Ansaroff was getting the better of the standup before the takedown.
Third round: Ansaroff with a takedown. Kish thought armbar but Ansaroff cleared it. Nice escape by Kish. Kish with punches. Kish with the takedown. Kish with punches from the top. Kish moved to the mount. Now she’s got her back. Ansaroff reversed to the top. Ansaroff’s comeback at the end made it close. I’ve got Kish 29-28 and she should win, but we’ll see.
Scores: 29-28, 30-27 and 30-27 Kish. You could go 30-27 as the first round was close.
WELTERWEIGHTS- KYLE NOKE (22-7-1, 6-3 UFC) VS. ALEX MORONO (11-3, 0-0 UFC)
First round: Morono was taking this fight on 11 days notice. Noke with a kick. Noke with a right. Nice spin kick by Morono. Noke landed a left as Morono was off balance. Big right by Noke. Side kicks by Noke. Morono landed a good right moving in. Noke 10-9.
Second round: Spin kick by Morono. Morono with a Superman punch. Noke missed a kick and Morono landed punches. Morono landing punches. Noke jumped on his back. Morono shook him off. Morono going for a heel hook. Noke out of it and on top. Noke with a knee to the body and punches. Noke 20-18.
Third round: Noke told his corner his nose was broken. Noke kicked the body. Both throwing punches. Morono with a hard right. Trading punches. Noke landing punches. Spinning elbow by Noke. Takedown by Noke. Morono working for an armrbar. Noke escaped. Morono so 29-28 Noke I’ve got. Morono winning would be possible.
Scores: Sal D’Amato has it 29-28 Morono, Patricia Morse Jarman has it 30-27 Noke, Chris Lee has it 29-28 Morono. Morono was shocked he won. Crowd doesn’t like it.
BANTAMWEIGHTS- (#8) MICHAEL MCDONALD (16-3, 5-2 UFC) VS. MASANORI KANEHARA (25-12-5, 1-1 UFC)
First round: McDonald with a big right. Kanehara shot for a takedown and got it. McDonald working for a guillotine with a body triangle. Kanehara out of trouble. Kanehara moved to mount. Kanehara 10-9.
Second round: Left and right by McDonald. Kanehara took him down off a kick. Kanehara moved to side control. Kanehara with knees to the body. Kanehara with a head and arm choke. McDonald escaped and got his back and is working for a choke. Kanehara tapped. Wow. McDonald was losing the entire fight, escaped a submission and then got the win.
MAIN CARD (PPV- 10 PM ET/7 PM PT)
LIGHTWEIGHTS- ABEL TRUJILLO (12-7 1 NC, 3-3 1 NC UFC) VS. TONY SIMS (12-3, 1-1 UFC)
First round: Both threw. Sims landed a right. Sims with a left and right. Sims took him down but Trujillo has a guillotine and tapped him out.
FEATHERWEIGHTS- DIEGO BRANDAO (20-10, 6-3 UFC) VS. BRIAN ORTEGA (9-0 1 NC, 1-0 1 NC UFC)
First round: Brandao swinging wildly. High slam and Ortega tried an uma plata, but Brandao is out of trouble. Brandao with a hard low kick. Hard right by Brandao. Takedown by Brandao. Brandao with punches. Right by Brandao. Both landing punches but Brandao’s shots are crisper. Body kick by Ortega. Brandao 10-9.
Second round: Brandao with a left. Body kick by Brandao. Ortega with a right. Big right by Brandao. Right by Brandao. Ortega with punches. Body kick by Ortega. Brandao took this round as well so up 20-18. Ortega looks to need a finish.
Third round: Both out swinging. Ortega went for a takedown but Brando ended up on top. Brandao let him up and took him back down. Ortega working for a choke. Brandao escaped. Ortega went for a triangle for the submission. It was an Anaconda choke and moved to a mount, went for a guillotine, let it go and did a great triangle set up for the submission. That finish was bonus worthy.
WELTERWEIGHTS- LORENZ LARKIN (16-4 1 NC, 3-4 UFC) VS. ALBERT TUMENOV (16-2, 4-1 UFC)
First round: Nothing happening early. Larkin caught the kick. Low kick by Larkin. Another low kick by Larkin. Tumenov moving in with a big flurry. Right and left by Tumenov. Low kick by Larkin. Hard kick by Tumenov. Front kick by Larkin. Big right by Tumenov. Low kick by Larkin. Another low kick by Larkin. Low kick by Larkin. Larkin 10-9. Close round.
Second round: Larkin with a body kick. Larkin with a low kick. Larkin throwing low kicks. Right by Larkin. Tumenov in with punches. Tumenov landing to the body hard. Larkin with a low kick and Tumenov switched his stance. Tumenov landing lefts to the body. Larkin with a right. Both missing big punches. Tumenov landed a head kick. Big left by Tumenov. Left and right by Tumonev. Tumenov’s left leg is hurt. Tumenov’s round 19-19.
Third round: Tumenov with punches. Larkin with spinning low kicks. More low kicks by Larkin. Spin kick to the thigh by Larkin. Right by Tumenov. Larkin destroyed Tumenov’s left leg. Tumenov with a right. Larkin shot in for a takedown attempt. Tumenov blocking. Right by Larkin as Tumeonv went for the takedown. Larkin 29-28. Another close one.
HEAVYWEIGHTS- (#3) STIPE MIOCIC (13-2, 7-2 UFC) VS. (#2) ANDRE
First round: Arlovski kicking the knee. Miocic hurt him with two punches and finished him with punches on the ground. Right to the left ear, a right to the jaw and a left and Arvloski was down and a few punches on the ground and it was over. :54
Miocic is demanding a title shot and with this one, he deserves it.
UFC WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP- (C) ROBBIE LAWLER (26-10 1 NC, 11-4 UFC) VS. (#4) CARLOS CONDIT (30-8, 7-4 UFC)
First round: Condit with a body kick. Low kick by Condit. Lawler landing good punches. Condit landed a left and a push and Lawler went down. Body kick by Condit and a knee. Condit is hurting him. Body kick by Condit. Another body kick by Condit. Lawler with a right. Knee by Condit. Body kick by Condit. High kick by Condit. Condit with a left and kick. Low kick by Condit. Low kick again by Condit. Body kick and left hook by Condit. Condit 10-9
Second round: Slower second round. Condit with some low kicks. Lawler landed a punch but Condit back with punches Body kick by Condit. Lawler blasted him with a left and Condit went down and he’s inn trouble. Condit tied him up. Lawler wanted him to get up. Made sense for him to do so. Left by Lawler. Head kick by Condit. Lawler with a hard left. Lawler missing big punches. Big left by Lawler. Lawler’s round 19-19.
Third round: Condit with low kicks. Body kick by Condit. Both swinging and Lawler getting the better of it. Knee by Condit and hard punch, Both swinging like crazy. Body kick by Condit. Lawler with a hard elbow. Condit missing a flurry. Head kick by Condit but didn’t land hard. Condit with a knee to the body. Body kick by Condit. Low kick by Lawler. Condit 29-28.
Fourth round: Lawler threw a left. Body kick by Condit. Body kick by Condit. Lawler slipped. Lawler landed a left. Both throwing big punches. Lawler threw a kick and Condit with a low kick and Lawler went down. Head kick by Condit. Condit with a right. Jumping knee by Condit short. Front kick by Condit and hard body kick by Condit. Low kick by Condit. Punches and low kick by Condit. Condit hurt him and Condit trying to finish him. Spinning backfist, knee and a flurry of punches by Condit. Condit landing more punches and a knee. Lawler with a big left. Condit 39-37.
Firth round: Lawler rushed in but Condit landed a few punches. Lawler throwing hard punches but Condit out of the way and came back. Front kick by Condit. Lawler landed big punches. Condit in with punches and elbows. Condit landed several punches and a body kick. Condit landing more punches. Condit landing a lot of punches now. Front kick by Condit. Lawler with a left and right. Body kick by Lawler. Condit back with punches. Condit landing a ton of punches. Head kick by Condit more punches. Lawler with a big right. Big left by Lawler. Condit back. Lawler big left rand big right by Lawler. Knee by Lawler. Big left by Lawler. Head kick by Lawler. Condit with a right. Condit back with punches. One of the best rounds of all-time. Condit back with punches and Lawler with punches. Condit with a right and a left. Both throwing as time ran out. Lawler’s round. This was a match of the year and then some. Lawler’s round I’ve got 48-47 for Condit.
Scores: Tony Weeks has it 48-47 Condit, Chris Lee has it 48-47 Lawler, Derek Cleary has it 48-47 Lawler.
They need a rematch.
I just rewatched round three. This could have gone either way. You could go with Lawler in the third, he landed the best shots even though Condit landed far more. I can’t call it a bad decision although I’d go for Condit. A rematch is the way to go.
Kansas City, Kansas: – World Heavyweight Champion Orville Brown beat Bobby Bruns 2 out of 3 falls – Ray Villmer beat Ernie Dusek 2 out of 3 falls – Ed Virag defeated Karl Von Herbert
1958
Portland, Oregon: – Herb Freeman and Henry Lenz defeated Kurt Von Himmler and Juan Oinada for the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Titles
Kansas City, Kansas: – World Champion Dick Hutton beat Thor Hagen 2 falls to 1 to retain the title – Ronnie Etchison and Sonny Myers beat Lou Plummer and Tommy O’Toole 2 falls to 1 – Otto Von Krupp beat Bobby Bruns
1959
Atlanta, Georgia: – Fred Blassie defeated Ray Gunkel to win the NWA Georgia Southern Heavyweight Title
1963
Fargo, North Dakota: – AWA Champion Verne Gagne beat Moose Evans – AWA Tag Team Champions Ivan Kalmikoff & Karol Kalmikoff beat Larry Hennig & Pepe Gonzales – Karol Kalmikoff drew Pepe Gonzales
1965
Waterloo, Iowa: – Sonny Myers defeated Tom Clark for the Central States version of the NWA United States Heavyweight Title
1970
Dothan, Alabama: – Dick Dunn defeated Rocket Monroe to win the NWA Alabama Heavyweight Title
1971
Honolulu, Hawaii: – Ripper Collins defeated Johnny Barend for the NWA Hawaii Heavyweight Title
1976
St. Louis, Missouri: – NWA Champion Terry Funk beat Pat O’Connor – Dick the Bruiser & Rocky Johnson beat Ox Baker & Stan Stasiak – Missouri State Champion Harley Race drew Rufus R Jones – AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel no contest Joe Blanchard – Jerry Oates beat Lord Alfred Hayes dq
1977
Milwaukee, Wisconsin: – Cage match: The Crusher beat Mad Dog Vachon – Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell & Bill Francis beat Pierre Poisson & Moose Morowski & Baron Von Raschke – Larry Hennig beat Bobby Duncum – Roger Kirby beat Peter Maivia dq – Chris Taylor beat Rodeo Jones
1979
Tampa, Florida: – Dick Slater defeated Jos LeDuc to win the NWA Florida Heavyweight Title
St. Joseph, Missouri: – Randy Alls (Randy Rose) defeated Dick Murdoch to win the NWA Central States Heavyweight Title
1980
San Francisco, California: – Ox Baker defeated Bruiser Brody for the World Class American Heavyweight Title
1981
Orlando, Florida: – Mike Graham and Barry Windham defeated The Cowboy Connection (Bobby Jaggers and R.T. Tyler) to win the NWA Florida Tag Team Title
1982
Hampton, Virginia: – Jimmy Valiant defeated Ivan Koloff for the NWA Television Title
1983
Memphis, Tennessee: – Jacques Rougeau defeated Sabu the Wildman (Coco Samoa) to win the NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Title
1987
Kansas City, Kansas: – The MOD Squad (Basher and Spike) defeated Todd Champion and Dave Peterson for the NWA Central States Tag Team Titles
1988
Tokyo, Japan: – Yoshiaki Yatsu & Jumbo Tsuruta beat Genichiro Tenryu & Ashara Hara – Wajima beat Abdullah The Butcher dq – John Tenta won battle royal – Tiger Mask II (Misawa) beat AWA Champion Curt Hennig COR – John Tenta & Great Kabuki beat Black Assassin & TNT – Akira Taue & Shohei Giant Baba beat Buddy Landel & Paul Harris
1990
Gainesville, Georgia: – Arn Anderson defeated The Great Muta to win the NWA World Television Title
1991
Memphis, Tennessee: – Danny Davis defeated Joseph Magliano (Joey Maggs) for the USWA Junior Heavyweight Title
1996
Morresville, North Carolina: – The Equalizer and George South defeated The Italian Stallion and Star Ryder to win the Pro Wrestling Federation Tag Team Championship
1997
Memphis, Tennessee: – Brian Christopher defeated Wolfie D to win the USWA Heavyweight Title
2015
Mexico City, Mexico: – Mascara Dorada defeated Negro Casas Jr in a tournament final to win the vacant CMLL welterweight title
FLORIDA WRESTLING HISTORY (thanks to Barry Rose)
1941 – Roland Kirchmeyer beat Bulldog Lee Henning
1964 – Eddie Graham beat Bob Orton Sr. via DQ (Jacksonville)
1965 – Corsica Joe & Corsica Jean beat Lou Bastien (Lou Klein) & Dick Steinborn (Lakeland)
After a great year in terms of both business and fight action, UFC rings in the New Year with UFC 195. While this show won’t break any business records, it’s quite likely that we’ll get an early contender for Fight of the Year in the main event as welterweight Champion Robbie Lawler defends his belt against Carlos Condit. We’ve also got a de facto #1 contender bout at heavyweight as Andrei Arlovski tries to turn back the hands of time and get another shot at a UFC title in the latter part of his career. But he’ll have to get past the ultra-tough Stipe Miocic, coming off a brutal 5-round destruction of Mark Hunt.
There are some changes to our panel this year and also in terms of the fights we’ll be picking. With UFC putting more emphasis on their Fight Pass streaming service, the biggest fights aren’t always going to be on the main card. In this case, we’ll be looking at three fights from the main card, one from the Fox Sports One prelims and one from the Fight Pass portion.
Here’s the panel this year. With 2015 Champion Jack Encarnacion retiring after a great 2015, Stevie J is the man to beat from this group:
Dave Meltzer – Wrestling Observer founder
Mike Sempervive – Wrestling Observer Live and Big Audio Nightmare co-host
Front Row Brian – MMA newsbreaker, Beloved internet personality, Podcast host
John Pollock – Fight Network analyst, Live Audio Wrestling co-host, MMA Report co-host
Steve Juon – MMA Fighting/Wrestling Observer writer. Angry Marks founder
David Bixenspan – Figure Four Weekly writer, podcast host
Mike Sawyer – Tough Talk MMA
Josh Nason – Host of Josh Nason’s Punch Out; writer/editor WrestlingObserver.com, WON Twitter guy
Ryan Frederick – WrestlingObserver.com UFC reporter
Paul Fontaine – MMADraws.com founder, WrestlingObserver.com writer
*****
> UFC Welterweight Champion Robbie Lawler (26-10-0-1) vs. Carlos Condit (30-8)
Lawler won the title after battling former champion Johnny Hendricks in two straight five round wars that most had as a dead heat. He defended the belt against Rory McDonald at UFC 189 in the co-main event underneath Conor McGregor-Chad Mendes in what most consider the fight of the year. Condit is the former WEC welterweight champion and UFC interim welterweight champion who will try to reclaim title glory here. He was last seen knocking out Thiago Alves in a two round destruction back in May upon his return.
> Stipe Miocic (13-2) vs. Andrei Arlovski (25-10-0-1) Heavyweights
Miocic destroyed Mark Hunt in his last fight, a fight that was probably stopped about a round and a half late. He’s seemingly been on the verge of a title fight for years now but with a win here is virtually guaranteed to get it. Arlovski returned to UFC in 2014 and has since rung up four straight wins, last beating Frank Mir in a lackluster three round fight last September. It would be a great story if he were to win, but our panel doesn’t give him much of a chance.
> Brian Ortega (9-0-1) vs. Diego Brandao (20-10) Featherweights
Ortega is an unbeaten fighter who competes for the third time in UFC on Saturday night. He was first seen with a dominant submission win that was later overturned due to a drug test failure in 2014. He returned to KO Thiago Tavares after serving his suspension. Brandao is a former TUF winner who has rattled off two straight early KOs since being knocked out by Conor McGregor in the main event of the first UFC Dublin show.
Ortega(favorite): Stevie J, RFred, Sawyer, Nason, Fontaine, Bix, Pollock, Sempervive, Meltzer Brandao: Front Row Brian
> Michael McDonald (16-3) vs. Masanori Kanehara (25-12-5) Bantamweights
The big story here is that Michael McDonald returns after over 2 years away. The former title challenger is still just 24-years old and could be a player in that division with an impressive win here. Kanehara is not being given much of a chance by our panel or the oddsmakers. He is coming off a decision loss to non-contender Rani Yahya, so perhaps that opinion is not unwarranted. Who knows if the ring rust will be a factor here for McDonald though?
> Dustin Poirier (18-4) vs. Joe Duffy (14-1) Lightweights
This will be the Fight Pass “headliner” and in the eyes of many, it’s the third biggest fight on the card. This fight was originally scheduled to headline the Fight Pass show from Dublin a few months back but Duffy had to pull out due to injury so we get the fight here on Saturday night. Poirier has looked absolutely unstoppable since moving to 155, scoring dominant first round KO’s in both of his fights. Prior to losing his last featherweight fight to current champion Conor McGregor, he’d also rung up two straight KO’s at 145. Duffy is, of course, the last man to beat McGregor (early in both men’s careers) and has looked great in UFC, kicking off his career with 2 straight first round stoppage wins. This fight should be quick and violent.
The show kicks off at 6:30 eastern with the UFC Fight Pass portion of the show. At 8 pm eastern, action moves over to FS 1 for the prelims and the PPV kicks off at 10 pm eastern. Dave Meltzer will have live fight coverage here and Ryan Frederick will provide live Twitter updates throughout the show as well.
The UFC kicks off 2016 on Saturday with UFC 195 from Las Vegas. It also marks the second year of UFC action on DraftKings, and they are celebrating with a big contest. Below are our studs, value plays and fighters to avoid in helping you set your line-ups for this weekend’s big event.
STUDS
Michael McDonald ($11,000)
Michael McDonald is the biggest favorite and has the highest salary of all of the fighters on the UFC 195 card, and for good reason. Despite being out of action for just over two years, McDonald is still one of the best bantamweights in the world, with knockout power and good submission skills. He is still young at just 24-years-old. He gets a fairly beatable test in his return to action in Masanori Kanehara. Kanehara hasn’t shown to be much of a threat at 135 pounds yet, and is a journeyman fighter of 42 career bouts, but just two in the UFC. He also doesn’t have the most impressive record. This fight is set up as a perfect bounce back for McDonald, and we expect him to get the job done quickly.
Brian Ortega ($10,300)
Brian Ortega is a rising featherweight with an undefeated record, and he gets showcased on the main card of UFC 195 as the UFC looks to build his resume. It will be another tough bout for him as he takes on former TUF winner Diego Brandao. Ortega passed a tough test in finishing Thiago Tavares in his last fight, but he was pushed to the limit. Brandao will be a foe that pushes him to the limit too. However, Brandao tends to crack under pressure, and Ortega will bring the pressure. Brandao has never put it together against a top opponent, and while Ortega isn’t there yet, he will be one day. I like Ortega’s chances of finishing Brandao, and he’s a good pick at his salary.
VALUE PLAYS
Dustin Poirier ($8,800)
It is surprising that Dustin Poirier is as big of an underdog as he is to Joseph Duffy, and his salary shows that. I actually think the betting line should be closer, but to his credit, Duffy is 14-1 in his career while Poirier is 6-3 in his last nine fights. Poirier has looked outstanding since making the move up to 155 pounds with two first-round finishes, and his striking has looked crisp. Poirier is a finisher and so is Duffy. It is rare for a higher-ranked fighter to be an underdog, and with Duffy being the one to pull out the last time they were scheduled to fight, that could provide Poirier more motivation to finish Duffy. I like Poirier at his salary.
Kyle Noke ($8,500)
This is one everyone should be taking advantage of. When the salaries were originally released for the event, Kyle Noke was scheduled to fight Kelvin Gastelum. He was a big underdog, and his salary reflected that. Gastelum, however, was forced out of the fight. Noke now fights Alex Morono, and DraftKings policy is to not change salaries after they are released, so Noke retains his low salary. With him fighting an opponent making his UFC debut on short notice, Noke is actually a big favorite in the fight. He is coming off a first-round finish of Peter Sobotta in his last bout. With his salary remaining low, Noke should be a must-play on your roster.
AVOID
Sheldon Westcott ($10,200)
Sheldon Westcott is still in search of his first UFC win, and he finds himself in a must-win situation in the opener of UFC 195. His opponent, Edgar Garcia, is in the same position. The loser of the bout is likely cut from the promotion. Westcott hasn’t been impressive during his time inside the Octagon and isn’t a fighter who racks up a lot of points during his bouts. He may get the win over Garcia, but he doesn’t strike me as someone who will maximize value at his salary. I will be avoiding him in my line-ups.
Nina Ansaroff ($8,700)
Nina Ansaroff has an umimpressive 6-4 record in her career, but she has won five of her last six bouts. She did lose her UFC debut to Juliana Lima, and had her last fight cancelled the day of the fight when she fell ill during rehydration. She missed weight for that scheduled fight against Rose Namajunas. She makes her return against Justine Kish, a 4-0 strawweight making her UFC debut after dealing with a knee injury. Kish is a solid fighter and a big favorite, and she should get the win. With that, I’m fading Ansaroff in my line-ups.
OUR LINEUPS:
RYAN FREDERICK: Michael McDonald ($11,000), Stipe Miocic ($10,500), Brian Ortega ($10,300), Dustin Poirier ($8,800), Kyle Noke ($8,500)
I like Michael McDonald to get an impressive and quick finish in his UFC return. Stipe Miocic has a good salary and I think he finishes Andrei Arlovski. He is also a volume striker with good takedowns and will come at Arlovski a lot while the fight lasts. Brian Ortega should get the finish of Diego Brandao. I like Dustin Poirier against Joseph Duffy at his salary. Finally, I’m going with Kyle Noke. His salary is too good to pass up against a late replacement who will come in overmatched. I’m sensing all five of these guys winning, and winning by stoppage.
PAUL FONTAINE: Joseph Duffy ($10,600), Albert Tumenov ($10,100), Abel Trujillo ($10,000), Robbie Lawler ($9,800), Andrei Arlovski ($8,900)
Robbie Lawler and Carlos Condit should have a war with a ton strikes thrown and someone getting KO’d. My money’s on the champion here. Arlovski is a bit of a chance but if he connects, Miocic could get dropped early and Miocic has had a tendency to choke when he gets close to a title shot, as he is now. Tumenov is one of the most underrated fighters in any weight class, although not here by the people that sest the Draft Kings salaries. I like the Russian to ring up his fifth straight UFC win as he marches toward the top 10. Trujillo is either going to get knocked out or knock someone out and I think this is his turn to do the latter. Sims looked good in his UFC debut against Steve Montgomery but not so much in his follow-up fight. I like Trujillo to come out with an early blitz and finish Sims. My last pick may be the fight I’m most looking forward to and that’s Joseph Duffy. I love this fight and I think either guy could win but I think the extra size and power of the Irishman is going to come into play here and end up with a 3rd straight stoppage win for the last man to beat Featherweight Champion Conor McGregor (couldn’t get through this without saying that!).
PEACH MACHINE: Scott Holtzman ($10,400), Albert Tumenov ($10,100), Abel Trujillo ($10,000), Robbie Lawler ($9,800), Dustin Poirier ($8,800)
I love Lawler to light up Condit big time and score mega points en route to a late stoppage. Poirier is gonna waffle this kid. Just because he’s Irish, everyone’s super into Duffy. DP is gonna stick a potato in his ear. Holtzman is a late replacement but he’s been training solidly for a fight since his first tilt in August and actually asked for a match on short notice. I saw him live in August and just saw him train in Glendale. He’s going to be too fast for Dober and get a finish. Tumenov is going to ground and pound Larkin for three rounds. Trujillo will bounce back from a loss and smash Tony Sims. I’m actually feeling pretty good about my picks this week.
Full entrance for R-Trizzle, who thankfully remembers that he is in fact in Washington D.C. tonight. Eden can be seen laughing in the background at 1993’s catchphrase-du-jour, “Whoomp, there it is!” People over there, what’s up, indeed.
Rich Brennan informs me that his opponent, Heath Slater, finished #8 in the Slammy voting for Superstar of the Year. Huh.
Brennan and Byron Saxton hilariously talk about the prospect of The Big Show winning this year’s Royal Rumble, as Truth gets the shine. Our forgetful hero taunts Slater with what Byron calls the “jiggy jiggy” off a failed Irish whip, before dodging Heath and sending him crashing to the outside leading into commercials.
Slater the works the left knee forever when we get back, before we get a quick Truth comeback and a Lie Detector out of nowhere for the pinfall victory. This went over nine minutes (not including the commercials) and I felt every minute of it.
Titus O’Neil def. Adam Rose by pinfall
Adam’s TitanTron reminds me that they’ve mercifully dropped the Rosebush segments on RAW. And by the look of his morose, disinterested demeanour, he ain’t too pleased about it either.
Announcers mention that Titus and Darren have been dipping their respective toes in the singles competition waters of late. At least Titus, a Main Event fixture, has had those exploits televised. Young was reduced to defeating Curtis Axel in a dark match at this particular taping.
Trademark overhand chop in the corner from Mr. O’Neil, followed by the ol’ rib-breaker toss that he’s equally fond of – which I’m reliably informed is called the Pay Check.
Short match here that went just over four minutes. Quick heat segment from Rose after he used a rope break to his advantage, only to get cocky and allow Titus to come back at him with impressive fire.
Big boot, The Meltzer Bark, a stinger splash and a Clash of the Titus wraps it up for the big man. He millions-of-dollarses with a frankly quite befuddled and bespectacled old man afterwards to celebrate.
– Recap of the Vince angle from RAW, entitled “Arrested Developments” by the Main Event producer, in what may or may not be a nod at the greatest sitcom of all time (season four notwithstanding).
Jack Swagger def. Stardust by submission
Swagger dominates leading into an early commercial break. He then takes an impressive bump to the outside when we return, slamming off the ring steps after a failed corner charge.
Work rate disproportionate to a show of Main Event’s standing continues, as Stardust hits a massive superplex off the top rope to highlight the heat portion of the match.
Swagger then starts his comeback by foiling a subsequent Figure Four attempt, before hitting a running clothesline on the outside to get the crowd going.
Back in and Stardust dodges the Swagger Bomb, before hitting a Side Effect for two. A nice series of reversals follows, as Swagger catches ‘Dust off a Disaster Kick attempt, only to find himself sunset flipped. Swagger then avoids the pinfall by countering into the Patriot Lock, which Stardust escapes.
Finishing sequence sees Stardust land on his feet off a Swagger back suplex attempt. He immediately lines up the Queen’s Crossbow, only for Swagger to roll him into another Patriot Lock, which this time gets the tap. Really good effort from these two.
Final Thoughts
A second featured contest in as many weeks for Swagger and he again turns in a surprisingly good bout by C-show standards. Watch that and ditch the rest.
Welcome to F4WOnline.com’s live coverage of the UFC 195: Lawler vs. Condit weigh-ins from the Marquee Ballroom at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. The fighters will hit the scale at 7 PM eastern time. The card airs on Saturday with the main card on PPV at 10 PM eastern time. Preliminary card action kicks off at 6:30 PM eastern time on UFC Fight Pass before heading over to FOX Sports 1 at 8 PM eastern time with additional preliminary bouts. This event marks the first fight card for the UFC in 2016.
The event is headlined by a UFC Welterweight Championship bout as current UFC Welterweight Champion Robbie Lawler makes his second title defense, this time defending against fourth-ranked welterweight and former Interim UFC Welterweight Champion Carlos Condit. In the co-main event, it will be a potential title eliminator in the UFC’s heavyweight division as third-ranked Stipe Miocic takes on second-ranked former UFC Heavyweight Champion Andrei Arlovski, winner of his last six fights. Also on the card, in a highly featured bout on UFC Fight Pass, will be lightweights Dustin Poirier and Joseph Duffy.
MAIN CARD (PPV- 10 PM ET/7 PM PT): Robbie Lawler (170) vs. Carlos Condit (169) – UFC Welterweight Championship Stipe Miocic (241.5) vs. Andrei Arlovski (246.5) Lorenz Larkin (171) vs. Albert Tumenov (171) Diego Brandao (146) vs. Brian Ortega (145.5) Abel Trujillo (156) vs. Tony Sims (156)
PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX SPORTS 1- 8 PM ET/5 PM PT): Michael McDonald (136) vs. Masanori Kanehara (135) Kyle Noke (170.5) vs. Alex Morono (170) Justine Kish (116) vs. Nina Ansaroff (116) Scott Holtzman (155.5) vs. Drew Dober (155.5)
PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC FIGHT PASS- 6:30 PM ET/3:30 PM PT): Dustin Poirier (155.5) vs. Joseph Duffy (155) Joe Soto (135.5) vs. Michinori Tanaka (135.5) Sheldon Westcott (170) vs. Edgar Garcia (170)
This Monday marks the second biggest wrestling show of the year, WrestleKingdom 10. It promises to be a huge show with plenty of awesome wrestling action. It will also attract a lot of people who haven’t watched that much Japanese wrestling, or those who only watch the biggest shows. For those people who are new to watching WrestleKingdom, here are five things that you need to know, or at the very least will help you out in maximizing your fun and decreasing the confusion you might have going into something completely new and different.
1. The show will be pretty darn long if you’re watching live.
With this year’s WrestleKingdom show no longer airing at PPV, New Japan will be less stingy with time this year. Not only will the show more than likely be over four hours (most of New Japan’s big shows are near the five hour mark) there will also be a 90 minute pre-show before the main card. This will feature the New Japan Rumble, which is basically a Royal Rumble featuring all the New Japan guys who are not on the card plus a few legends (last year included the likes of Hiro Saito and The Great Kabuki).
While watching a show that might go over seven hours sounds daunting, most New Japan shows are so well paced the time will fly by pretty fast. Just be prepared to clear your schedule if you’re planning to watch the whole show, including the rumble, live. If not, most PPVs are usually on New Japan World later that day anyway, so you can still watch the show in a timely manner.
For the record, if you are looking to sign up for New Japan World for the first time, you can do so here. There is “select language” feature at the top of the page, and once selecting that you’ll see the sign up button at the top of the page, where English directions to sign up are provided.
2. There will be English commentary.
The big difference between this year’s show and last year’s show, as previously mentioned, is that WrestleKingdom 10 won’t be on PPV. Last year’s show is a joint venture between New Japan and Global Force Wrestling. This year there is no GFW involvement, so the only way to see the show live will be via New Japan World. The good news is that New Japan has brought in ROH announcer Kevin Kelly and widely known color commentator Matt Striker to call the action in English, with inactive NJPW wrestler Yoshi Tatsu being brought back to translate whatever promos and storylines happen on the show. It might not be the best commentary team of all time, but I found their work to be solid at King of Pro Wrestling and I expect there to be improvements for the second biggest wrestling event of the year.
Keep in mind for the future that all big New Japan shows will probably have English commentary. The trend started at King of Pro Wrestling, and it will continue at WrestleKingdom and most likely Invasion Attack and G1 Finals later this year.
3. There will be shows before and after WrestleKingdom.
If you thought 7 hours of New Japan on a Monday morning was just not enough to saite your needs, good news! There will be shows on 1/2 as well as on 1/5 featuring matches between all of your favorite New Japan guys. The ⅓ card will feature the debut of two new rookies making their professional wrestling debut as Kanemitsu Taruaki and Kawato Hirai will compete in singles matches against Sho Tanaka and Yohei Komatsu, respectively. It will be interesting to see if this is the swan song for both Tanaka and Komatsu as the rumor is they are soon to be setting out on their excursions. Beyond the rookies making their debut, the ⅓ show will also feature a six man with Jay White, Tiger Mask and Jushin Liger taking on David Finlay, Mascara Dorada and Ryusuke Taguchi.
New Year’s Dash, the show taking place after the Tokyo Dome event on ⅕, currently has no card. Like other years, most likely the card will be announced the day of the show, probably with many tag team matches since everyone will have had their working boots on the day before.
Both shows are scheduled to be broadcast on New Japan World, with the 1/3 show airing at 7 pm PT on 1/2 (I know, time is weird), with the 1/5 show airing at 1:30 am PT.
4. With the exception of one match, every match on the WrestleKingdom card will be for a championship.
You don’t absolutely NEED to know this if this is your first time tuning in, but it’s an interesting fact nonetheless. This year’s show is interesting in that every title in New Japan will be defended. This isn’t a big shock, as most shows in previous years have had many title matches. But this factoid is amazing in that every match on the show, with the exception of the New Japan Rumble and a grudge match between Tetsuya Naito and Hirooki Goto, will be for a championship.
We have the major titles on the line, with Tanahashi/Okada and Nakamura/Styles for the Heavyweight and Intercontinental titles respectively. The NEVER title will be defended with Tomohiro Ishii defending against Katsuyori Shibata. It’s weird that the NEVER concept died so quickly, as originally it was supposed to be a title for younger contenders from both weight classes to compete for, which isn’t the case at all now. So it’s even weirder that a new set of six man tag belts are being made, complete with the NEVER name, with The Briscoes and Yano facing off against Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga and Yujiro Takahashi to determine the first champions.
Even with all of that, there are still four other titles being defended. You have both tag team titles being defended as Bullet Club (Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows) defends against Great Bash Heel (Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma). The Ring of Honor title will be defended for the first time in New Japan Pro Wrestling as champion Jay Lethal defends against Michael Elgin. And finally, both Junior titles are on the line as Kenny Omega defends against Kushida and reDragon defends in a fourway against the Young Bucks, Roppongi Vice and Matt Sydal/Ricochet.
In other words…if you love title matches, this is the show for you. New Japan title matches are always special, so expect everyone to have their working boots on. You can also take bets on how many titles change hands and how many don’t with your friends!
5. This isn’t Okada and Tanahashi’s first match, and if history proves right it won’t be their last.
One of the best feuds of this decade has been between Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kazuchika Okada. Still considered the true ace of the promotion, Tanahashi has had problems with Okada dating back to Okada’s re-emergence from his TNA excursion in 2012. Ever since then, they’ve faced off seven times, six since Okada’s return, with Okada in the lead with 4 wins over Tanahashi’s 3.
The biggest factor in this match however isn’t the overall number of wins, but the wins in the Tokyo Dome. Okada has been unable to defeat Tanahashi in Tokyo Dome matches twice now, and considering he left their match last year in tears, he is sure to want to gain a measure of revenge by beating Tanahashi where it counts the most, at WrestleKingdom. While this all feels like a culmination of a feud that has now lasted four years, it might not be their last as they’ll more than likely face each other again down the road. It’s just that more than likely, it won’t have the same ramifications as this match does.
