– WWE Intercontinental Champion Ryback is in Everett, WA today which means he could be returning to RAW after being out several weeks with a nasty staph infection.
– Dolph Ziggler worked the WWE Vancouver, Canada, house show Sunday and did an angle with Rusev.
During the Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt main event last night in Victoria, BC, a fan threw a replica Money in the Bank briefcase which hit Reigns in the back of the head. Reigns was stunned, but continued the match to its conclusion.
The alleged perpetrator and those with him got into a scuffle with security before they were taken out of the arena. Victoria police were also called to the arena.
by Bryan Rose, WrestlingObserver.com
Welcome to today’s coverage of the G1, live in Tokyo at Korakuen Hall. For the first time in what seems like a good while, we’re getting commentary as well.
David Finlay & Jay White vs. Bad Luck Fale & Tama Tonga
Pretty short, even for these tag matches. Just the typical stuff where everyone got a few spots in. Finlay was pinned quickly with the waistlock DDT by Tama Tonga.
Kota Ibushi & Mascara Dorada vs. Toru Yano & Yoshi-Hashi
This was pretty good. Ibushi was on target as was Yoshi-Hashi and Dorada, who had great chemistry. Dorada only working tags in the last year is such a shame as he’s usually a bright light in these tag team matches. He did some of his usual arsenal, including a corkscrew off the middle rope. Yoshi-Hashi takes him down and pins him with the swanton.
Tetsuya Naito & Ryusuke Taguchi & Captain New Japan vs. A.J. Styles & Doc Gallows & Cody Hall
Bullet Club got the heat on Taguchi when, well, they incapacitated his behind through nefarious methods. Captain New Japan made a hot tag and Taguchi tried to assist him by giving him his hip attack finish on Gallows but it hit CNJ instead. All the Bullet Club isolated CNJ and Gallows pinned him with the Gallows Poll.
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Kushida vs. Togi Makabe & Katsuyori Shibata & Jushin Thunder Liger
Liger seems to be taking all of Tiger Mask’s dates at this point since he’s been out for a good portion of the tour with a neck injury. The match was a good, action packed six man. A lot of the teasing was between Tanahashi and Makabe. Liger and Kushida worked the last few minutes and were very good together, with Kushida getting the win with the Japanese rolling leg clutch hold on Liger.
Michael Elgin vs. Karl Anderson
Really great match. This was a fast paced back and forth battle. Both guys worked hard and the crowd was into it. At one point Bullet Club interefered and Elgin sent them packing. Anderson went for the gun stun but Elgin was somehow able to deadlift him and powerbomb him out of the ring and onto the Bullet Club members. They had a intense back and forth battle after that. Elgin hit him with the buckle bomb and tried the spinning powerbomb but Anderson countered the latter into a gun stun for the win. Last few minutes were awesome.
Satoshi Kojima vs. Yuji Nagata
Good match. Story here was Nagata’s ribs. Kojima worked on them early and several times during the match the referee and medical staff checked on him but he refused to give up. Nagata mounted a comeback that people got very much into and applied the white eyes armbar. Kojima tried for a lariat but Nagata nailed him with a roundhouse kick then pinned him with the back drop hold.
Kazuchika Okada vs. Yujiro Takahashi
This was pretty good for the most part. Lots of ref bumps and interference but it worked here and the crowd was very much into the match. Yujiro distracted the referee as Cody Hall laid out both Gedo and Okada on the outside. Yujiro worked over Okada, but of course Okada made his comeback. He took Yujiro and Hall out into the stands and did a big running crossbody over the guardrail and into the seats in the audience. Yujiro made a comeback and hit a buckle bomb and Miami Shine for a great nearfall. There was a ref bump where Hall tried to interfere, but Gedo made the save as Okada eliminated Hall. Okada then hit the rainmaker and pinned him.
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Tomoaki Honma
Good match. Weird in that it was pretty short compared to other G1 matches that night, and most of it was fine, but the last few minutes were excellent. Nakamura took Honma to the outside at one point and just kind of carelessly threw him into the crowd full of people. Nakamura went for a boma ye but Honma blocked it, only for Nakamura to hit it anyway. He went for a second but Honma blocked it and headbutted him. He hit the kokeshi and went for a top rope kokeshi but missed it and Nakamura hit another boma ye for another nearfall. Honma hit another headbutt but Nakamura came back with a standing boma ye and pinned him.
Hirooki Goto vs. Tomohiro Ishii
Awesome match. I don’t think this was as good as the match they had in November, but this was still pretty damn great. Just the intense, stiff action coupled with the fantastic heat from the audience made this a memorable match. It was what you would expect, a back and forth brawl with lots of lariats, brainbusters, elbows and goading. Ishii cut off Goto on the top rope but Goto countered and hit the code red for a near fall. Lots of great action and it’s a very heated match. Ishii hit the sliding D but Goto kicked out. Goto headbutted him in the back of the head and took him out with a lariat. The crowd is completely into this match at this point. Goto hit a huge reverse neckbreaker off the top rope but Ishii still kicked out. Ishii escaped the shouten kai. Ishii tried to headbutt him but Goto headbutted him back twice and pinned him with the shouten kai.
Block A
Tetsuya Natio- 10
AJ Styles- 10
Hiroshi Tanhashi- 10
Bad Luck Fale- 10
Katsuyori Shibata- 8
Kota Ibushi- 6
Togi Makabe- 6
Toru Yano- 4
Hiroyoshi Tenzan- 2
Doc Gallows- 2
Block B
Kazuchika Okada- 12
Karl Anderson- 10
Hirooki Goto- 10
Shinsuke Nakamura- 10
Tomohiro Ishii- 8
Michael Elgin- 8
Yujiro Takahashi- 4
Satoshi Kojima- 4
Yuji Nagata- 4
Tomoaki Honma- 0
A Look At Different Scoring Options – UFC Fight Night: Teixeira vs. Saint Preux
By: Dan Velten
Before tonight’s column, which is part two on different scoring options, I’d like to mention a new weekly column I will be writing called, Reclaiming the Lapsed UFC Fan. Over the past five years, I have been noticing a trend. There seems to be a declining interest in Mixed Martial Arts, specifically the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A lot of fight fans are no longer interested in MMA, and I would like to examine why. As I am sure many of you have also experienced, fewer friends come over for Pay Per View events, even less bother to turn on Fox every weekend, and far fewer buy tickets. In 2010, my living room was filled every PPV Saturday with sometimes 20-25 friends. Now, it is a struggle to get more than one single buddy to come over. Certainly there are many factors, the primary one being that lives change, but I think there is much more to it than that, because theoretically, I should see or hear about younger fans emerging to take their place, and I just do not.
Over the course of this column, I will investigate different reasons that the fans from five to ten years ago are waning, and why it does not seem like UFC is making many new ones. Maybe I will discover I am incorrect.
In a parallel universe back in 2001, the then World Wrestling Federation (now World Wrestling Entertainment) bought out their main competition World Championship Wrestling. One thing that really interested me after the buy-out was how WWE would capture the WCW audience. Seemingly, WW(F)E could double their audience over night. However, as history has shown us, WW(F)E did not do a very good job of capitalizing on this, and a huge chunk of the professional wrestling audience instead vanished. The same thing seems to be happening in the UFC (although they largely bought out their competition a long time ago). UFC is losing the older fans. Sure, most business markers show an increase in profitability, but I am not convinced that this means there are more fans now than in 2010, and I am not certain that their business can continue to grow unless some changes can be implemented.
My new weekly column, Reclaiming the Lapsed UFC Fan, will examine all of the aspects that have led to the UFC losing fans. Part of the reason I am looking at the different scoring options is because an improved scoring system would make for a better sport, and thus a better environment to keep current fans, and possibly bring back the lapsed ones. So, on with tonight’s column…
My quest to expose the current judging system as timeworn and in need of an overhaul continues tonight in Nashville at UFC Fight Night: Teixeira vs. Saint Preux. I would like to continue writing these columns for at least 10 shows to really get a grasp of whether or not changing the scoring would make a difference. This is only show two of 10, and last week’s show did not have any robberies due to judging, though some would argue that Little Nog beat Shogun. I do not think Little Nog’s ribs would agree.
Studies like this have been done before, looking back at old fights, but this will be real time scoring. I will use the same three options as I did at UFC 190 which were my version of the current “10-Point Must” I call “10-Point Open,” “Weighted Rounds,” and “Pride.”
I will only score the main card bouts and only note the scores that go to a decision.
10-Point Must (currently used in MMA) – The round winner receives 10 points and the round loser receives 9 or fewer, supposedly based on the differential of the damage and other advantages.
10-Point Open– This is the same as above, but more of the points will be used, including each fighter potentially receiving 10 points in an even round. It could be determined as follows:
10-10 – No clear round winner
10-9 – Winner barely eked out the round
10-8 – Winner clearly won the round
10-7 – Winner significantly won the round
10-6 – Winner did tremendous damage and dominated the round
10-5 – Winner dominated entire round and nearly finished the fight
Weighted Round Scoring – The first round would be worth 1 point, the second would be worth 2, and the third would be worth 3 points. At the end of the round, the judge simply needs to pick the winner and not worry about the damage differential.
“Pride” Scoring – This would simply be picking the fight as a whole. At the end of the fight, the judge decides who won.
Tonight I’ll give a little bit more explanation of my scorecard.
FLYWEIGHT: Geane Herrera vs. Ray Borg
OFFICIAL RESULT: 30-27 by unanimous decision, Ray Borg
Open Scoring:
Round 1) 10-8 Borg, he dominated with a lot of submission attempts but did not do enough damage to warrant the 10-7
Round 2) 10-8 Borg, by my own description, if a fighter clearly won the round, he gets the 2-point differential
Round 3) 10-8 Borg, because he clearly won the round
RESULT: 30-24 Borg
Weighted:
Rd 1) Borg, 1 point Rd 2) Borg, 2 points Rd 3) Borg, 3 points
RESULT: 6 – 0 Borg
Pride: Borg (This is by far the best method)
Analysis: This match showcased one of the primary flaws with the “10-Point Must” system. Ray Borg solidly owned every round, with only a small blip in the third, and not a single judge gave Borg a single 10-8 round. If being on top, throwing punches, going for submissions, taking no damage, and defending excellently only yields you a one-point edge, why bother with the numbers at all? The sport could simply use a round winner system, and use monetary fines instead of taking penalty points. If it cost a fighter five thousand bucks per eye gouge, or low blow, there would without a doubt be fewer. Yes, in the end the right guy won the decision, but it seems obvious that judges are only using punching and kicking damage to levy a round differential. If the full criteria including aggression, takedowns, and Octagon control were considered fully, the scores would be different and the points would matter.
HEAVYWEIGHT: Jared Rosholt vs. Tim Johnson
OFFICIAL RESULT: All three judges score it 29-28 for Jared Rosholt
Open Scoring:
Round 1) 10-9 Rosholt for the take down and ground and pound but not a lot of damage.
Round 2) 10-8 Rosholt for the near submission finish. Johnson must have some flexible shoulders, or no longer have a rotator cuff.
Round 3) 10-9 Johnson for the barrage at the end, but it didn’t look like Rosholt was close to going down
RESULT: 29-27 Rosholt
Weighted:
Rd 1) Rosholt, 1 point Rd 2) Rosholt, 2 points Rd 3) Johnson
RESULT: 3 – 3 Draw
Pride: Draw
Analysis: As surprising as it was that this fight went the distance; the official score was not. The only real significant damage came at the end of the third, which is why the “Weighted” rounds seem to make sense. At the end of the fight, who would you have rather been? Sure, Rosholt controlled more of the action, but there was little that amounted to much, and he got his head dinged pretty hard in the final thirty seconds. One could make a case for either. Draws would not be so frowned upon if they were more frequent.
LIGHTWEIGHT: Beneil Dariush vs. Michael Johnson
OFFICIAL RESULT: 29-28 Dariush, 29-28 Johnson, and 29-28 Dariush
Open Scoring:
Round 1) 10-9 Johnson because he connected a few times, but not much
Round 2) 10-10 Both guys super fast just getting out of the way of any significant damage and too close to call, but I’ll bet the judges give that round to Johnson
Round 3) 10-10 again too close to call
RESULT: 30-29 Johnson
Weighted:
Rd 1) Johnson, 1 point Rd 2) Dariush, 2 points Rd 3) Johnson, 3 points
RESULT: 4-2 Johnson
Pride: Johnson or Draw
Analysis:
This fight should be a draw. Why did we have to pick a winner here? These too were clearly evenly matched, and neither man gained any significant dominance over the other. I was impressed by the speed of Dariush and I guess the judges scored his jabs because he was landing it a lot. The crowd is booing the decision, but again, this highlights the imperfections of the system. All three rounds could have gone either way, so why not just make those “either way” rounds even?
FINAL THOUGHTS: One of the shortcomings I am already realizing with my experiment, is that because the fighters do not know they are being scored in these different methods, it is not impacting how they fight. I also need to clarify some of the wording of my “Open” scoring criteria. For example, I gave Borg 3 rounds of 10-8, and really, the last round should have been a 10-9 because the differential was not the same as the first two rounds, but given my wording, it had to be a 10-8. The purpose of the “Open” method was to use more of the 10 points, but even in me, the traditional “10-Point Must” system is so engrained I find it difficult to dip to the lower numbers. Before the next column, I will work on the phrasing of my “Open” point criteria.
Other Show Notes:
Matt Brown was interviewed backstage and he said he is looking forward to fighting Kelvin Gastelum and understands why Carlos Condit got the nod ahead of him for the title shot, but looks forward to getting a chance to fight the winner. He believes he should be next in line after he beats Gastelum, which I believe will be the case.
Matt Hughes was also at the show and looked to be a lot lighter than his competition weight.
Robbie Lawler was supposedly here but I never saw him.
Clint Hester was in the front row.
Ray Borg’s face was pretty messed up and Geane Herrera’s was not. There needs to be more points scored for damage from the bottom.
The upper bowl was completely empty. The Bridgestone Arena was at maybe 60% capacity.
All the Tennessee guys were way over, especially Scott Holtzman who is from Knoxville, the new home of Kane. I assume that is the reason he got such a big pop.
Smilin’ Sam had a smiley face cut into the hair on the back of his head. I think the stoppage was a little early, but I don’t think the result would have changed.
The Reebok uniforms look like pajamas, but at least I do not have to see guys wearing those ridiculous Bony Acai hats holding a can of Monster anymore. The new uniforms are seriously awful. My guess is Reebok did not focus group test the new look because I have not heard one person say they like them. I am a big fan of getting rid of the NASCAR style shorts, and banners as I thought it was distracting, but then let us also get rid of the ads along the cage side and the mat. I also think we should limit the sponsorship of god as he seems to only sponsor the winners, which makes the sport feel fixed.
If you have any comments about the article or anything in general, please feel free to contact me at approvedathletics@gmail.com
These were the scorecards for the Michael Johnson vs. Beneil Dariush fight which it appears almost nobody except judges Richard Bertrand and Douglas Crosby thought Dariush won.
Judge Richard Bertrand gave Dariush the second and third rounds.
Judge Sal D’Amato gave Dariush only the third round.
Judge Douglas Crosby gave Dariush the second and third rounds.
By Chris Hughes
Blake and Murphy did the meet and greet before the show but did not wrestle on the show.
– The Vaudevillains beat Jordan and Gable in the opener. Fast paced match that saw English pin Gable with their finish.
– Elias Samson pinned Riddick Moss with a running knee. Basic match, not much to it. Samson still going with the country singer gimmick.
– Mojo Rawley def. Tyler Breeze via DQ in a very short bout when Dash and Dawson interfered. It was announced that William Regal called show host Greg Hamilton and said Mojo could pick any two partners he wanted to face the trio in the main event.
– Eva Marie pinned Carmella with what looked like it was supposed to be a shining wizard, but didn’t quite connect. Eva got a negative reaction, but it was a star reaction. She was good at talking trash and screaming during her moves.
– Apollo Crews (Uhaa Nation) def. Solomon Crowe with a press slam and standing moonsault. Very good match — wouldn’t be surprised if this is the match at Takeover.
– Bayley and Gionna Daddio def. Dana Brooke and Nia Jax (formerly Lina). Big power moves by Nia on Gionna that got over. Bayley got the hot tag, Nia and Dana missed a double team move and Bayley hit the Bayley to belly on Dana for the win. Great reaction for Bayley as always.
– Bull Dempsey def. Angelo Dawkins with the whoopie cushion.
– Mojo Rawley, Enzo and Big Cass def. Tyler Breeze, Dash and Dawson in the main event.
Return date is Friday, September 25.
by David Bixenspan | davidbix@wrestlingobserver.com | Follow @davidbix
Weekend major show notes:
UFC Fight Night: Texeira vs. St. Preux airs live tonight from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee:
Here is WrestlingObserver.com’s coverage:
Main Card on Fox Sports 1 at 10:00 p.m. ET:
Glover Teixeira (205.5) vs. Ovince Saint Preux (206) in a five round main event.
Michael Johnson (155.5) vs. Beneil Dariush (156)
Derek Brunson (186) vs. Sam Alvey (186)
Jared Rosholt (237) vs. Timothy Johnson (265)
Sara McMann (136.5) vs. Amanda Nunes (136)
Ray Borg (126.75) vs. Geane Herrera (126)
Prelims on Fox Sports 1 at 8:00 p.m. ET:
Uriah Hall (185.5) vs. Oluwale Bamgbose (184.5)
Chris Camozzi (185.5) vs. Tom Watson (185)
Dustin Ortiz (125.5) vs. Willie Gates (126 – 126.5 on first try)
Frankie Saenz (136) vs. Sirwan Kakai (136)
Prelims on UFC Fight Pass at 6:30 p.m. ET:
Chris Dempsey (204.5) vs. Jonathan Wilson (205)
Marlon Vera (135.5) vs. Roman Salazar (135)
Anthony Christodoulou (156) vs. Scott Holtzman (155.5)
This is an iffy card with some good fights mixed in. The main event isn’t incredibly compelling, but it’s a good fight. McMann-Nunes is very divisionally relevant and would be huge for Nunes if she wins, but she doesn’t seem like the type of fighter to beat McMann unless her defensive wrestling has improved a lot (and it very well could have at American Top Team).
The best fight on paper is Johnson vs. Dariush, which is a really fun style match on paper and an intersting test of where Dariush’s ever-improving striking is right now if he can’t take Johnson now. Sam “King of Fight Pass” Alvey also gets his toughest test yet in Derek Brunson, which is also pretty fun on paper.
New Japan G-1 Climax Day 14 airs on New Japan World at 5:30 a.m. Sunday morning Eastern time from Korakuen Hall in Tokyo
Non-Tournament Matches:
David Finlay & Jay White vs. Bad Luck Fale & Tama Tonga
Kota Ibushi & Mascara Dorada vs. Toru Yano & Yoshi-Hashi
Tetsuya Naito & Ryusuke Taguchi & Captain New Japan vs. A.J. Styles & Doc Gallows & Cody Hall
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Kushida vs. Togi Makabe & Katsuyori Shibata & Tiger Mask
B Block League Matches
Michael Elgin vs. Karl Anderson
Satoshi Kojima vs. Yuji Nagata
Kazuchika Okada vs. Yujiro Takahashi
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Tomoaki Honma
Hirooki Goto vs. Tomohiro Ishii
WWE has a house show on Sunday in Vancouver, BC (Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt)
AAA TripleMania XXIII from Arena Ciudad in Mexico City on both traditional and internet PPV and at 7 p.m. Eastern
Drago & Goya Kong & Dinastia & Pimpinela Escarlata vs. Daga & Sexy Star & Mini Psycho Clown & Mamba
Cibernetico & Chessman & Averno defend the trios titles against Jack Evans & Fenix & Angelico and El Hijo del Fantasma & El Texano Jr. & Pentagon Jr.
Blue Demon Jr. & La Parka vs. Mesias & Electroshock
Los Villanos III & IV & V vs. The Psycho Circus
Alberto El Patron vs. Brian Cage hair vs.. hair
Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Myzteziz
There will also be a Hall of Fame induction ceremony for both Perro Aguayo Jr. and Hector Garza.
Raw will be Monday night in Everett, WA. Stephen Amell of the TV show Arrow will be a guest doing an angle with Stardust. No Brock Lesnar or Paul Heyman advertised this week, nor John Cena.
SmackDown will be Tuesday night in Portland, OR.
****
The new issue of Figure Four Weekly is now up for subscribers (subscribe to th site here and get access to Figure Four, the Observer, tons of audio, and more) featuring a chat with Konnan about the state of AAA heading into TripleMania XXIII. We discuss the company’s improvements in production, advantages over WWE and differences in philosophy, how to listen to fans, and much more. Plus, as always, we have all of the usual reviews and international news, including Dr. Lucha’s TripleMania preview.
Last week’s FREEFigure Four Weekly is still up with a look at the crazy story of why Gawker thinks the FBI may have helped Hulk Hogan cover up his racist and homophobic comments. A judge has ordered the FBI to turn over the records of their investigation, and what Gawker is saying in court about what has and hasn’t been turned over paints a very interesting picture.
Also, now available for the first time on Kindle (meaning Kindle devices and anything with the Kindle app) is Fall Guys, the seminal 1937 book that has been described as being like the 1930s version of the Wrestling Observer. It was surprisingly not on Kindle already, so we put together a nice version with a full table of contents w/ chapter marks, proper formatting on everything, etc. Right now it’s available from the American, Canadian, and Australian Amazon/Kindle stores OR you can also buy it from anywhere in the world on PayHip, who will provide you with both Kindle and ePub (every other e-reader) format files, and you can either sideload them to your device or have them email it to your Kindle.
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The latest Wrestling Observer: August 10, 2015 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Roddy Piper passes away, WWE Q2 results & analysis
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The Wrestling Observer ranges weekly from 35,000 to 50,000 words covering pro wrestling and MMA internationally. Each issue has coverage and analysis of all the major news, plus every issue breaks major news stories before the Internet sties and has the most complete look at the pro wrestling and MMA business anywhere, plus history pieces available nowhere else.
Our lead story is an extensive look at the career of Roddy Piper. We start by looking at the cause of death, and Piper’s role in the national expansion of WWF and the first WrestleMania. We look at how Piper differed from almost every wrestler in WWF when he came in, why Piper didn’t work certain shows, Piper working outside WWF while under contract, how he flopped in his first WWF run, his runs in California, Oregon, Georgia and the Carolinas before WWF, the feud with Jimmy Snuka, the Hogan-Piper program, The War to Settle the Score, the original WrestleMania and how it changed the history of wrestling, his period in WCW, his relationship with Mad Dog Vachon, his issues with Kevin Nash, how he got started in pro wrestling, the story behind his babyface turns and the loss at WrestleMania to Bret Hart.
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We look at UFC 190 and the storyline that led to Ronda Rousey setting her highest PPV mark. We look at how things have changed for Rousey since February, the interest level of her fight, Rousey vs. Cyborg, ratings in Brazil and the U.S. and match-by-match coverage.
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Saturday Daily Update
But what these documents show, and then I’ll come back and I can talk a little bit about the exemptions and the indexes, but let me tell you what our concern is, Your Honor. So in this investigation what we know is that Mr. Bollea — this is not — I’m not treading on secret ground here. What we know is that Mr. Bollea came with his lawyer, Mr. Houston, to the FBI and asked for an investigation, which they conducted. And what we know from Mr. Hardy’s last declaration is that part of this investigation yielded three DVDs that have encounters involving the three key participants in this — Mrs. Clem, Mr. Bollea, and for portions of it Mr. Clem.
Each of those people has testified differently, they have all said different things about what actually happened, when it happened, how often it happened, whether — what was known. And so one of the reasons why we said we would like to get — we started by just saying look, we thought we would find, which we eventually got in yesterday’s stack, statements by Mr. Bollea and his lawyer, and to see whether what he was saying to the FBI matched what he is saying in our lawsuit.
Turns out, without getting into the specifics, they don’t, that we have essentially under oath testimony to the FBI and we have under oath testimony in our case directly at odds with one another. So we have a situation — and it’s very unfortunate that this is two days or one business day before we’re supposed to start a trial on this matter, but we have a situation where the key participant, the plaintiff, is telling us one thing under oath and telling the FBI something else. So this is why we’re asking — and you can’t use that document to impeach a person if there is a bunch of blanks in it that somebody is saying well, that’s private even though it’s already public.
Welcome to WrestlingObserver.com’s live coverage of UFC Fight Night 73: Teixeira vs. Saint Preux from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. The event is headlined by a five-round light heavyweight bout as former title challenger Glover Teixeira looks to get back in the win column when he takes on Ovince Saint Preux. The action kicks off with preliminary card fights at 6:30 PM eastern time on UFC Fight Pass. The action moves over to FOX Sports 2 at 8 PM eastern time with additional preliminary fights before the main card kicks off on FOX Sports 1 at 10 PM eastern time.
Coverage provided by Dave Meltzer
PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC FIGHT PASS- 6:30 PM ET/3:30 PM PT)
LIGHTWEIGHTS- ANTHONY CHRISTODOULOU VS. SCOTT HOLTZMAN
First round: Low kick by Holtzman. Hard low kick by Holtzman. Hard left by Holtzman. They are in a clinch and Holtzman with an elbow. Hard elbow by Holtzman as Christodoulou separated from the clinch. Back in a clinch and an elbow by Holtzman. Holtzman with a hard punch, elbow, knee and more elbows from close range. Another elbow by Holtzman. Nice uppercut by Holtzman. Left and right by Holtzman. Uppercut by Holtzman. 10-9 Holtzman.
Second round: Body kick by Holtzman. Right by Holtzman. Right and left by Holtzman. Spinning elbow by Holtzman. Head kick by Holtzman. Uppercut by Holtzman. Holtzman continues to land punches. Christodoulou working for a leglock. High knee by Holtzman. 20-18 Holtzman.
Third round: Knee to the body from close range by Holtzman. Holtzman landed a right and an elbow. Big right by Holtzman. Holtzman with a takedown. Holtzman has his back. He’s working for a choke and has it now. Christodoulou tapped out. Totally one-sided.
BANTAMWEIGHTS- MARLON VERA VS. ROMAN SALAZAR
First round: Knee by Vera. Takedown by Salazar but Vera moved to the top. Vera tried an armbar which gave Salazar top position. Salazar remaining on top. He landed some elbows from the top. A stand-up was ordered. Salazar was busy on the ground. Vera landing kicks now. Salazar working for a takedown. Salazar in with a punch. Vera shoved him and went for a punch after the round. Salazar 10-9.
Second round: Takedown by Salazar and has his back. Now Vera has regained guard. A few elbows by Salazar. Vera with a triangle from the bottom and throwing elbows. Vera added the armbar and Salazar got the tap with the armbar.
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS- CHRIS DEMPSEY VS. JONATHAN WILSON
First round: Wilson dropped him with a left and it was over. :50
PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX SPORTS 2- 8 PM ET/5 PM PT)
BANTAMWEIGHTS- FRANKIE SAENZ VS. SIRWAN KAKAI
First round: Saenz with a kick to the body. Kakai with a low kick. Body kick by Saenz. Knees by Saenz. Kakai picked him up and slammed Saenz down. Saenz back up. Saenz landed a good right. Both trading knees. Low kick by Kakai. Saenz worked for a takedown late but time ran out and he didn’t get it. Kakai 10-9.
Second round: Saenz working for a takedown. Didn’t get it. Kakai landed a kick to the liver and punch. Saenz with a takedown and got his back. Kakai back up immediately. Elbow and knee by Saenz. Kakai got a takedown. Saenz back up and landed an elbow. Kakai landed two jabs. Body kick by Saenz. Saenz landed another punch. Close round for Saenz, so 19-19 after two.
Third round: Takedown by Saenz. Saenz got his back and worked for a choke but Kakai out. Elbow by Saenz. Elbows standing by Saenz but Kakai mostly blocked them. Kakai landed a knee. Low kick by Kakai. Body shot by Kakai. Saenz round 29-28.
Scores: 29-28 Kakai 30-27 Saenz 30-27 Saenz.
FLYWEIGHTS- DUSTIN ORTIZ VS. WILLIE GATES
First round: Ortiz took him down. Gates back up. Ortiz with a takedown. Ortiz with another takedown and moved to mount. Ortiz working for an arm triangle. Ortiz gave it up. Ortiz landing body punches. Ortiz landing punches from the top. Ortiz dominated the round but not enough for a 10-8, so 10-9.
Second round: Ortiz with an elbow. Gates tried for a guillotine. They are in a clinch and Ortiz has kept him agianst the cage. Ortiz took him down again. Ortiz landed in mount. Ortiz landing elbows from the top. Ortiz pounded him until Gates gave up his back. Ortiz is working for a choke. Now Ortiz landing a lot of punches. It was about to be stopped when time ran out, a 10-8 round for Ortiz so 20-17 after two.
Third round: Ortiz with a body kick. Ortiz took him down again. Ortiz with a knee to the body and now dropping a lot of punches. Ortiz dropping elbow after elbow. Ortiz landing a ton of punches. This is probably time to stop it. Gates held on. Ortiz dropping more punches and elbows and finally it was stopped by ref Mario Yamasaki.
MIDDLEWEIGHTS- CHRIS CAMOZZI VS. TOM WATSON
First round: Camozzi landing punches. Camozzi had a guillotine but Watson out. Both in a clinch. Left by Camozzi. Camozzi continues to land punches. Knee by Camozzi. Camozzi took him down and got his back. Camozzi trying to get a choke. Camozzi has his back again. He’s again working for a choke. Watson escaped. Body kick by Watson. Right by Watson. Elbow by Watson. Camozzi 10-9.
Second round: Watson with a knee to the groin. He’d been warned about this before. He docked a point from Watson. Left by Watson. Camozzi bleeding from the cheek. Camozzi starting to land the jabs. Left by Watson. Watson went for a takedown. Camozzi easily sprawled and is working for a guillotine. Watson escaped. Knee by Watson. Knee and elbow by Watson. Watson got the takedown. Watson’s round, but with the penalty it’s a 9-9 round so 19-18 for Camozzi after two.
Third round: Camozzi landing jabs. Watson with a elbow from up close. Elbow by Camozzi and he followed with a takedown. Watson looks exhausted. Watson up and throwing uppercuts. Another takedown by Camozzi after a knee. Camozzi up and throwing . Knee by Camozzi and an elbow. Camozzi’s round so 29-27 for Camozzi.
Scores: 29-27, 30-26 and 29-27 for Camozzi
MIDDLEWEIGHTS- URIAH HALL VS. OLUWALE BAMGBOSE
First round: Bamgbose threw a kick and Hall used it to take him down. Hall pounded him out on the ground.
MAIN CARD (FOX SPORTS 1- 10 PM ET/7 PM PT)
FLYWEIGHTS- RAY BORG VS. GEANE HERRERA
First round: Borg missed weight. Borg picked him up and slammed him down. Herrera worked for a heel hook. Borg on top throwing punches. Borg now tried a heel hook but let go. Herrera tried for a triangle. Fun round reminiscent of the style of the old Hero’s promotion smaller guys bouts. Borg 10-9.
Second round: Borg with a left and a takedown. Borg working for a guillotine. Herrera out of trouble. Crowd popped for that. Borg stayed on top with some ground and pound. Borg 20-18.
Third round: Takedown by Borg. Herrera landed an elbow from the bottom and Borg is bleeding badly. Borg is throwing punches. The ref stopped it. Borg is not happy because his left eye is bleeding badly and he’s got to be well ahead in the scores. The doctor allowed it to continue. Borg working for a guillotine. Herrera reversed into mount but Borg up. Herrera tried a guillotine but Borg out. Herrera went for a reverse triangle. Herrera tried it a second time. Borg escaped. Borg got his back as time ran out. Borg 30-27.
Scores: All three have it 30-27 for Borg.
WOMEN’S BANTAMWEIGHTS- SARA MCMANN VS. AMANDA NUNES
First round: McMann trying to thrwo her but Nunes blocked it. McMann took her down but Nunes right back up. Nunes dropped her with punches. Nunes working for a choke. Nunes landing a lot of punches from back position. She’s working for a choke. McMann tapped out. This pretty much ends McMann as a contender and Nunes put herself into position to get a title shot.
HEAVYWEIGHTS- JARED ROSHOLT VS. TIMOTHY JOHNSON
First round: They are in a clinch. Johnson took him down. Rosholt back up. Fans booing the lack of action. Herb Dean separated them. Takedown by Rosholt. Rosholt has full mount. Rosholt 10-9.
Second round: Long clinch. Johnson took him down and got his back. Rosholt reversed to the top. Rosholt working for a top wristlock. Rosholt 20-18.
Third round: Johnson landed a left and several rights. Rosholt got the takedown. Rosholt is tired. Crowd booing. Johnson hurt him with punches. Johnson almost has him out Takedown by Johnson. He shouldn’t have taken him down, he should have kept punching as time ran out because I think his only way to win was via knockout. Johnson’s round so 29-28 Rosholt.
Scores: All three have it 29-28 for Rosholt.
MIDDLEWEIGHTS- DEREK BRUNSON VS. SAM ALVEY
First round: Brunson clinched and throwing punches. Brunson landing big shots. Alvey landed good counter shots but Brunson landing more hard punches. Alvey is in trouble and and keeps eating big lefts. Alvey went down. Brunson finished him with punches on the ground. Alvey is furious. Alvey was in trouble but he’s got a granite chin and wasn’t done.
LIGHTWEIGHTS- MICHAEL JOHNSON VS. BENEIL DARIUSH
First round: Not much happened until the last minute. Johnson stumbled him with a left. Now Johnson landing punches. Johnson with more clean shots. Johnson 10-9
Second round: Knee by Dariush. Another knee by Dariush. Good left by Johnson. Johnson landed more punches. Both landed good punches. Dariush with a left. Dariush landed a left. Left uppercut by Dariush. Dariush went for a takedown but Johnson sprawled. This is turing into a good fight. Dariush went for the takedown and didn’t get it. Johnson 20-18.
Third round: Both standing. Knee by Dariush. Johnson with a left. Nice left by Johnson. Johnson landed a good right. Nice jab by Dariush. Close round. Dariush, so Johnson 29-28.
Scores: 29-28 Dariush 29-28 Johnson 29-28 Dariush. That was a bad decision.
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS- GLOVER TEIXEIRA VS. OVINCE SAINT PREUX
First round: Teixeira took him down but OSP back up. Teixeira took him down again. OSP back up. Accidental low knee by OSP. OSP hurt him with a body kick. Texieira going for a takedown. OSP with punches. OSP hurt him but Teixeira fired back. Takedown by Teixeira. Teixeira moved to full mount. Teixeira working for a choke. . Now Teixeira in full mount. Teixeira firing punches. Teixeira has his back working for a choke. OSP back up. Teixeira took him down again. Teixeira had his back. OSP reversed to the top. OSP working for a choke himself. Teixeira back up. OSP landing punches. Teixiera 10-9.
Second round: Body kick by OSP. Another body kick. Takedown by Teixeira but OSP out and landed a left. High kick by OSP. Right and left by Teixeira. Teixeira with a body shot. OSP looks tired. Teixeira picked him up and took him down. Teixeira landing elbows. Teixeira dropping elbows. Now he’s landing punches. Teixeira pounding on him. Knee to the body by Teixeira. OSP up and landing punches late. Teixeira 20-18.
Third round: OSP is tired now. Teixeira took him down again. Teixeira has full mount and punching. He’s got OSP’s back and working for a choke. The choke is in. OSP went out from the choke. 3:10
Teixeira said, “Cormier, I’m coming for you.”
By Josh Nason, WrestlingObserver.com
Like many, I could use a free weekend away from combat sports and this show closes a hellacious stretch of UFC events this summer. While there’s the usual flotsam and jetsam on the show, the top three fights should send the fans home happy and give us some interesting next bouts for the winners.
Get a quick preview and so much more in this week’s Josh Nason’s Punch-Out featuring special guest and UFC light heavyweight “Filthy” Tom Lawlor.
Our Panel:
– Jack Encarnacao (76-26 | .745) Sherdog Rewind host, The Lapsed Fan podcast co-chair, Steve Austin impersonator
– Steve Juon (69-33 | .676) AngryMarks founder, MMA Mania writer
– John Pollock (67-35 | .656) Fight Network personality, Live Audio Wrestling co-host, The MMA Report host
– David Bixenspan (66-36 | .647) Figure Four Weekly writer, Observer Daily Update writer, podcast host
– Mike Sempervive (65-37 | .637) Wrestling Observer Live co-host | Big Audio Nightmare
– Front Row Brian (63-39 | .617) MMA newsbreaker, Twitter personality, podcast host
– Dave Meltzer (62-40 | .607) Wrestling Observer founder & writer, occasional cougher
– Josh Nason (61-41 | .598) Wrestling Observer digital media and content guy, WON Twitter enabler
– Mike Sawyer (59-43 | .578) Tough Talk MMA, 2014 picks panel champion
*****
> Glover Teixeira (22-4) vs. Ovince St. Preux
Light Heavyweights
After finally making it to the UFC, Teixeira arrived with a lot of buzz and won his first five with four finishes to earn a title shot against then-champion Jon Jones. Then, Jones dominated him for five rounds and he looked listless in a decision loss to current Bellator fighter Phil Davis. Fights against Rashad Evans and Alex Gustafsson fell through and he now gets a crack at the fast-rising OSP.
OSP will fight in front of his hometown crowd (well, Knoxville anyway) and will be looking to extend a two-fight win streak. After a horrendously boring decision loss to Ryan Bader a year ago, he earned back to back first round TKO wins over Shogun Rua and Patrick Cummins. He’s 6-1 in the UFC and has shown a propensity to finish guys on the ground or via the fists. Do we have the next top title contender on our hands?
Teixeira: FRB, Sawyer, Encarnacao, Sempervive
OSP (slight favorite): Nason, Pollock, Juon, Bix, Meltzer
> Michael Johnson (16-8) vs. Beneil Dariush (11-1)
Lightweights
Johnson is fast rising up the ranks of interesting lightweights amid a four-fight win streak that features victories over Edson Barboza, Joe Lauzon, Gleison Tibau, and Melvin Guillard. He’s looked completely different since a two fight losing streak a few years back, and with a win here, he has earned an opportunity against a top 5 opponent.
The 26-year-old Dariush is 5-1 in his UFC career and is riding a four fight win streak of his own. After submitting Daron Cruickshank, Dariush came back on a month’s notice to beat former lightweight contender Jim Miller by decision in April. He could make a case for a top 5 opponent with a win here as well.
The Iranian has looked great, Johnson has looked great, and this fight will tell us a lot about what’s next for both guys.
Johnson (slight favorite): Nason, FRB, Pollock, Encarnacao, Juon, Sempervive, Meltzer
Dariush: Sawyer, Bix
> Derek Brunson (13-3) vs. Sam Alvey (26-6-0-1)
Middleweights
The 31-year-old Brunson has looked great since coming to the UFC in the Strikeforce merger, going 4-1. Since getting TKO’d by Yoel Romero, Brunson has beat Lorenz Larkin and took just 36 seconds to dispatch Ed Herman by TKO in January. He also shares a birthday with yours truly.
Since losing to Tom Watson by bland decision, Alvey has won three straight by first round T/KO which makes this a very fun fight. All three of those Alvey victories were abroad, so in this U.S.-based tilt, we’ll see if the passport punching makes the difference.
Brunson (favorite): Nason, FRB, Sawyer, Pollock, Encarnacao, Juon, Sempervive, Meltzer
Alvey: Bix
> Chris Camozzi (21-10) vs. Tom Watson (17-8)
Middleweights
After being cut by the UFC, the 28-year-old Camozzi was a last second replacement/sacrifice to Jacare Souza in April. Despite winning two outside the Octagon, Camozzi has lost his last five in the UFC. Ugh. Watson is just 2-4 in the UFC, and was last seen being decisioned by Rafael Natal earlier this year. Man, this loser leaves the UFC fight is hot garbage, isn’t it?
Camozzi (slight favorite): FRB, Sawyer, Pollock, Encarnacao, Juon, Sempervive, Bix, Meltzer
Watson: Nason
> Sara McMann (8-2) vs. Amanda Nunes (10-4)
Bantamweights
In McMann’s two flights closest to the UFC sun, she lasted 66 seconds with Ronda Rousey and got roundly defeated by Miesha Tate. In the middle of that, she edged Lauren Murphy in a split decision. At age 34, we may have seen the best of her in the UFC. She fights Nunes who is 3-1 in the UFC with her last win coming over former Zuffa employee Shayna Baszler with her lone defeat coming against Cat Zingano.
McMann (favorite): Nason, FRB, Sawyer, Pollock, Encarnacao, Juon, Sempervive, Bix, Meltzer
By Brian Hoops
1960 – Red & Lou Bastien defeated Al Costello & Roy Heffernan for the
U.S. Tag Team Title
1961 – In Bloomington, Minnesota at Met Stadium; In a Cage Match, Verne Gagne beat Gene Kiniski to regain AWA title. Also,
Hard Boiled Haggerty & Bob Geigel beat Wilbur Snyder & Dale Lewis and Tiny Mills beat Tony Baillargeon. Attendance was 8,055
1963 – In Amarillo, Texas at the Sports Arena; Verne Gagne beat Fritz Von Erich in 2 out of 3 falls to regain AWA Title
Also, Dory Funk Sr & Dory Funk Jr beat Sputnik Monroe & Tokyo Tom on a 2nd fall dq
1972 – In Tampa, Florida; NWA Champion Dory Funk Jr beat Buddy Colt, Jack Brisco beat Ray Stevens and Nick Bockwinkel beat Ron Fuller
1973 – In Columbus, Georgia; In a two out of three falls, hair vs. title match; Bobby Duncum won the Columbus Heavyweight Title from Bill Dromo.
1974 – In Kansas City; Lord Alfred Hayes & Don Fargo vs. The Viking & Mike George, Bad News Beach vs. Bob Orton, Killer Karl Krupp vs. Gene Costello, Central States Heavyweight Champion Bob Brown vs. The Sheik, Handicap Match: Pat O’Connor vs. The Intern & Dr. Ken Ramey and Texas Death Match: Omar Atlas vs. The Intern
1980 – In Green Bay, Wisconsin; In a non title match; The Crusher & Mad Dog Vachon beat AWA Tag Team Champions Adrian Adonis & Jesse Ventura
1981 – Wahoo McDaniel defeated Roddy Piper for the NWA United States
Heavyweight Title in Greensboro, North Carolina.
1988 – In Memphis, Tennessee; Austin Idol beat AWA Champion Jerry Lawler dq, Robert Fuller & Jimmy Golden beat Bill Dundee & Jeff Jarrett, Southern Tag Team Champions Billy Travis & Scott Steiner beat RPMs and Gary Young beat Max Pain
1993 – Tito Santana defeated Don Muraco for the ECW Heavyweight Title in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1997 – Dutch Mantel defeated Jerry Lawler for the USWA Unified
Heavyweight Title in Memphis, Tennessee. On the same card, Steven Dunn
& Flash Flanagan defeated PG-13 for the USWA Tag Team Title.
1998 – Juventud Guerrera defeated Chris Jericho to win the WCW
Cruiserweight Title in Sturgis, SD. Also, Bill Goldberg won a nine man battle royal.