UFC 126 and results
Jon Jones and Ryan Bader met at UFC 126 in a battle of two of the top prospects in the sport of mixed martial arts. Jones’ only career loss to this point was by DQ in a fight he was dominating against Matt Hamill while Ryan Bader had not lost a professional fight. One man was going to get a huge win while the other would suffer his first ever legitimate loss.
Jon Jones controlled the first round with takedowns and positioning on top. Bader was clearly uncomfortable fighting off his back and Jones took advantage, moving to north-south position and looking for a choke. Bader managed to survive but clearly lost the round. In the second Bader had some decent moments and landed a few punches but Jones took over with leg kicks and scored a takedown. From there he secured the neck of Bader and forced the submission with a guillotine choke.
Jon Jones begged for a title shot after the win and Mauricio Rua stepped into the cage and appeared to say that he would be up for the challenge. But first – Shogun has to get through Rashad Evans.
Nevermind, they just announced that it is now Shogun vs. Jones and Rashad Evans is out with a knee injury.
- UFC 126.
Forrest Griffin used his superior size to control former middle weight Rich Franklin and took a unanimous 29-28 decision at UFC 128.
Rich Franklin broke his left arm blocking a Griffin kick.
The two former champions touched gloves to start the fight. Griffin caught a kick and took Franklin down. Franklin got guard but Forrest landed strikes from the top. Griffin mixed up punches and elbows but Franklin fought to stifle Griffin’s arms. Griffin finally got extension and landed some big punches from the top. Griffin utterly dominated the first round.
They traded early in the second until Griffin took his back standing and drove Franklin to the mat. Griffin threatened to sink both hooks in and take Franklin’s back on the ground and Franklin stoop up. Griffin took him down again and Franklin got back up. Griffin then staggered Franklin with a hook. Franklin fought back and landed a lead right hand. Griffin ate a left as the announcers speculated that Franklin might have an injured left arm. Franklin ended the round landing punches.
Franklin’s corner told him he had won the second round. Questionable advice as Franklin was likely down two rounds at that point.
Former UFC champions Rich Franklin (28-5, 13-4 UFC) and Forrest Griffin (17-6, 8-4 UFC) meet in the co-main event of UFC 126.
It’s been a long weekend. A late-night train ride, an early morning courthouse wedding, and a pack of drunks shouting over the fights. So maybe it was my more-than-usual curmudgeonry, but outside of Jon Jones undressing Ryan Bader, UFC 126 had let me down leading into the main event. Miguel Torres put on one of the most lackluster and bizarre performances of his career; Jake Ellenberger and Carlos Eduardo Rocha lost all the momentum they built in an exciting first round; and Rich Franklin and Forrest Griffin fought a sloppy co-main event.
I wasn’t worried that neither fighter threw a strike in the first minute of the main event. That’s something you come to expect in an Anderson Silva fight. When a second minute went by, I started feeling a little antsy. As we headed into the third minute without action, I started to wonder if Dana White had that feeling in his stomach. That his pound-for-pound crown jewel was about to repeat his pattern of erratic behavior.
If you blinked, you missed it. The man who knocked out Tony Fryklund with a back elbow and made Forrest Griffin quit with an anchor punch knocked out Vitor Belfort with a front kick to the face.