UFC 84: Preliminary Fights

Christian Wellisch vs. Shane Carwin
Heavyweight Fight

Round One:
Carwin looks for an early strike attack, and he gets it, dropping Wellisch with a right and winning the fight in less than a minute.

Shane Carwin won via knockout (punch) at :44 of Round One.

Jason Tan vs. Dong Hyun Kim
Welterweight Fight

Round One:
Kim knocks Tan down with a strike early. Tan recovers and goes for a takedown, but Kim uses elbows to reverse and gets on top. He advances to mount and goes to town on Tan. Tan survives the onslaught as the bell sounds.

Round Two:
Tan tries to rebound with a kick attempt and a takedown attempt, but Kim remains in control. He reverses the takedown and then takes Tan to the mat. He has more trouble advancing position, however, and only spends a portion of the round in side control. Still, easily a Kim round.

Round Three:
Kim uses a hip toss to land Tan on his back. Kim follows up with elbows and puts Tan away.

Dong Hyun Kim won via TKO (strikes) at :25 of Round Three.

Jon Koppenhaver vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida
Welterweight Fight

Round One:
Yoshida executes a Judo throw to gain the advantage from clinch. Yoshida follows up by snapping in a guillotine, he then switches to an anaconda choke and brings an end to the fight for "War Machine," who goes to sleep as a consequence of not tapping.

Yoshiyuki Yoshida won via submission (anaconda choke) at :56 of Round One.

Rich Clementi vs. Terry Etim
Lightweight Fight

Round One:
After a routine feeling out process, Clementi scores a takedown. He does nothing from the dominant position, however, and referee Yves Lavigne brings things to the feet. Etim then connects with some punches that drop Clementi at one point; both trade as the round closes.

Round Two:
After some trading, Clementi shoots for a takedown, and Etim pulls guard in response. Clementi eventually works to side control, but inactivity again results in a stand-up. Etim locks in a guillotine, but Clementi manages to free himself. Inside Etim's guard, Clementi is neutered as the round comes to an end.

Round Three:
In a repeat of his earlier takedowns, Clementi brings Etim down but again finds himself doing little from the guard. Back on their feet, Etim lands a knee, but then Clementi responds with a takedown that allows him to ride out the round.

Rich Clementi won via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Rameau Sokoudjou vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura
Light Heavyweight Fight

Round One:
Sokoudjou works low kicks early on, delivering crushing blows the legs and ribs of his opponent. Nakamura looks for a takedown as the action comes to a stall. Towards the end of the round, Sokoudjou finally turns up the heat, delivering a kick and then pushing forward with a right to the head. Sokoudjou pounces on top with blows, but the round comes to an end.

Nakamura cannot continue, however, and the fight is called in the African Assassin's favor.

Rameau Sokoudjou won after Round One via TKO (strikes).

Ivan Salaverry vs. Rousimar Palhares
Middleweight Fight

Round One:
Palhares takes Salaverry down from a bodylock and advances to mount. Salaverry gives up his back as an escape mechanism, but it fails, and Palhares transfers from a failed choke attempt to an armbar, which gives him the submission win.

Rousimar Palhares won via submission (armbar) at 2:36 of Round One.

UFC 84: Main Card Fights

Thiago Silva vs. Antonio Mendes
Light Heavyweight Fight

Round One:
Here we go! UFC 84's main card is underway.

Mendes opens with a high kick. Silva blocks it, but the force is so strong that he gets dropped anyway.

Silva recovers and the two clinch. As soon as they separate, Mendes drops Silva with a right hand. He cannot finish the action on the ground, and they get back to their feet.

Silva connects with a soft punch and then clinches Mendes against the cage. Mendes tries to hip toss Silva, but he fails, and Silva ends up on top. He works from half guard and then advances to mount. Silva throws a punch and an elbow, but Mendes temporarily gets Silva out of mount.

In side control, Silva pushes right through and gets back to mount. He continues laying down strikes from the top. Mendes is rolling around, trying to find an option to escape, but he cannot do it. Silva ends the fight with his intensity, as Mendes is forced to tap to strikes.

Thiago Silva won via submission (strikes) at 2:24 of Round One.

Tito Ortiz vs. Lyoto Machida
Light Heavyweight Fight

Round One:
Machida makes the first contact with a leg kick. The crowd is behind Tito right now; both men are hesitant to engage.

Machida keeps throwing in some leg kicks; Ortiz is waiting for a chance to unload. He grabs a leg for an attempted takedown, but there is little behind the attempt and Machida shakes it off.

Ortiz moves forward with some punches that do not really land. Ortiz grabs a Muay Thai clinch and throws a knee to the chin. It doesn't connect cleanly, and Machida breaks free from the clinch. Straight kick from Machida, but Ortiz walks through it and tries to clinch. Machida tosses Ortiz right off.

Ortiz connects with a right to the side of Machida's head; Machida responds with yet another leg kick.

Machida lands a left hand. Kick to the elbow from Machida. They trade blows as Ortiz drops his head.

High kick from Machida this is blocked by Ortiz. Ortiz is having significant trouble locking up Machida's body. Another leg kick from Machida.

Machida fakes a kick and then delivers another high kick. Ortiz's hands are high, though so he's able to block it.

Another switch kick from Machida to Ortiz's body. Machida then clinches up and rams Ortiz to the mat. He lands in side control and throws a series of undefended punches; Ortiz is saved by the bell.

Round Two:
Ortiz opens with a leg kick, but Machida follows with a left straight and then a leg kick of his own.

Ortiz tries for a takedown, but Machida dodges it and then lands a kick to the body. Machida is not necessarily on the offensive, but he owns all the offense. He keeps connecting with some light counter blows.

High kick from Machida that makes a nasty sound, but Ortiz is still standing. He moves forward and just doesn't come close with punch attempts. Bodykick from Ortiz, but Machida dodges a follow-up punch. He then throws a leg kick of his own.

Ortiz shoots, but Machida easily sprawls to defend it. Ortiz decides to drop down with a guard pull. He then uses the fence to get back to his feet.

Machida delivers a knee to the face. Ortiz just cannot find a way to hit Machida. He drops his arm and encourages Machida to move in. Machida does respond by connecting with some punches, but then Ortiz lets loose and connects with a bodykick as the bell sounds.

Round Three:
Ortiz moves through with a right hand. He clinches and then delivers knees and some shots to the body. Machida slips out, though. Leg kick from Machida.

High kick attempt from Ortiz.

Knee from clinch for Ortiz. Big right hook from Ortiz, followed by a Muay Thai lcinch. He connects with a right hand, despite being forced against the cage. Big elbow from Machida. Ortiz reverses Machida and grabs a leg, but he just cannot get the takedown. Machida backs up and pushes Ortiz against the cage.

A period of inactivity in clinch leads to a separation. Ortiz walks in, and Machida lands a knee. Ortiz shows pain and drops down, and Machida works from Ortiz's very tight guard.

Ortiz sets up a triangle choke out of nowhere, and then advances to an armbar, but Machida slides out of it and ends the round on top.

Lyoto Machida won via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).

Wilson Gouveia vs. Goran Reljic
Light Heavyweight Fight

Round One:
Reljic misses on a big high kick as the fight gets going. Leg kick from Gouveia, but Reljic counters with a straight left.

Reljic lands a high kick on the second attempt. He keeps delivering big high kicks, as Gouveia struggles to find his rhythm. Reljic is firing hard from counter.

Gouveia swings forward and does connect, but he slips a little bit and eats a counter from Reljic. Left straight from Reljic; he continues to have an understanding of Gouveia's timing.

Gouveia eats another big bodykick from Reljic. Right hand from Reljic followed by two blocked high kicks. Gouveia's working through Reljic's shots, but he's not putting together a rhythm of his own. Right hand from Gouveia; Gouveia then connects with an uppercut and another big hand.

Bodyshot from Gouveia as he starts to unload. Reljic has no chance but to pull Gouveia into his guard, as the standup game was starting to fall apart for him.

The round ends with Gouveia on top.

Round Two:
Some feeling out as the second round begins. Reljic pushes forward with a kick to the body. Gouveia refuses to stand back, though, and he drops Reljic with an offensive strike. Reljic pops back up, but Gouveia continues the assault and gets Reljic back down.

He starts delivering bombs from inside Reljic's guard. Thanks to the loose hold on the guard, Gouveia is able to advance to half guard and get a better position. Reljic eventually works out, but his face shows the damage of the ground and pound.

Back on their feet, Reljic drops Gouveia with a left hand to the face. He continues the onslaught and eventually gets the stoppage.

Goran Reljic won via TKO (strikes) at 3:15 of Round Two.

Keith Jardine vs. Wanderlei Silva
LIght Heavyweight Fight

Round One:
And, we're off!

Jardine opens up with some strikes; Silva is more effective, however, and rocks Jardine with some counters. He then follows up a right hand to the head and a left jab that sends Keith down to his knee. Silva then continues going wild on a grounded Jardine, securing a finish as Jardine is out cold on his back.

Wanderlei Silva won via KO (strikes) at :36 of Round One.

BJ Penn vs. Sean Sherk
UFC Lightweight Championship Fight

Round One:
This is it. The trash-talking, the accusations and the disputes of legitimacy all end right here.

Sherk goes immediately for a leg, but BJ Penn shakes him off and uses strikes to reverse. Sherk catches BJ on a counter shot, but Penn responds with a series of snappy left hands.

Penn moves forward with a lead right hand, but Sherk blocks it. Sherk tries to throw from counter, but he's having mixed success—he does finally return with a crisp jab, but Penn is right back with his own strikes.

Left hand from Sherk. Penn throws some hands, and Sherk ties up the arms to close the distance. Sherk throws an elbow from this position, but that gives Penn the room he needs to escape from the hold.

Sherk hits a left hand, but Penn bounces back with a left hook of his own. Left jab to the chin from Sherk, and a left hook, followed by a right hand and two jabs from Penn.

They clinch up, and Penn lands a knee to the stomach. He doesn't tried to hold the clinch, and Sherk fires back.

Sherk is connecting occasionally, but the stand-up belongs to Penn, even if only slightly. Big right hand from Penn, followed by a left jab. Sherk is not trying, at least right now, for the dominant takedowns that gave him the definitive victories over Kenny Florian and Hermes Franca. Penn distances himself by a small extent as the round ends. He definitely takes it, but Sherk held up successfully in the striking battle.

Round Two:
Sherk opens up with a jab. Right hand from Sherk, but Penn catches Sherk with a left. Two left hands land for Sherk, as does a leg kick. Another leg kick for Sherk.

Sherk drops his head, and Penn lands an uppercut. Sherk tries to fire back from counter but Penn takes it. Sherk then lets loose with a multiple-punch combination, but Penn uses a Muay Thai clinch to hang on and neutralize the threat. They separate fromt hat position and go back to circling.

Left hand from Sherk. Knee from Penn after dodging a punch, but Sherk is definitely getting comfortable on his feet. He's continually hitting shots now.

Penn is now eating some jabs as a way of creating opportunities to deliver knees to the face. Sherk's face looks worse even though he is hitting quite a few shots right now.

Penn gets the timing down and delivers a series of uncontested jabs to the face. Two jabs from Sherk to the face, followed by another. Sherk fires wildly, and he misses, which allows Penn to land a big counter shot and almost deliver another knee.

Penn is getting back in control of the stand up; he's throwing jabs to Sherk's face with very little defense. Sherk lands the occasional shot, but Penn looks crisper and more poised at this point. Huge leg kick from Penn to put an exclamation point on his mid-round turnaround.

From clinch, Penn goes for a knee. Sherk tries to work a takedown, but Penn stuffs it. He lands a big punch to the face as the round ends.

Round Three:
Sherk lunges forward and connects with a left hand. More left hands follow, but Penn brings an end to the momentum with a more successful shot of his own.

Sherk lands a big right hand, and then narrowly misses Penn's face on a wide left hook attempt. Sherk scores with a combination of three punches, and then follows with another few jabs to the face. Penn tries to regain momentum with a takedown attempt, but Sherk blocks it. Penn starts connecting more shots, but Sherk is ready to answer back with some wild shots of his own.

Penn seems to agitate Sherk with a few more punches to the face. As with last round, he's benefitting from a mid-round momentum shift and starting to distance himself on the scorecards. Sherk hits Penn a few times, but it's clear that Penn is getting the better of Sherk when it comes to accuracy of strikes and timing.

Leg kick from Sherk, followed by a jab. Penn answers right back with yet another jab to the chin, followed by an uppercut. As Sherk continues prioritizing his left hand, Penn finds an opening and just takes it to Sherk with another uppercut, a big knee and then more strikes. He scores relentlessly as the referee steps in. The bell sounds, and it appears Sherk has been saved.

He has not, in fact, been saved. The referee calls the fight at this point. It is not yet clear what transpired, but Sherk is not visibly upset by the decision. Bruce Buffer specifies that Sherk cannot continue.

BJ Penn won via TKO (strikes) after Round Three to retain the UFC Lightweight Championship.


News Options:
Full MMA Newsboard
Return to Headline Planet.com