For those not familiar with the UFC, the Fight Night shows can rightly be called the ‘B’ shows. Broadcast on television rather than pay-per-view, Fight Night usually boasts talent of a lesser level then the fighters you see main evening PPV’s. Despite the lack of big stars on the card, Fight Night 22: Marquardt vs. Palhares was a fantastic show with many noteworthy events occurring.
The night started with a bout between Cole Miller and TUF Season 9 winner Rose Pearson. ‘The Real Deal’ Pearson had won all three of his fights since being crowned The Ultimate Fighter. A win here against Miller would catapult Pearson into title contention. Cole on the other hand has been hot-and-cold in his UFC tenure going 4-2. The first round was fairly even. Pearson seemed to be the superior striker and I suspected to see Miller crumpled up on the mat much like he was after Escudero KO’d him with a vicious blow on a show a year ago It was in fact ‘Magrinho’ who landed the decisive shot when i Cole landed a left hook in the second round which rocked Pearson. Miller followed with a one-two combo and while Pearson was groggy on the floor, Cole locked on a rear-naked-choke for the tapout win in 1.49 of round 2. This was a huge setback for Pearson. Cole Miller needs to show some more consistency and get a win or two to be considered for title contention.
The left hook that rocked Pearson followed by the tapout via rear-naked-choke
Up next was a not-exactly blow away contest with Jim Miller and Gleison Tibua. Despite the unappealing appeal of the match, Miller (no relation to Cole or Jason but is brothers with Dan) and Tibua did contest an entertaining fight. Jim rocked Gleison once but couldn’t get the finish. Judges’ scorecards had it 30-27, 30-27, 29-28 for Jim Miller.
The original semi-main event for this card was Mac Danzig vs. Matt Wiman but Danzig withdrew from the bout with an unknown injury. TUF 8 winner Efrain Escudero was tabbed to face Wiman but ‘Handsome’ Matt broke his arm while in training. Then the UFC called up highly touted prospect Charles Oliveira to fight Escudero and that was the bout that took place at in the Frank Erwin Center. That’s MMA for you sometimes.
Charles ‘Da Bronx’ Oliveira vs. Escudero was a risky bout for the UFC as Oliveira – at only 20 was the guy on everyone’s lips as one of the future stars of the Lightweight division. Oliveira at his young age and potential should be slowly working his way up the ladder. Accepting a fight on short notice against an experienced fighter like Escudero was bad business. ‘Da Bronx’ had just fought a little over a month ago impressing many with his Jiu-Jitsu skills by submitting Darren Elkins via armbar. What was so impressive about Oliveira’s performance was how smoothly he got the submission, his amazing transitions seemed effortless. Both men contested a fantastic back and forth bout. Escudero it seems had won rounds 1 & 2 going into round 3. Oliveira hit Escudero with a unintentional low blow in round 2. Going into round 3, Efrian looking for payback seemingly hit Charles with a ‘totally unintentional’ hard knee to the groin. Oliveira collapsed immediately. It took a few minutes for him to catch his breath. Seconds after the fight resumes, Escudero takes Oliveira down and while scrambling up, Oliveira secures a rear-naked-choke on a standing Escudero, Efrain had no choice to but tap while an emotional Oliveira proceeded to celebrate what was the biggest win of his career. A phenomenal fight. Your winner in 2.25 of round 3; Charles Oliveira.
Oliveira gets the win
Main Event time with Nate ‘The Great Marquardt clashing with Rouismar Palhares (or as Mike Goldberg pronounce it; Paul Harris), Palhares – who has the same affinity for leglocks that Minowaman has –was looking to get into title contention with win over Marquardt. ‘The Great’ needed a win badly after a demoralising loss to Chael Sonnen at UFC 109. The story of this fight was that when the referee says “Protect yourself at all times” you really should PROTECT YOURSELF AT ALL TIMES. Here’s what went down: Palhares looked to secure a leglock on Marquardt but Nate jumps out of the hold immediately. Palhares suspects’ foul play and that Marquardt had ‘greased’ his knee. Palhares communicated this to ref Herb Dean motioning to Marquardt’s right knee. The moment Palhares turns to the ref to communicate the supposed rule infringement, Nate swarms with punches to the downed Palhares which eventually halted the fight. With only 3.28 gone in R1, Nate Marquardt gets the win via TKO.
Ain't no timeouts in MMA!
Palhares protested Marquardt’s supposed greased knee. The referee and the ringside official checked Marquardt before and after the fight and ruled no foreign substances were involved. Marquardt in the post-fight interview stated that he purposefully “worked up a sweat” so he would be harder to grab (a common practice in MMA bouts and totally legal). Palhares to his credit apologized for the false accusation.
And that was Fight Night 22. Which left us with a resurgent Cole Miller who could hopefully become a force in the lightweight division, Miller is the sort of fighter the UFC and the fans like; A fighter who goes to finish fights and always deliver excitement.
Charles Oliveira – who has to be the second most promising prospect behind Johnny ‘Bones’ Jones – took a huge step in competition and passed the test of Escudero with flying colours. It’ll be interesting to follow the likeable Brazilians progress. A fight with Cole Miller perhaps?
Nate Marquardt took an important step back into the title hunt. With Chael Sonnen’s recent suspension; the road to a second title fight (Marquardt fought Anderson Silva before losing via devastating knees to the cranium in July 2007) will be clearer for ‘The Great’.
And as Rouismar Palhares will attest, this card showed us that you really should always DEFEND YOURSELF AT ALL TIMES!
