China's Zhang opens UFC 127 Facebook fights with a win

Tiequan Zhang is still a bit of a mysterious character, but there's no question about the fact that he's a pretty solid MMA competitor.

Zhang dropped to featherweight for his UFC debut and smoked Jason Reinhardt in less than a minute at UFC 127. Zhang locked on a guillotine choke (pictured below) and nearly put Reinhardt out at the 0:48 mark of the first round in Sydney, Australia.

Zhang (13-1, 1-0 UFC, 1-1 WEC) is the first fighter from China to compete in the UFC. He made his Zuffa debut in 2010.

He looked extremely comfortable in this one, as he stalked Reinhardt from the start. Zhang followed the shorter fighter around the cage looking to land something big. He closed space along the cage and when Reinhardt dropped his head a bit, Zhang went for the choke.

Reinhardt pushed forward and the fight fell to the ground where he was trapped in the nasty choke. He waited until the very last second to tap. When Zhang released the choke, Reinhardt didn't move, he was groggy and out of it.

Zhang, 32, nicknamed "The Mongolian Wolf," is a sanshou specialist. His trainer said he's also recently been elevated to a jiu-jitsu brown belt. China is an untapped MMA breeding ground internationally. With a strong martial arts background, China could be quite the source for talent over the next five years. The Chinese fight fan market is also untapped and a big reason why UFC put Zhang's fight on Facebook. 

Watch UFC 127 right here on Yahoo! Sports.

Perosh crushes Blackledge in UFC 205 debut

Anthony Perosh hasn't carved out much of a reputation in the UFC, simply because he's been a card filler at heavyweight. The Aussie was overmatched against the big guys. Today, down at more comfortable weight, he was able to show off his vaunted jiu-jitsu game and blew through Tom Blackledge.

Perosh (10-6, 1-3 UFC) missed on his first two takedowns, but when he scored a third with 3:13 left in the first, Blackledge was nearly helpless off his back. Perosh softened up Blackledge by raining down punches and then settled into the Brit's half guard. He quickly passed to the mount where Blackledge bailed and spun to his stomach. That was a bad move because Perosh locked on a rear-naked choke just seconds later forcing the tap. 

Perosh suffered UFC losses in 2006 to Christian Wellisch and Jeff Monson. He took a beating against Mirko Filipovic last year at UFC 110.

UFC 127 undercard results: 

Curt Warburton def. Maciej Jewtuszko via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Mark Hunt def. Chris Tuchscherer via knockout (punches) - Round 2, 1:41

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/China-s-Zhang-opens-UFC-127-Facebook-fights-with?urn=mma-326812

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UFC 127 Results: Nick Ring Wins, Riki Fukuda Robbed

by Michael David SmithNick Ring stepped into the cage on Saturday for the first time since suffering a serious knee injury when he was an Ultimate Fighter contestant a year ago, beating Riki Fukuda by unanimous decision at UFC 127. But it's hard to find much to celebrate in the win for Ring, as it was lousy judging that took the victory from Fukuda.

All three judges scored the bout 29-28 for Ring, but it's hard to believe just about anyone else did. Fukuda clearly should have won, and the crowd voiced their displeasure afterward. UFC President Dana White immediately took to Twitter to write, "Judges f**king suck again!! Fukuda got robbed!!!" Even Ring looked surprised when his name was called.

 

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Source: http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/02/26/ufc-127-results-nick-ring-wins-riki-fukuda-robbed/

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Source: http://www.clubofthewaves.com/blog/drewtube-from-artist-drew-brophy/

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Former 'Crocodile Hunter' bodyguard, Noke rolls over Camozzi at UFC 127

During the many chapters of his life, Kyle Noke has seen it all. He's looking to make the MMA chapter his most interesting. A former bodyguard for Steve "The Crocodile Hunter" Irwin, Noke stormed to a 3-0 mark in the UFC after an easy win tonight over Chris Camozzi in the pay-per-view opener at UFC 127. 

A native of New South Wales, Australia, Noke served as one of Irwin's bodyguards for three years and also worked with his Aussie brother on his martial arts skills. Irwin, who passed away in 2006, was a huge MMA fan.

"Strong, very strong," Noke told MMAjunkie.com of Irwin's ability. "He had that strength from wrestling crocs all his life from pulling them in and holding them tight. We'd never let him get on top because he would just hold you down as tight as he could."

Irwin did more than employ Noke, he backed his fighting efforts.

"He's one of the reasons why I'm here where I am now. He sponsored me and paid for my first flights to the States. He really pushed me to follow my career and follow my passion," Noke told the Sydney Morning Herald. "He used to help us prepare for fights. He had such an eye for detail through what he had been doing for so many years. You only have to watch the guy on TV to know how much passion the guy has got. If I could channel that passion in fighting for wildlife then that's a great start."

Irwin was an MMA devotee and according to Noke, The reality star even entertained fighting and donating the proceeds to charity. 

Noke looked inspired from the opening seconds. Camozzi charged him for a single-leg takedown attempt, but the Aussie thwarted the effort with some underhooks. He showed his power by pushing forward, scoring a takedown and falling into the mount position. Camozzi did a solid job of avoiding big shots for a few seconds, but allowed Noke to crawl up his body.

Noke (19-4-1, 3-0 UFC) appeared to be setting up an armbar or inverted triangle when Camozzi tried to escape out the backdoor. Noke was quick to react by taking Camozzi's back. The Aussie flattened out Camozzi and tapped him with a rear-naked choke at 1:35 of the first. 

Camozzi was a familiar opponent for Noke. They were castmates on Season 11 of "The Ultimate Fighter." Noke lost via unanimous decision to Kris McCray during the TUF 11 quarterfinals, but he appeared to be one of the better prospects on the show.

Fighting out of Jackson's MMA in Albuquerque, Noke, 30, is just moving into his prime. He has a well-rounded game and a chance to do some damage in the UFC.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Former-Crocodile-Hunter-bodyguard-Noke-rolls-?urn=mma-326841

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CW interview: Manhoef relishing the pressure for Strikeforce

In fighting Tim Kennedy at Strikeforce next weekend, Melvin Manhoef knows that in coming off of two losses, he has to win. At the same time, he sees value in having lost to Tatsuya Mizuno and Robbie Lawler in his last two bouts.

"I have a few losses. I have to win this fight. I'm going to do everything in my power to do that. It's sometimes good to have losses. You learn something from the losses," Manhoef told Cagewriter. 

"I learned a lot about who my fans are. If you're at a point when you're winning, everyone tells you to keep going.  But when you lose, you have to keep going, too. If you don't have losses, you'll never have wins, either."

With just four weeks notice on the bout, Manhoef has spent time working on conditioning and hasn't had time to read what his opponent is saying about their fight.

"Honestly? I don't read anything. I don't see anything. I don't read the internet or anything. I'm not busy with that. I'm busy with training. But what did he say? You can tell me."

I responded that Kennedy said he will knock you out in the first round, and asked if he would like to respond to that. 

"My response? What? (laughs.) Yeah, yeah, yeah. Everybody has fantastic dreams and everything. He can dream what he wants."

Though Manhoef has just fought once in the United States -- the loss to Lawler -- he can't wait to get back to America for this bout.

America: where dreams come true

"It's different than fighting in Japan or Holland. In America, I like it. The interviews and all the things around it. They put attention on the fighters and they really appreciate the fighters in America. They say in America that all dreams come true, so I hope my dreams will come true there. "

He's still somewhat of an unknown entity to American MMA fans, so they may not know of his K-1 kickboxing background, or how he is talented at bringing violence to the cage. They may even be surprised when they see him walk out to the cage wearing a dog collar. He says it's all part of the ritual to get him in fight mode.

"It's like a thing that's inside me. In my mind, when I see my opponent and we are in the Octagon, it's like the old days. Like the gladiators. I want to win. It takes over everything and I really want to hurt people at that moment. That is how the dog collar comes in," Manhoef said.

"When the dog collar goes off, I feel unleashed. I feel like I have to go. I have to do what I want to do, and I want to fight. It's like I'm a wild beast. I'm like an animal." 

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/CW-interview-Manhoef-relishing-the-pressure-for?urn=mma-325869

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Fitch finishes strong, but only gets a draw in UFC 127 main event

Jon Fitch has lost just once in the UFC, but always seems to find himself in a frustrating position in the UFC welterweight division. It happened again Saturday night at UFC 127 in Sydney, Australia. The highly-rated contender at 170 pounds mauled B.J. Penn in the final round but the fight was scored 28-28 on two judges' scorecoards, resulting in an unfulfiling majority draw at Acer Arena. Fitch was a 29-28 winner on the third scorecard.

UFC analyst Joe Rogan asked Fitch if he won the fight:

"I thought so," Fitch said. "I gave up some positioning in the first and second round, but I finished out on top and did some damage of my own. I think I did enough at least to win a split decision." 

The "decision" has been the unfortunate story of Fitch's UFC career, but this one was tough to swallow. Fitch crushed Penn in the final round. He got the Hawaiian down for good with 3:39 left and pummeled him with punches, hammerfists and elbows. According to FightMetric, the final strike count in round three was an amazing 149-2. Compustrike said it was 134-0 and the final two rounds were 191-15. 

Fitch is now an impressive 13-1-1 with the promotion, but his grinding style has turned off some fans, and UFC management has been reluctant to throw Fitch back in the Octagon with champion Georges St. Pierre. GSP dominated Fitch in a decision victory back at UFC 87.

"I want the title more than anything," Fitch said. "At the end of the day, we don’t make the decision, the guys in the suits do and the fans do."

Things get interesting in April when GSP defends his title against Jake Shields at UFC 129. If he wins the fight, he plans on leaving the division and relinquishing his title to challenge Anderson Silva for 185-pound belt. That would essentially force the hand of the UFC.

There's no way, even with this draw, to justify not putting Fitch (23-3-1, 13-1-1 UFC) into an interim title fight, should St. Pierre vacate the title. The only alternative would be some sort of mini-tournament at 170 pounds, something the UFC has never put together since Zuffa took over the company back in 2001. 

Penn (16-7-2, 12-6-2 UFC) didn't exactly sell the fans on the fact that the fight was a draw. He openly admitted in the Octagon that he didn't think he'd done enough to get the decision. 

"I think I got some dominant positions in the first and second, but he kicked my butt in the third," said Penn.

Penn said he was open to a rematch.

"I guess I wasn't really sure what I would do with my career if I lost the fight," Penn said. "Since the gods were nice to me and gave me a draw, if he wants to do it again, I'll do it again."

Fitch echoed the sentiment, but also expressed some frustration with his position in the division.

"I'm down for whatever. I'm here to fight. If my 13 wins in the UFC isn’t enough to already put me in the spot for a title shot, I'm willing to prove myself more," said Fitch. 

Fitch gave Penn credit for confusing him in the first two rounds. Penn, the smaller fighter with better boxing, was expected to try to keep the fight standing. Instead, he charged forward at the start of the fight and tried to outgrapple the wrestler.

"It just threw me off," said Fitch. "I didn’t train at all for B.J. shooting takedowns. I did zero defensive wrestling this whole camp."

Penn scored takedowns in the first and second, that he turned into threats for a rear-naked choke. Fitch did a great job of defending against the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt. In both cases, he fought off Penn and spun into a dominant position. That said, heading to the final 75 seconds of the second round, he was probably headed for a 2-0 deficit. After the second round escape, he capitalized on the top control by pounding away at Penn. Fitch set the tone for the final round and on the Cagewriter scorecard, stole back the second to even the fight.

"I was looking for him to come out, counterbox and counterwrestle," Fitch said. "I wasn’t expecting that at all. It was a great gameplan. It took me until the second round to really catch my groove."

The third round was an absolute blowout. A tired Penn made a terrible tactical error, swinging wildly at Fitch and attempting a flying knee. Fitch took him down easily and pounded away at Penn. The Hawaiian got back to his feet a minute later, but was taken down two more times. That last time spelled doom for Penn, who just couldn't contend with Fitch's size anymore.

This writer scored it 29-27 for Fitch, as did Adam Hill from the Las Vegas Review-Journal. FightMetric also gave it to Fitch 29-27. 

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Fitch-finishes-strong-but-only-gets-a-draw-in-U?urn=mma-326867

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