Results tagged “UFC 101” from MMA Explosion

Bloodyelbow has a post today about Randy Gordon, a former New York State Athletic Commissioner writing an op-ed piece in one of the NY papers, in support of the sport he once banned, (based on the "new" rules). But in his opinion piece, he has this interesting nugget from UFC 101, held in Philadelphia:

"I got an upclose and personal view of just how popular the sport has become when I went to UFC 101 at Philadelphia's Wachovia Center in August. The event brought in a $3.55 million gate, more than any boxing or combat event ever held in Pennsylvania. The sellout crowd of 15,007 poured into the city early and stayed late, making purchases at arena concessions, staying in hotels, dining at restaurants and taking taxis around the city." (emphasis mine).

Not too shabby, I say. The PA state Athletic Commission recieves no money from the state budget, but does get 5 percent of all gate receipts, so that's anice chunk of change that will go a long way in sustaining the agency that regulates the sport in PA.

Word around the cage was that Big Dan was going to ref at UFC 101 in Philly but had never done any reffing in the state, so to get sanctioned, he did all the fights at CPWC II on July 28. From Mark Jovich's myspace. And head over to warriorchallenge.info to buy tickets for CPWC III on Oct. 23 in Lancaster.

Tom and I discuss UFC 101, Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg, Tim Boetsch, Jimmy Chappell, and CPWC III.

For more info., go to Inkosi's Web site.

The fight-finishing jab.

Heels to the liver (it's on that side of the body, right?) leads to an RNC for Penn.

Hendricks unloads on Sadollah, but was it enough for Mirgliotta to step in? You decide.

Here's an excerpt from John Morgan's story on Anderson Silva on mmajunkie.com:
While Silva has always said defending the middleweight title is of utmost importance to him, the Brazilian suggested he may be willing to continue a run at light heavyweight - despite the difficulties of fighting bigger men.

"It's a big problem, because these guys at 205 (pounds) are a lot bigger than me," Silva said. "But I want to fight against the best. Whoever the best is at the time, that's who I want to fight."

Silva is now an astounding 10-0 in the UFC, and his dominance in two divisions warrants real consideration for the dangerous striker as the world's top pound-for-pound fighter.

Ted: Notice Silva didn't say "I want to fight against the best, but not my close buddy Lyoto." OK, so we know that Silva and Lyoto Machida, UFC's light-heavyweight champ, have said they will not fight each other. They train together, although I did not see Machida in attendence at Silva's training camp for last night's fight.

The thing is, if Silva keeps beating LHWs, and says he wants to fight the best, well, right now, the best in the LHW division is Machida. Machida's next fight is Shogun Rua at UFC 104 in October. Silva's next opponents appear to be Dan Henderson and the winner of Maia/Marquardt. If Silva vanquishes those two foes, we might see the two teammates clash before Silva's contract ends (he has three more fights left).

As to who would win, man, I'm just shaking my head right now.

By John Gonzalez, Philadelphia Inquirer
Philly used to be America's favorite fight town, and for good reason. But it's been a long time since a crowd drunk on bloodlust materialized out of the ether and followed Muhammad Ali through the streets after hearing a rumor that he was on his way to rumble with Joe Frazier in Fairmount Park. A city raised on brutal bouts at the Blue Horizon and fiercely proud of its history has been all but forgotten as a fight destination - replaced by Vegas and other points West.

No longer. Last night, the UFC put Philly back on the mega-fight map, holding its first-ever event here. Philly, in turn, did for the UFC and its athletes what it did for boxing for so many years - bestowed legitimacy and importance on the event. Because when you fight in this town, in front of these people, you become part of a long and noble tradition, and you're remembered well after the blood and sweat is scrubbed clean from the canvas.

from mmajunkie.com:
OFFICIAL RESULTS

B.J. Penn def. Kenny Florian via submission (rear-naked choke) - Round 4, 3:54 (to defend lightweight title)
Anderson Silva def. Forrest Griffin via knockout (punch) - Round 1, 3:23
Aaron Riley def. Shane Nelson via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Johnny Hendricks def. Amir Sadollah via TKO (strikes) - Round 1, 0:29
Ricardo Almeida def. Kendall Grove via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 20-27)
Kurt Pellegrino def. Josh Neer via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

PRELIMINARY CARD RESULTS
John Howard def. Tamdan McCrory via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Alessio Sakara def. Thales Leites via split decision (29-28, 27-30, 29-28)
Matthew Riddle def. Dan Cramer via unanimous decision (29-27, 30-26, 30-27)
George Sotiropoulos def. George Roop via submission (kimura) - Round 2, 1:59
Jesse Lennox def. Danillo Villefort via TKO (cut) - Round 3, 3:37

from sherdog.com:
Thales Leites vs. Alessio Sakara
Round 1
The entrance is messed up, and Leites comes out to Sakara's music and name. Sakara, in turn, enters to Leites' music, which Leites sings while Sakara makes his way to the Octagon. Leites slips throwing a haymaker but stands back up. He shoots from too far out for a takedown, and Sakara stuffs it. 1:30 in. Sakara is mostly waiting back. Leites gets a single leg, but as Leites is taking top control Sakara lands a short forearm that hurts him and keeps him off. Back on the feet, Sakara fires a one-two that's blocked. Leites misses another shot from afar. The audience boos. 10-9 Sakara. Sakara won by split decision.

With Roy Jones Jr., who reportedly was a guest of Anderson Silva. Silva has said he wants to box Jones after his UFC contract is done.

From Sherdog.com message board member Adouble27:
"the philly media is covering the s--- out of UFC 101..its everywhere down here. This is arguably the biggest boxing town in the world and finally bigtime fights are coming back. I heard this will be the most widely watched sports event in the history of PA. This is what MMA needs. East coast mainstream media exposure.....Wait till you hear the fans tonight. They will be CHEERING louder than anywhere you've ever heard......UFC in Phiily is HUGE for MMA. DOnt be scared..come to south Philly and you'll have a blast...just leave your cowboys jersey at home."

About a minute or so in, Greg Sirb, executive director for the Pa. Athletic Commission, tells Penn, Florian, Griffin and Silva that, "This is Philly," meaning that Philadelphia sports fans expect a lot - so they'd better bring their A game. Funny stuff, but true, Philly fans seem to have that reputation like no other. Thanks to mmahits.com for the video.

CPWC II Highlights:

from mmajunkie.com:
MAIN CARD

Champ B.J. Penn (155) vs. Kenny Florian (155)
Champ Anderson Silva (205) vs. Forrest Griffin (205)
Ricardo Almeida (185) vs. Kendall Grove (185.5)
Josh Neer (155.5) vs. Kurt Pellegrino (154.5)
Johny Hendricks (171) vs. Amir Sadollah (166.5)
PRELIMINARY CARD

Shane Nelson (156) vs. Aaron Riley (154)
John Howard (169.5) vs. Tamdan McCrory (170)
Thales Leites (185) vs. Alessio Sakara (185.5)
Dan Cramer (169.5) vs. Matthew Riddle (170)
George Roop (154) vs. George Sotiropoulos (155)
Jesse Lennox (171) vs. Danillo Villefort (170.25)

from Eric "Performify" Foster at mmajunkie.com:
If you're attending UFC 101, or if you live in the Philadelphia area, the Buckhead Saloon is the place to be when you're not at the arena. For those of you in the area but without tickets, venue officials are giving away a pair on Friday during happy hour, and they will be showing the PPV on Saturday if you're looking for a place to watch with your fellow junkies.

After the fight, the saloon is the home of the official B.J. Penn afterparty and features appearances by multiple fighters and UFC personalities, including the beautiful Arianny Celeste. Check out this thread on our forums for more details.

Ted: If you're in the York area, Hooters of York is the place. That's where I'll be, camera in hand.