Results:
Charles Valencia over Ian McCall via Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 3:19, Round 1
Brian Bowles over Marcos Galvao via TKO(Strikes) at 2:09, Round 2
Ed Ratcliff over Alex Karalexis via TKO(Strikes) at 1:26, Round 2
Bryan Baker over Eric Schambari via Decision (Split) at 5:00
John Alessio over Todd Moore via Decision (Unanimous) at 5:00
Doug Marshall over Ariel Gandulla via Submission (Arm Bar) at :55, Round 1
Paul Filho over Chael Sonnen via Submission (Arm Bar) at 4:55, Round 2
Jens Pulver over Cub Swanson via Submission (Anaconda Choke) at :35, Round 1
Urijah Faber over Jeff Curran via Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 4:34, Round 2
Paulo Filho escapes defeat
Paulo Filho was being dominated. Chael Sonnen was looking confident and winning the standup battles. What's wrong with this picture? Arguably ranked the #2 Middleweight in the world, Paulo Filho was expected to have a fairly tough battle with Olympic quality wrestler Chael Sonnen. It was a much more lopsided fight early on. Chael managed to catch Filho in the first couple of exchanges and then work his wrestling for most of the bout. Instead of using a gameplan that Frank Mir was suggesting he use for most of the fight, Sonnen didn't stick with his standup after tiring Filho with his ground work. Sonnen shot and eventually Filho caught Sonnen in an armbar that ended the fight.
In addition to a bad performance by Filho, the ending of the fight also had some controversy. Filho managed to sink in a painful armbar on Sonnen who was visibly hurting from the pull of Filho's giant biceps. The referee stepped in and stopped the bout before Sonnen tapped and proclaimed the fight over. Sonnen argued immediately that he never tapped. From my perspective, the referee saved Sonnen's arm from being the first LIVE compound fracture to be broadcast in MMA. Sonnen should not allowed himself to get into that position. Frank Mir was right, shooting on Filho is something that is always dangerous and should be avoided. His strength is unmatched in the Middleweight division.
Urijah Faber continues his reign
Many fans believe Jeff Curran had a legitimate shot at stopping the relentless and quick attack of Faber. There were also some comments by Curran's trainer regarding his standup as being much better than Faber's striking. Curran never had a chance to show us. From the get go, Faber used combinations of punching and shooting to put Curran in some tough spots. Early in the fight however, Curran did manage to get Faber's back and maintain it for most of the round. Faber eventually escaped, but didn't manage to hurt Curran until the second round.
With some ground and pound techniques, Faber cut Curran with a nasty elbow, pounded his face in with huge punches, and absolutely pushed a horrendous pace over the extent of the battle. Eventually, Faber impressively sunk in a choke on the Brazilian ju-jitsu black belt to maintain his belt.
Jens Pulver impresses
In a surprise submission win, Jens Pulver proved that he isn't done yet. At 145 lbs., he still remains undefeated after defeating Cub Swanson by an anaconda choke at only :35 seconds into the bout. Swanson's hype before this battle had increased in the MMA community to epic proportions. It was surprising considering that Swanson really doesn't seem to have overly impressive skills in one area against great competition. This was his first test, and he failed.
After the fight, Pulver mentioned that instead of training to use his left hand; he has been training to grapple. This is one aspect of MMA that simply seperates the men from the boys. Fighters who grow in this sport deny stubborness and become well-rounded fighters. If only Pulver's wisdom could crack Chuck Liddell's game.
Other matchups
Doug Marshall continued his reign as the Light Heavyweight champion with an odd win over Ariel Gandulla, an ATT prospect. Instead of using his sloppy standup brawling style, he went for a flying knee, missed, but was able to put Gandulla in an armbar while Gandulla worked a ground and pound game. Impressive to say the least from a guy mainly known for simply brawling inside the cage.
Charlie Valencia defeated Ian McCall with some devastating striking over most of the first round. Valencia stood much like a patient boxer, waiting for McCall to attack and countering with big punches. At one point during the fight, Valencia landed a crushing uppercut and then combo'd into a suplex from hell. Definitely one of the more impressive combinations I've ever seen, and I encourage you all to check it out. Valencia set up a guillotine choke from all of the striking and action to win it in round 1.
On the upset note, Brian Bowles beat highly touted Marcos Galvao with some good takedown defense and striking. He continually caught Galvao with punches, and it became increasingly worse and worse for Galvao as the fight went on. Eventually, Galvao ate a punch dead center on the chin and went down. Surprising upset win for Brian Bowles, likely putting some merit to his standing in the rankings world of the division.
And on a final note, I picked Ed Ratcliff to defeat Alex Karalexis despite the many people who thought I was crazy. In fact, I only saw that Jeff Comstock over at BloodyElbow.com and Jordan Breen actually picked the karate practitioner to win. Why did I pick him? I don't think Alex Karalexis is as good as he's been said to be and watch this video. Ratcliff disposes of his opponent in the video via a spinning back kick, Chuck Norris style. Very impressive. He also had some fairly good ground and pound during the fight. I'm glad the research paid off.