UFC 107 Under card review
(December 12th 2009)
(Fedex Forum, Memphis, TN.)
First let’s start this review with the fact that I think that the UFC 107 fight card was one of the best fight cards of 2009. This fight card was a who’s who of UFC and the MMA world as a whole. Not only did we have big name fighters at this event, but we also had a great roster of up and comers. With that being said, let’s not wait any longer to jump into the action that took place in the under card fights!
Kevin Burns vs. TJ Grant:
Burns comes out strong throwing punch after punch, but in the first few minutes of the fight Burns get rocked with a right from Grant. Grant shoots in for a take down and gets it. Grant gets in the top mount position and starts to deliver some heavy ground and pound. Burns gets out of the ground and pound and gets back to the standing position. Burns hits Grant in the package and we take a quick break. Once the action starts again, Grant comes across the Octagon and delivers a flying knee followed up by a series of strikes to finish the match. This ends as a first round TKO for Grant.
DaMarques Johnson vs. Edgar Garcia:
Johnson comes out strong. Garcia follows up with some good shots to Johnson’s head that seems to slow his pace a little bit. Johnson throws a body kick that Garcia catches and uses to take him to the ground. Garcia gets up and allows the action to go back to the standing position. Garcia starts with a full out assault on Johnson, only to have Johnson deliver a kick to Garcia’s face which knocks him to the mat; then follows up with a triangle choke to win the fight in the first round.
Lucio Linhares vs. Rousimar Palhares:
They both come out fighting. Linhares takes Palhares to the ground. Linhares keeps dropping a wicked elbow from the half guard to Palhares. The ref stands up both fighters due to inactivity. Linhares takes it to the ground again and is trying for a leg lock. Palhares is able to get out of the leg lock and Linhares takes his back and moves to full guard. The bell rings and Round One is over.
In Round Two, Linhares comes out and immediately takes it to the ground; he gets side control and throws a few strikes. After a few minutes of less than spectacular ground fighting, the ref stands them both up. Linhares shoots in for another takedown and gets it. Both men are now fighting for position. Palhares grabs Linhares by the leg and looks like his is going for a leg lock, but he eases his grip as Linhares fights to sink in a heel hook – which ultimately makes Linhares tap out. Palhares wins by submission.
Ricardo Funch vs. Johny Hendricks:
Funch comes into this match making his UFC debut, and Hendricks is the only fighter of the night to walk into the Octagon to the sounds of a Country song being playing overhead. The crowd didn’t seem to respective of the country song, but they quickly got over it. The action gets started and Hendricks shoots in for a take down. He pushes Funch back up against the fence and Funch starts to deliver some elbows to Hendricks. Funch turns things around and pushes Hendricks against the fence. Funch lands a knee to Hendricks’ face but instead of backing up, Hendricks fights for position up against the fence for a little over two minutes. Just when the crowd starts to boo and hiss, Hendricks picks Funch up and slams him to the mat a lá a Randy Couture-style take down. Hendricks steps back and lets Funch get back to his feet, but as soon as he’s back to his feet, Funch is met with a series of uppercuts and knees from Hendricks. The bell rings in the background and Round One is over.
After a quick break, Hendricks comes out swinging. Hendricks grabs Funch and throws him to the mat. Hendricks remains standing – all while telling Funch to get back up. Once Funch gets back to his feet he is met, Hendricks meets him with some vicious knees. Funch is again knocked down, but Hendricks again let’s Funch get back up to continue the fight standing – it’s obvious Hendricks wants to stay standing for the moment. Then, suddenly, Hendricks shoots in to take Funch down. Working into a dominant position, Hendricks takes Funch’s back and sinks the hooks in. At this point everyone’s pretty much thinking this is the end for Funch, but then the bell rings and that is the end of Round Two.
For Round Three, Hendricks comes out and immediately shoots in to take Funch to the ground. Once they’re down, he delivers a series of strikes to Funch head. Hendricks stands up and motions to Funch to stand back up – which he does. Hendricks then grabs Funch as he is getting up and slams him hard onto the mat. The bell rings and that is the end of the third round.
After the judges discuss the fight – the decision is finally made, and Hendricks gets the win by Unanimous Decision…no big surprise there. Not bad, as this is Hendricks’ second fight in the UFC.
Shane Nelson vs. Matt Wiman:
Both fighters come out of their corners and Wiman immediately delivers a nice leg kick to Nelson. Nelson quickly returns the kick with a series of punches to Wiman. Wiman shoots in for the takedown and gets it. Once on the ground, Wiman works his way to full guard and then starts to throw elbows. Nelson gets cut with one of the elbows and starts bleeding – and that’s the end of Round One.
As they come back from their corners, Wiman shoots in and is able to take Nelson back down to the floor. Nelson tries to keep busy on the ground, but seems to find it hard to make any advances or strikes due to Wiman’s excellent ground game control. The ref stands them back up and Wiman then re-opens the wound on Nelson’s face by a flurry of elbows. The Second Round is over.
Wiman comes out strong in the third round and starts the round with strike to Nelson’s groin, so the ref stops the fight. After a brief pause, both men are at it again. Wiman throws a lot of kicks and does a good job keeping Nelson at a distance, but then all of a sudden he shoots in; at the same time, Nelson kneed Wiman in the face. Amazingly, that doesn’t stop the attack and Wiman manages to take Nelson to the floor. Both fighters are work hard for dominant position, when suddently Wiman makes a bold move and is able to get Nelson’s back. Wiman leans forward and continues to pound Nelson from both sides for about the last 15 to 20 seconds of the fight, and then the bell rings signaling the end of the Second Round.
After both fighters meet in the center of the Octagon, Wiman’s arm is raised in victory: A win by Unanimous Decision.
Alan Belcher vs. Wilson Gouveia:
I have to admit I thought this fight was going to be a good battle for both fighters, but that wasn’t really the way this fight went down. As the ref started this fight, both men circled each other, sizing each other up. Neither seemed willing to give up any ground in the center of the Octagon to his competitor, when all of a sudden Belcher throws the first blow. Belcher’s blows are answered by Gouveia and the two are going back and forth exchanging blows in the center of the Octagon for all to see. Going toe-to-toe, the fans start to get hyped-up as they watch these two warriors slug it out in the middle of the ring. Belcher and Gouveia exchange blows and then we see an all out attack by Belcher – ending this fight in the first round.
During this time I kept thinking that Gouveia was going to take this fight to the ground, but on this day, both fighters decided instead to stand in the middle of the Octagon and exchange blows till one man went down. As it turned out Belcher won this fight by a TKO.
Interestingly, it’s been rumored that Belcher was so upset the UFC put him on the Undercard instead of the Main Card, he told them “Watch me tonight – I’ll give you a show and you’ll see why I should be on the Main Card…and that’s where I want to be next time!”
Looks like he showed the UFC where he belongs.
All and all this Undercard showcased a great set of fights. All of the fighters gave it their best and all of the fights were very exciting to watch. I am sure we are going to be seeing more of some of these great fighters in the years to come.
Preliminary Card
- Middleweight bout: Alan Belcher vs. Wilson Gouveia
- Lightweight bout: Matt Wiman vs. Shane Nelson
- Welterweight bout: Johny Hendricks vs. Ricardo Funch
- Middleweight bout: Rousimar Palhares vs. Lucio Linhares
- Welterweight bout: DaMarques Johnson vs. Edgar Garcia
- Welterweight bout: Kevin Burns vs. TJ Grant
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