It’s time to step into the Octagon once again as take a look at the UFC’s latest show on Fox, shown this past Sunday night on ESPN here in Britain.
The broadcast began in the heavyweight division as Pat Barry took on Lavar Johnson.
This was a great way to start the show. After the opening exchanges Barry, somewhat surprisingly, scored with the takedown, almost getting the submission win with an Americana.
But when they got back to their feet Johnson took control, and with Barry up against the cage Johnson unloaded with a barrage of lefts and rights until Barry fell to the ground, the referee stepping in to give Johnson the TKO win.
Then it was down to the middleweight division as Rousimar Palhares took on Alan Belcher.
This was just as action packed as the opener. From the moment Palhares scored with the impressive takedown we saw a great display of ground fighting.
Belcher was the first to try his hand with the submission attempts before Palhares came back with his favourite leg lock holds.
With neither man able to get the submission Belcher came back and unleashed with the ground and pound, and with Palhares offering nothing in reply the referee stopped the fight to give Belcher the great TKO win.
Welterweight action followed as Josh Koscheck went up against Johny Hendricks.
The first fight of the show to make it out of the first round was a great back and forth affair with terrific performances from both men.
In between the numerous takedown attempts in the first two rounds both men rocked the other, with Koscheck’s right eye swelling after a big left from Hendricks.
Koscheck scored with the only takedown of the fight in the third round, putting in some good work, although Hendricks showed some sound defensive skills.
With neither man able to get the finish the judges came into the equation as Hendricks took the split decision.
The main event featured lightweight action as Nate Diaz faced Jim Miller.
This fight was definitely worthy of it’s main event slot. Diaz put on a great striking performance, and although Miller got in some good shots of his own Diaz always looked one step ahead of his opponent.
There were plenty of clinches against the cage, and as the fight neared the last minute of the second round Diaz took the fight to the ground, locking in a guillotine choke for the highly impressive submission win.
In conclusion – another superb outing for Dana White and his crew here. Once again every fight delivered thanks to the great performances throughout the show, with the Koscheck/Hendricks encounter the fight of the night for me.
So in all the UFC’s latest foray into Rupert Murdoch’s cast media empire gets the big thumbs up from this particular writer.
Don’t forget to check out my website at twoshedsreview.blogspot.com.
