Live Blog- UFC Live: Sanchez vs. Kampmann

Diego Sanchez and Martin Kampmann headline a pretty stacked card tonight airing live on Versus, with two fights also being aired on Facebook. Tonight, there’s the potential for excellent fights, a gruesome submission via Rousimar Palhares, wrestler on wrestler action between Mark Munoz and CB Dolloway, and much more. Make sure to check it out at 9 PM ET/8 PM CT as I kick off my live blog of the event.

Make sure to refresh regularly for updates!

8:01- Thanks to everyone who’s joining us at Fightmania.com for the live blog tonight. I’ll let Mike Goldberg get us started with his favorite phrase- no, not the one about someone having a “definitive” advantage, the other one. “Here we go!”

8:03- Well, anyone who was worried about Diego Sanchez no longer bringing the unintentional comedy thanks to his life changes can relax now. His pre-fight interview, complete with freshly-shaved head and unblinking intense stare, starts the night off with plenty of laughs. Kampmann takes a considerable lead for the “line of the night” award with “I’ll put him to sleep and he can ‘dream’ all he wants”.

8:09- Our first fight is Brian Bowles vs. Damacio Page. Bowles is still rocking the 80′s part and looking just like Dirk Diggler. He tells Page in the pre-fight hype video, “You’re not the boss of me! I’m the king! I’m the king of Dirk!” Okay, he doesn’t, but he really should.

8:13- We’re almost underway. No surprise here, Diggler has the 4 1/2″ reach advantage.

8:15- “The Angel of Death” almost sets new levels of morbidity for a nickname, even in MMA. I think someone should just go the other way with it. Take the nickname “The Love Master” or “Professor Hugs”. How about “Cuddles”? You have to be a badass to fight for these drunk, ravenous fans with that nickname. “The Spider! Cuddles! Next!”

8:19- What a fight! Page took it to Bowles early on, really working on his lead leg with heavy kicks, but an eye-poke led to Bowles saying “Eff this” and turning up the aggression. A heavy uppercut hurt Page and a tight guillotine rendered him unconscious. Page’s second loss to Bowles by submission.

8:22- Very god of Bowles to tell the referee Page was out. Then again, maybe I’m giving too much credit, here. I suppose if he didn’t tell the ref, he’d be trying to kill him, right?

8:24- Which leads me to one of my pet peeves in sports today: anytime an athlete isn’t a total dickbag, he or she is “classy”. It’s classy when fighters shake hands after a bout, it’s classy when a basketball player helps another one up off of the floor, it’s classy when a fighter doesn’t talk shit about his opponent in the post-fight interview. Really? When did the bar for class get set so low that you can be classy by default if you’re not a jerk? Classy isn’t graded on a curve, my friends: it’s pass/fail. Great quote for your Facebook pages, by the way. Spell my name right when you attribute it to me!

8:25- Bonus fight footage as we get to see Igor Pokrajac (I spelled that without double-checking; achievement unlocked) and Todd Brown fight. I’d like to see a breakdown on the combined UFC records of fighters named “Todd”. It can’t be good.

8:30- I guess the prelims were full of fighters making puzzling strategic decisions. Brown initiated the clinch multiple times with Pokrajac even though he really needed to have a standup fight with him, and Steve Cantwell opted to stand up and let Cyrille Diabate off his back in the first round of their fight, leading to his demise.

8:33- Pokrajac just made the most gentlemanly call out of another fighter ever. The recipient was Tito Ortiz, by the way. I like it. I think every fighter on the card should have agreed to call Tito out after winning, regardless of their weight class. Come on, you wouldn’t laugh at that?

8:38- Jon Jones gets the interview treatment from Joe Rogan. He really buys into his ability and says he thinks he’s already there, “there” being “the best light heavyweight in the world. He just doesn’t think he’s had the chance to prove it. I actually like his confidence. You can’t jump out of nowhere to fight the top fighter in the world in your weight class without it.

8:39- Alessio Sakara continues the celebrity somewhat-look-alikes theme. If only his English was better so he could shout, “Tonight…we dine…IN HELL!” In comparison, we have Chris Weidman, who couldn’t get into his own post-fight party without being carded.

8:45- Continuing the theme even further (probably too far): Our referee is Gary “Lil’ Lesnar” Copeland. By the way, Sakara is almost Stevenson-esque, maybe even Danzig-esque in his ability to stay in the UFC regardless of his level of performance. Not quite Bonner-esque, though.

8:48- Sakara is throwing some good combinations, but maybe not as good as Rogan is giving him credit for. It’s pretty much left hook, right hook, right leg kick each time. Most of the hooks are landing on Weidman’s arms, to boot.

8:50- Put me down for 10-9 Sakara for a rather pedestrian first round. No, I mean literally pedestrian- Sakara keeps dropping his hands and walking around the cage between exchanges. His activity level really dropped towards the end of the round, though I like his takedown defense so far.

8:53- Weidman is showing some capable ground and pound and good guard passing after getting his first takedown of the fight early in round two. Sakara’s mystery cut that came seemingly out of nowhere in the first round is really getting sloppy. Nothing like Edwin Dewees in “The Ultimate Fighter 4″, mind you. In terms of gushiness, that’s the gold standard right there.

8:56- Rogan points out that the cut is a new one and not the one from the first round. Awesome moment as Sakara wipes the blood off with Copeland’s shirt. “Gimme yer shirt, bitch,” Rogan says to add his own personal caption to the moment. Saves me the work. Anyway, round two goes to Weidman, who had a lot more success with his takedowns and seems to be getting more comfortable out there. I like Sakara’s ability to stand up and sweep from his back, as well as the body shots, though.

9:02- Sakara is really struggling now. Weidman is securing each takedown with ease and Sakara can’t do much off of his back. Stop me if you’ve heard that one before.

9:06- Sanity prevails as all three judges give the bout to Weidman, though no one gives the first round to Sakara. Weidman has to be pleased to come in with a 4-0 record and win like this on two weeks’ notice in his UFC debut.

9:12- With Jones out of the way, we get the obligatory Rogan-Shogun interview. Nothing to see here. Safe to say Shogun isn’t a title-holder in the Ultimate Charisma Championship.

9:14- If you like your striking sloppy and your fights grindy, get ready because Munoz-Dollaway is NEXT! Dollaway bears a passing resemblance to Jim Carrey’s female bodybuilding character Vera de Milo from In Living Color. I’m reaching at this point, but we’re gonna get through this celebrity lookalike thing unscathed, I promise.

9:17- Dollaway has a five inch reach advantage, but Munoz’s cauliflower ear advantage is just as decisive. Call it a wash.

9:20- Munoz overcomes a bad mistake early on that allowed a takedown by Dolloway to tag Dollaway with a right hand and finish on the mat for a TKO. The stoppage looked a bit premature, but as Munoz got off of Dollaway, Dollaway’s eyes were focused somewhere in the 20th row of the crowd, so we’ll call it good. Of course, Dollaway recovers quickly after that and proceeds to throw Mario Yamasaki under the bus by protesting the stoppage, but you’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do, right?

9:23- Why do fans boo the victorious fighter after a premature stoppage? Not that this one was, but the question remains. For that matter, why boo the winning fighter after a poor judges’ decision?

9:24- We get a shot of Kenny Florian and Todd Harris wearing 3-D glasses, as apparently they’re commentating on the 3-D broadcast on Xfinity, whatever that is. Those glasses are ridiculous, though. They look like what people imagined the future would look like back in the 1950′s. You know, like they would be right at home with flying, super shiny cars and silver reflective jumpsuits.

9:27- Another bonus prelim, with Thiago Tavares and Shane Roller getting the replay treatment. Rogan notes that Tavares looks “very thick”, and it’s unclear whether he’s talking about his musculature or his eyebrows. Those things look impenetrable. Like an evil cartoon henchman’s hidden lair.

9:29- Tavares is sponsored by a salon, apparently. Goldberg compares him to Vitor Belfort, maybe because everyone with fast hands is comparable to Belfort. Or because Tavares looks like Belfort’s little brother. Either way.

9:32- Roller isn’t setting up his takedowns with strikes and Tavares is having no trouble fending them off as a result. 10-9 round for Tavares to start. I feel weird scoring fights that have already happened, by the way.

9:35- You know who Tavares really looks like? If he had a mustache, he’d look exactly like John Oates of Hall & Oa– Holy shit! Roller lands a perfect straight right that floors Tavares out of nowhere and lead to a stoppage immediately after. “Holy shitbuckets!” says my wife. I concur.

9:45- Kampmann is out first for the main event and he comes out to Three 6 Mafia’s “It’s a Fight”. Both a completely obvious statement and proof that he’s been watching Rocky Balboa.

9:46- Goldberg notes that Kampmann’s got more ways to win this fight. I almost thought in WWE terms for a second there, like Dana White marched out Vince McMahon-style and declared that Sanchez can only win by submission or something.

9:47- Sanchez walks out to “La Bamba” but wears the same tough guy face he always does. It’s a weird contrast. It’s almost as if he’s challenging the song to remove his scowl, and you know what? He’s winning. Seriously, don’t put it past him, there’s about a 80% chance that it’s why he picked this song. Or maybe because he’s crazy. Or a little of both. Let’s just move on.

9:50- Contrast in styles: Sanchez stares across the Octagon while making his best Clubber Lang face. Kampmann smirks back and grooms his eyebrows.

9:52- Bonus observation: next time you see Diego Sanchez from a side view, check out how his forehead slopes right into his nose with nary a bump. It’s weird.

9:53- Sanchez looks a bit flabby. They start and Sanchez is throwing with the ferocity of a young Tito Ortiz. Or at least the craziness of a young Ortiz. Kampmann is calm and technical as always. Kampmann stuffs the first takedown attempt of the night and drops Sanchez with a straight right for good measure.

9:54- Kampmann has the front headlock and Sanchez is bent over with one hand on the mat to avoid being kneed in the grill. They need to change that rule so a downed opponent is simply someone on one or both knees, back, etc. None of this “touch the mat to avoid having your face kneed in” crap.

9:57- The first round ends and it’s all Kampmann. Sanchez’s face is a mess and he’s bleeding rather heavily out of his mouth. He still manages to make the tough guy face, while Kampmann makes the “I’m really glad I’m not you right now” face.

9:59- Rogan says Sanchez’s corner wanted lots of takedown attempts with switches from single leg to double leg and so forth. I’m not sure how well it will work, though. Kampmann’s takedown defense has been remarkable so far. Like Rogan said, “effortless”.

10:01- Sanchez is working really hard for a takedown here, but Kampmann doesn’t even look challenged. Sanchez swings for the faces but Kampmann is no worse for wear, other than a cut near his right eye. This is turning into quite a fight.

10:03- For all the talk about the cut to Kampmann “changing the course of this fight,” Kampmann is still winning. He’s landing the better shots for the most part, fending off takedowns with ease, and being more economical with his striking. Of course, judges often reward activity over actually landing punches (see: Leonard Garcia), so who knows.

10:06- Sanchez picks up where he left off, landing a big right to the head, then to the body. Rogan mentions Kampmann breathing out of his mouth, but Sanchez has been doing so since minute three of the fight. Goldberg continues his assault on the cliche record, throwing in “bloodied, but not beaten” for good measure.

10:08- I am amazed at how Sanchez hasn’t gassed even for a second, even though he’s obviously not in his best shape. He finally gets a takedown, but Kampmann stands quickly. This round is up for grabs, and the fight probably is, as well.

10:10- Kampmann has definitely injured his right hand, and Sanchez is all over him with a minute left. Sanchez is a freaking warrior. After that first round, to keep going the way he has is incredible. The horn sounds and the fight is over. An early contender for fight of the year, and Sanchez just may have pulled it off.

10:11- It’s all about who the second round went to. The first was Kampmann’s, and the third belonged to Sanchez for sure. That said, I completely expect a 30-27 one way or another from at least one judge.

10:13- The cards are in and Diego Sanchez wins it. Not Diego “The Nightmare” Sanchez, mind you. Diego “The Dream” Sanchez. Gutsy performance for sure. Fans are booing and I’m really not sure why. They must be hardcore Kampmann fans, if such a thing exists. Sanchez is a mess. Incredible comeback.

10:15- Both fighters think they won and that’s fair enough. It hinges on the second, and that was a close round (I gave it- and the fight- to Kampmann, personally). I’m not sure why every close fight has to be turned into a controversy, though. It’s a close fight! That second round could go either way. I’m surprised to hear that Rogan backs Kampmann for the second round, considering how he was reacting to everything Sanchez did that round. He even acknowledged that Kampmann was hurt twice in the second round.

10:19- At any rate, a great night of fights. Nearly all of them delivered, and best of all, they were free. Thanks for joining me, everyone. Make sure to check back later this week for both my thoughts on tonight’s fights and UFC 127. Have something to say? E-mail me at akathatoneguy (at) hotmail.com.

E-Mail Jon Hartley

Tags: Alessio Sakara, Brian Bowles, CB Dollaway, Chris Weidman, Damacio Page, Diego Sanchez, Mark Munoz, Martin Kampmann, Shane Roller, Thiago Tavares, UFC, UFC Live: Sanchez vs. Kampmann