UFC on FOX 5: Shogun is missing, loses fight and title chance

B. Henderson defends lightweight belt after beating N. Diaz.

The Swede Alexander Gustafson and the North American Ben henderson were the big winners of UFC on FOX 5, an event held this Saturday night (08), in Seattle, in the United States. Gustafsson used his greater wingspan to defeat the Brazilian Mauricio Shogun and position himself as the next challenger for the light heavyweight belt, while Henderson showed why he is the lightweight champion and dominated Nate diaz during the five rounds of the night's main fight to defend his reign in the category.

UFC on FOX 5:  Raphael Assunção beats American on preliminary card

Bendo dominates Diaz and defends belt for the second time
the duel between Ben henderson é Nate diaz it was tipped to be one of the best fights of 2012. But what we saw in the Octagon was extensive dominance from the champion from the beginning to the end of the fight.

With better technical quality and showing versatility in striking and on the ground, Ben unleashed the game from the beginning, attacking Nate with powerful low kicks, taking down the opponent and working hard on top.

Despite being ineffective, Nate only put the champion in danger in the third round, when he tried to land a heel hook that was well defended by Henderson. After that, the belt owner continued to attack, putting pressure on Diaz until the end of the 25 regulatory minutes to guarantee his second defense of the Ultimate belt.

“It was a matter of being well prepared and having good energy. Everyone here is a good fighter, but the difference is in the details. Today’s fight was fought with heart,” said Henderson after the duel.

Shogun shows determination, but loses to Gustafsson
It didn't work for the Brazilian Mauricio Shogun. The Brazilian, who was one victory away from returning to compete for the light heavyweight belt, was unable to repeat his best performances and, after a well-fought duel, was defeated by the Swede Alexander Gustafson in the unanimous decision of the judges.

Gustafsson started the duel using his greater wingspan to land blows and take the Brazilian to the ground. However, as soon as he was taken down for the first time, Shogun showed speed to place a kneebar on his opponent, who had difficulty defending himself and forcing the duel to restart with striking.

In the second round, Shogun loosened his game and entered the range of action, landing more powerful blows on Gustafsson. But in the final half of the round, the Swede changed his strategy and preferred to take down the Brazilian and keep the fight on the ground, from where he scored points.

History repeated itself in the next round. Shogun released the game with greater forcefulness in his strikes, while Gustafsson used his greater reach to respond in the counterattack and, soon after, take down the Brazilian.

In the final moments, with better physical preparation, Alexander still managed to land some knees on the Brazilian and even a frontal stomp, which caused the Brazilian athlete to lose his balance. Even at a disadvantage and with a damaged face, Shogun was still attacking his opponent, but without achieving a knockout, he ended up defeated by unanimous decision from the judges (30×27, 30×27, 30×26)

BJ loses in return to MMA
the return of B.J. Penn to the octagon did not go the way the Hawaiian expected. After announcing his retirement from MMA, the former champion of the lightweight and welterweight categories was unable to find himself in the duel against Rory McDonald and was largely dominated during the three rounds of the fight.

With a huge advantage in terms of wingspan, MacDonald was able to use this to his advantage to land straight blows on his rival and avoid being hit by BJ's dangerous blows. Lost in the duel, Penn, at various times, was a fixed target for the Canadian who delivered low kicks, blows to the plexus and powerful punches to his opponent's face.

After 15 minutes of fighting, Rory MacDonald won by unanimous decision from the judges (30×26, 30×26, 30×27)

Matt Brown knocks out Mike Swick
In the first fight on the main card, North American Matt Brown proved the great stage in his career. In the fight against Mike Swick, the American started the fight with everything, trying to end the duel with several submission attacks. First with a hand triangle, then with a triangle, and then with an arm-bar. All attacks well defended by Swick.

But if in the first round, the duel took place on the ground, in the second round the dispute involved a frank exchange of blows. Brown took more of the initiative, but ended up being pushed backwards into the cage by his opponent. Swick applied some knees in the clinch, but without force.

Even after suffering pressure from his opponent, Brown seemed not to be intimidated and set out to end the dispute. With a left cross followed by a right to Mike Swick's chin, he completely knocked out his opponent.

Check out the complete UFC on FOX 5 results below:

Main Card
Ben henderson derrotou Nate diaz in the unanimous decision of the judges;
Alexander Gustafson derrotou Mauricio Shogun in the unanimous decision of the judges;
Rory McDonald defeated BJ Penn via unanimous decision;
Matt Brown defeated Mike Swick by knockout at 2:31 of R2;

Preliminary Card
Yves Edwards derrotou Jeremy Stephens by TKO at 1:55 in R2;
Raphael Assunção defeated Mike Easton via unanimous decision;
Ramsey Nijem defeated Joe Proctor via unanimous decision;
Daron Cruickshank defeated Henry Martinez by knockout at 2:57 of R2;
Abel Trujillo defeated Marcus LeVesseur via TKO at 3:56 of R2;
Dennis Siver defeated Nam Phan via unanimous decision;
Scott Jorgensen submitted John Albert with a rear naked choke at 4:59 of R1.