Frank Edgar asserts himself as lightweight champion - Photos: Josh Hedges
UFC-118 recently ended in Boston, United States, an event that marked the affirmation of a new champion. Defending the lightweight title for the first time, Frank Edgar gave the former champion no chance B.J. Penn and won the judges' decision. In the fight called “MMA vs. Boxing”, Randy Couture didn't take any chances with James Toney's striking and quickly finished with a katagatame. Among the Brazilians on the card, Amilcar Alves debuted in the UFC with a defeat against Mike Pierce, while, in the Tupiniquim duel, Demian Maia got the better of Mario Miranda
Edgar repeats the recipe and wins BJ
Those who thought that Frank Edgar wasn't worthy of the Ultimate belt, the American showed at UFC-118 that they were wrong. Before B.J. Penn, the current champion repeated the recipe from the first fight and, with a lot of movement, won the unanimous decision of the judges. In the first three rounds, Edgar used his speed, entering and leaving the range of action, to strike with punches or seek a takedown. BJ, on the other hand, controlled the center of the octagon, but was unable to land a sequence of blows. In the fourth round, the Hawaiian changed his strategy and tried to take down Edgar, but when he tried to get to his back he was swept and punished with punches from the guard. In the last round, already feeling the rhythm of the fight, BJ barely moved, while Frank was extremely fit. In the end, Frank Edgar won the unanimous decision of the judges. (50-45, 50-45, 50-45)
Couture doesn't take any risks, submits Toney and earns black belt
In the fight called “MMA vs. Boxing”, former UFC champion Randy Couture did not want to risk the strong striking of James Toney, four times world champion of the “noble art”. Right at the beginning of the fight, Randy attacked the boxer's legs and took the fight to the ground. From there, “Captain America” quickly reached the mount, where he worked with strong punches, until he used the katagatame and finished the fight. After the duel, Randy Couture was awarded a jiu-jitsu black belt by his teacher Robert Drysdale.
Demian Maia wins Tupiniquim duel against Mario Miranda
Back to the octagon, Demian Maia showed that he was fully recovered from the defeat he suffered against Anderson Silva at UFC-112. Against his compatriot Mario Miranda, the black belt started the fight with good striking strikes, but halfway through the first round, he didn't want to take any risks and put the fight down. In the following rounds, Maia controlled the entire fight on the ground and at the end of the third round he tried to end the duel with an arm-bar, but Miranda defended himself well. In the end, victory Demian Maia in the judges' decision. (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Maynard beats Florian and gets a title shot
In the duel that would give the winner the right to fight for the lightweight belt, Gray Maynard managed to impose his game against Kenny Florian and emerge with triumph. Unable to find his footing in the standup, Maynard used his wrestling at the end of the first round to take the fight to the ground and work with punches from above, repeating the recipe in the second round. In the last round, Florian, who had been taken down again, tried to risk a submission attempt with an omoplata, but it was too late. At the end, Gray Maynard emerged victorious in the unanimous decision of the judges (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Nate diaz concludes Marcus Davis
In the first fight on the main card, Nate diaz He used his reach well against Marcus Davis. After feeling a sequence of punches, the brother of Nick Diaz recovered and controlled the actions in the first two rounds. In the third round, Nate showed off his jiu-jitsu and finished the fight with a beautiful inverted guillotine.
Joe lauzon ends quickly
Joe lauzon prints a fantastic rhythm in the fight. Right at the beginning of the fight, he puts Gabe Ruediger down and works with strong punches from above. He gets to mount, to his back and applies a beautiful arm-bar, ending the duel in just 2min01sec
Amilcar is defeated in his debut
The first Brazilian to enter the Octagon, Amilcar Alves did not make the UFC debut he expected. Facing Mike Pierce, the Nova União athlete had difficulties in the first two rounds, being put down and having to defend himself from the guard's punches. However, in the last round, having to go for it, the Brazilian is once again taken to the ground by the American, who this time tries to finish with a Kimura, Amilcar defends himself, but is caught in a fair arm-bar, being submitted at 3:11 of the third. round. Check out the full results of the event:
Main Card
Frank Edgar defeated B.J. Penn in the unanimous decision of the judges;
Randy Couture submitted James Toney with a katagatame in R1;
Demian Maia derrotou Mario miranda in the unanimous decision of the judges;
Gray Maynard derrotou Kenny Florian in the unanimous decision of the judges;
Nate diaz submitted Marcus Davis with a reverse guillotine choke in R3;
Preliminary Card
Joe lauzon submitted Gabe Ruediger with an armbar in R1;
Nik lentz defeated Andre Winner via unanimous decision;
Dan Miller submitted John Salter with a choke in R2;
Greg Soto defeated Nick Osipczak via unanimous decision;
Mike Pierce submitted Amilcar Alves with an arm-bar on R3.
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