Josh Neer vs. Kurt Pellegrino - Round 1 - Neer is pushing forwardand Pellegrino with a right hand that lands. Pellegrino with a great takedown and now Neer is throwing elbows off his back as Kurt passes to half guard. Neer back to full guard and he eats an elbow. Neer grabs an armbar and Pellegrino slams him to escape. Neer again working for an arm but he can't lock it up and Pellegrino lands a couple shots and passes to half guard again. Rogan and Goldie are really overrating Neers stand-up game while trying to hype his ground game.Pellegrino working elbows out of the half guard now. The round ends and it should be a Kurt round 10-9. Round 2 - Pellegrino with a single leg to get top position again. Neer isn't going to be able to win a decision off his back so he is going to need a submission. He almost locks a triangle but Kurt throws a punch again. Neer wants it stood up but Kurt is staying just busy enough. Triangle attempt by Neer again and Pellegrino uses it to pass to side control. Quick pass to mount by Pellegrino and now he takes Josh's back. The Round ends with Pellegrino on his back and Neer's nose bleeding. 10-9 Pellegrino. Round 3 - Pellegrino working body kicks early. Kurt catches a kick from Neer and gets a quick takedown. Neer is stuck on the bottom being forced to try to catch submissions but Pellegrino is sweaty. Neer with an elbow from the bottom that cuts Kurt. Full mount by Pellegrino and Neer reverses to end up on top. Kurt stands up and Neer is landing big elbows. 10-9 Neer. but Kurt wins 29-28. Official Scorecards: 30-27 across the board for Kurt Pellegrino.
Kendall Grove vs. Ricardo Almeida - Round 1 - Almeida right away going for the takedown and Grove is working knees to the body as he defends. Kendall is using really good takedown defense here. Grove is able to get distance again finally and that has to be considered a victory. Big right hand by Almeida as he closes distance. Kick lands for Kendall and Almeida closes in again. Grove attempts a choke but Almeida defends but still can't get the takedown. Finally with about 1:50 left in the round Ricardo is able to get the takedown. Ricardo trying to pass and ends up taking Grove's back. Kendall is able to stand up and land a knee before Almeida gets a big slam to go back to the round. The round ends and it was 10-9 Almeida. Round 2 -Almeida with a takedown and almost gets caught in a guillotine. Now Grove with a REALLY DEEP ARMBAR! He's going to finish the BJJ superstar..no! Almeida escapes and almost gets caught in a leg lock but now is safely on top. Pass to half guard by Almeida and Grove tries to grab a knee bar as he eats some shots. Almeida is landing some big shots now and Grove manages to stand up. Big uppercut by Kendall and now a knee to the head. 10-9 Almeida again. Round 3 -Takedown by Ricardo and Kendall wall walks to get back to standing. Left hook by Kendall and Almeida is gassed badly. He tries to pull guard and eats elbows from Grove before Kendall makes him stand back up. Grove knees him in the face. Almeida with a takedown with 2:17 left. Almeida just wants to ride this out. One minute left now. They're standing and Grove is trying to finish but can't do it before time runs out. 10-9 Grove and I have the fight at 29-28 Almeida. Official Scorecards: 30-27 Almeida across the board. That's one of the closer 30-27 fights you'll ever see.
Amir Sadollah vs. Johny Hendricks - Round 1 - Amir Hendircks with a big flurry and Amir drops and isn't protecting himself. It's over in 30 seconds. Rogan is saying it was an early stoppage. Amir went down and was trying to get up but was eating shots. Johny Hendricks wins by TKO (punches), round 1.
Shane Nelson vs. Aaron Riley - Undercard action Round 1 - Riley with a nice left to start the fight. Riley is coming forward throwing shots with bad intentions. Left hand lands for Nelson now. This fight has been a lot of grinding type striking by Riley to this point. Poor shot by Nelson is defended. The round ends and it was 10-9 Riley on my card. Round 2 - Riley pushing Nelson against the fence and throwing some small shots. This fight is really not my cup of tea. Kick lands to Nelson's face and he was rocked. Riley with the takedown and Nelson is gassed. Riley working hammerfists and elbows but the fight is stood up. The round ends and it was 10-9 again for Riley. Round 3 - Riley avoids a takedown easily early. Nelson tries to flurry but doesn't land anything. Riley on top on the ground and there was a fight in the crowd that got the crowd going. It's just a lot of Riley on top grinding away. 10-9 agian for Riley for what should be 30-27. Official scorecards: 30-27 for Aaron Riley.
Anderson Silva vs. Forrest Griffin - So stoked for this. Round 1 -High kick missed by Forrest early. Leg kick is caught by Anderson and they both miss punches off of it. Not a lot to say. They were circling and now Anderson charges in and drops Forrest with a right hand. Forrest is back up and they're trading shots. Silva is showboating and then unloads, dropping Forrest again. Silva lands some shots and Forrest survives. They stand up and Silva knocks him out with a straight. Jesus, that was absolute domination. Holy crap. That should shut EVERYONE up. Forrest runs backstage...which looks pretty awful. He was "knocked out" but immediately stood up and ran backstage. Forrest quit, he wasn't knocked out...he quit after realizing he couldn't win. A knocked out fighter can't stand up 10 seconds later and sprint to the back.
BJ Penn vs. Kenny Florian for the UFC Lightweight Championship - Round 1 - Florian with a high kick that is blocked. Right hand by Penn looks like it bothered Florian a little. They clinch against the fence and BJ lands a nice elbow. They clinch up again and Penn works some dirty boxing. High kick misses for Kenny again. Penn is coming forward landing shots again. More clinch work by Penn and they separate again. Florian with the clinch this time and he is trying for a takedown, which doesn't happen. Penn ducks a punch by Florian and lands a sharp right hand that hurts Kenny, followed by a knee. The round ends and it was a clear 10-9 round for Penn. Round 2 - Nice leg kick by Florian. Right hand out of the clinch by Penn and it was solid. Kenny keeps working for takedowns and has yet to be able to finish. Penn lands a punch to the back of the head and gets a warning but honestly it is a legal punch in this situation as Florian jumped in and it was the only place for Penn's punch (that was already being thrown) to land. Penn with a nice flurry of heavy punches that land. 10-9 round for Penn again. Round 3 - High kick missed by Florian. Florian going for takedowns again and eating small strikes while doing so. Penn with a flurry of shots that land in response to a single shot that landed for Florian. Penn with some good knees to the body and punches to the head. Penn is landing in flurries and it's clearly winning rounds vs Kenny's strategy of trying to wear BJ out with grappling against the cage. Round 4-Penn catches Kenny early again. Big takedown by Penn and he is landing elbows to Florian's head. Penn is just grinding away and landing shots from half guard. Penn gets to full mount and Kenny is just covering up as he eats shots. He takes the back but goes back to mount. Now Kenny gives up the back again. Choke is sunk in and Kenny is forced to tap out. I didn't have Penn losing a second of that fight. BJ Penn wins by submission (rear naked choke), round 4.
