UFC 144 Results & Analysis

The UFC's made it's return to Japan in the Saitama Super Arena, which saw Benson "Smooth" Henderson crowned the new UFC Lightweight Champion, after earning a unanimous decision victory (49-46, 48-47, 49-46) over former champ Frankie Edgar.
During the early rounds, it was clear to say Edgar employed a similar game plan as used in past title defences such as, Maynard and B.J Penn. Where by, his skilled footwork, constant movement and change of angles would earn him the victory, however, Henderson's pure size and strength advantage simply proved too much for the much smaller ex-champ.
Edgar's training with Muay Thai master Phil Nurse allowed him to catch the majority of Henderson's kicks but were ineffective in preventing damage being caused; the thrilling five-round bout saw wild techniques being displayed, including a scizzor kick, jumping knee and a front side kick, all from the Taekwondo black belt Henderson.
The highlight of round two came in the final seconds of the round, as a Edgar takedown led to Henderson rocking Edgar with a up-kick, using the full force of the heel and causing great damage, which became a influential factor in the judges decision, as the greater volume of punches were landed by Edgar, however, the majority of damage was inflicted by Henderson, which was evident during and after the fight, as Edgar had a badly swollen eye, damaged nose and multiple cuts under his left eye.
The bout was not as one sided as the scorecards may show, as large parts of the action was back and forth with both fighters achieving takedowns but were unable to remain control of the other. In addition, each fighter landed significant strikes during the bout with the full arsenal of their striking being demonstrated but in the end, the bout was judged on the octagon control and damage caused to the opponent.

In the Co-Main Event, Ryan Bader spoilt Rampage Jackson's return to Japan, as the TUF winner managed to earn a unanimous decision victory (30-27, 30-27, 30-27). Although Rampage did showcase his former glory at Pride with a trademark slam.

Main card

• Lightweight bout:  Anthony Pettis vs.  Joe Lauzon

Pettis defeated Lauzon via KO (head kick & punches) at 1:21 of round 1.

• Featherweight bout:  Hatsu Hioki vs.  Bart Palaszewski

Hioki defeated Palazewski via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28).

• Middleweight bout:  Yushin Okami vs.  Tim Boetsch

Boetsch defeated Okami via TKO (punches) at 0:54 of round 3.

• Welterweight bout:  Yoshihiro Akiyama vs.  Jake Shields

Shields defeated Akiyama via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).

• Heavyweight bout:  Mark Hunt vs.  Cheick Kongo

Hunt defeated Kongo via TKO (punches) at 2:11 of round 1.

• Catchweight (211 lb) bout:  Quinton Jackson vs.  Ryan Bader

Bader defeated Jackson via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).

• Lightweight Championship bout:  Frankie Edgar (c) vs.  Ben Henderson

Henderson defeated Edgar via unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47, 49-46).

Preliminary card 

• Featherweight bout:  Zhang Tiequan vs.  Issei Tamura

Tamura defeated Zhang via KO (punch) at 0:32 of round 2.

• Bantamweight bout:  Takeya Mizugaki vs.  Chris Cariaso

Cariaso defeated Mizugaki via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).

• Middleweight bout:  Riki Fukuda vs.  Steve Cantwell

Fukuda defeated Cantwell via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27).

• Bantamweight bout:  Norifumi Yamamoto vs.  Vaughan Lee

Lee defeated Yamamoto via submission (armbar) at 4:29 of round 1.

• Lightweight bout:  Takanori Gomi vs.  Eiji Mitsuoka

Gomi defeated Mitsuoka via TKO (punches) at 2:21 of round 2.

UFC 143 Results & Analysis

UFC 143 crowned Carlos Condit the new Interim Welterweight Champion with a unanimous decision victory against Nick Diaz (48–47, 49–46, 49–46).  Condit perfectly executed trainers Greg Jackson and Mike Winkeljohn's game plan, where by, avoiding Diaz's clinical striking when pressured up against the cage and using a mixed variety of striking techniques to counter Diaz's constant forward moving attack became the key to victory.

Unable to exert the same pressure as showcased in recent bouts to the likes of B.J Penn and Donald Cerrone, Diaz became increasingly frustrated and began taunting the well disciplined Condit with signature acts such as, crossing his arms, hands down to his waist and trash talking. In the post-fight press conference, Condit referenced the Diaz's trash talking, "I threw a spinning back-fist or something and he (Diaz) told me, we're throwing spinning sh*t now?"

The championship rounds saw similar action to previous rounds, where Diaz would press Condit to the cage with body strikes for a brief moment and Condit would then duck-under to escape to the centre of the octogon and evade playing Diaz's game; the cardio of both fighters were not in question, as the constant movement did not appear to affect the fighters during the five round bout.

During the fourth round, Diaz attempted a clinch to single-leg takedown attempt but was unable to complete to the credit of Condit's well prepared takedown defence, however, Diaz did manage to keep hold onto a leg kick for several seconds, but to the amusement of Condit this occurred after the round had ended.

The signal for round five led to "The Natural Born Killer" turning the pressure up with technical striking such as switch kicks, elbows, leg kicks etc. However, Diaz took the back of Condit late in the final round and managed to drag him to the canvas and transitioned to a body triangle, appearing to look for a rear naked choke but the submission defence of Condit managed to hold on to the final remaining seconds of the fight; the victory sets up the future bout against currently injured George Saint Pierre to crown the Undisputed Welterweight Champion.

Main card:

• Middleweight bout:  Ed Herman vs.  Clifford Starks

Herman defeated Starks via submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:43 of round 2.

• Bantamweight bout:  Renan Barão vs.  Scott Jorgensen

Barão defeated Jorgensen via unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, 30–27).

• Welterweight bout:  Josh Koscheck vs.  Mike Pierce

Koscheck defeated Pierce via split decision (28–29, 29–28, 29–28).

• Heavyweight bout:  Roy Nelson vs.  Fabricio Werdum

Werdum defeated Nelson via unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, 30–27).

• Interim Welterweight Championship bout:  Nick Diaz vs.  Carlos Condit

Condit defeated Diaz via unanimous decision (48–47, 49–46, 49–46)

Preliminary card:

• Welterweight bout:  Dan Stittgen vs.  Stephen Thompson

Thompson defeated Stittgen via KO (round kick) at 4:13 of round 1.

• Middleweight bout:  Rafael Natal vs.  Michael Kuiper

Natal defeated Kuiper via unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, 29–28).

• Welterweight bout:  Matthew Riddle vs.  Henry Martinez

Riddle defeated Martinez via split decision (28–29, 29–28, 29–28).

• Welterweight bout:  Matt Brown vs.  Chris Cope

Brown defeated Cope via TKO (punches) at 1:19 of round 2.

• Bantamweight bout:  Alex Caceres vs.  Edwin Figueroa

Figueroa defeated Caceres via split decision (28–27, 27–28, 28–27).

• Featherweight bout:  Dustin Poirier vs.  Max Holloway

Poirier defeated Holloway via submission (mounted triangle armbar) at 3:23 of round 1.