UFC 105 Live Blog: Pardon Me, Allow Me to Punch You in The Face
Beaming in from Manchester, England, Spike is bringing some good ole British beatdowns into The States. Tea time is 8P/7C and the broadcast will kick off with a touch of T.U.F. TM as Ross Pearson takes on Aaron Riley in his first fight since winning the ninth season of The Ultimate Fighter. I invite you to follow the action right here, but be warned, spoilers are included for those on the West Coast and the crushing case of pteromerhanophobia that kept me from going to England has left me a cold and bitter scribe.
We told you it was coming and the gladiator confirms it; UFC 105 has made it all the way from England onto Spike TV and I'll be posting my take on every head kick and low blow right here.
Ross Pearson vs. Aaron Riley
Round 1:
Ross lands a straight right hand, Riley doesn’t seem to mind. A pretty nice head kick lands from Pearson. Pearson gets the clinch and does some nice work on the inside, landing some knees to the body and uppercuts. Riley is in trouble right now. He needs to break freed from the clinch, and he does. Pearson is stalking now, he looks focused and aggressive, while Riley is backpedaling hard. Riley looks to land a right, but Ross blocks it and returns fire. Pearson again gets a clinch and lands some inside blows. As the ten second marker sounds, Pearson lands another straight right and will walk away the clear winner of round 1.
Round 2:
Joe Rogan informs us that Riley’s corner wants to him to stop backing away and start pushing the action. Pearson has other ideas and bullies Riley into the fence. Pearson lands a clean left hook right on the jaw of Riley. Riley gets locked up again. Riley seems to be standing his ground a little better now, but he’s paying for it. And then Pearson drops a combo, finished off with a nice head kick. A body kick from Pearson. A barrage from Pearson opens a nasty cut on Aaron Riley, and the ref stops the action to take a look. The cutman can’t stop the bleeding and the fight gets called in the middle of the second round.
Pearson looked A-mazing in his official UFC debut. He put on a beautiful striking display and truly dominated a veteran in Aaron Riley. Not many people saw him coming but Pearson just sent a message that he is serious and he is here to stay.
James Wilks vs. Matt Brown
The welterweight winner of the ninth season of The Ultimate Fighter will make his official debut right here and he too will have a huge test in Matt Brown.
Round 1:
Brown is taking early control but Wilks turns it around and locks up Brown against the fence. Wilks gets behind Brown and hops up, piggy back-style, to look for a submission, but he gives it up. Wilks has him pinned up against the fence again. Brown gets off the fence and Wilks lands a head kick. It's tough to tell but Joe Rogan says Wilks has a mouse under his eye. Brown looks for a standing guillotine and Wilks gets a takedown.
Round 2:
Brown lands a body kick. Brown lands a sick flying knee and knocks Wilks back. Wilks is down and Brown is on top trying to finish. Wilks looks to grab a leg, almost locks it up but it slips and both fighters are back to the feet. I think Mike Goldberg just called Rogan “Partner.” Brown has a clinch locked up and Wilks seems to breathing pretty heavily. Brown is looking for a bear hug takedown. He can’t get it and the ref breaks up the action. Rogan doesn’t like it. Brown lands a combo that drops Wilks. Wilks grabs a leg and does all he can to avoid a TKO but Brown is firing. It looks for a moment like it might get called but Wilks gets himself out of trouble. Brown is on top. Wilks hipscapes and reverses. Just as the last seconds tick away Brown locks up a triangle choke. The bell rings and you can see the frustration of lost opportunity all over Brown’s face.
Round 3:
Brown gets a takedown. Wilks is looking for a kimura. He locks it up and is cranking it. It looks bad for Brown but he’s fighting it. He breaks free and lands on top. It’s payback time as he rains blows from the mount. This only goes on for a few seconds before a nasty cuts opens on Wilks, blood spews on the mat and the ref calls the TKO.
It was a good showing from Wilks, but Brown is experienced and tough as they come. It’s a dangerous combo in mixed martial arts and it was too much for Wilks, but like his Ultimate Fighter winning counterpart, he’ll have a bright future in the UFC if he keeps it up.
Round 1:
Winner is looking mean and focused. Delgado on the other hand looks like he might be a little timid. He’s holding back his hands and Winner takes advantage knocking Delgado on his ass. But Delgado gets back up quickly. Winner lands a left that stung. Winner is looking very confident as he lets his hands drop to his waste. A ridiculous right hands puts Delgado to sleep immediately! He’s out before Winner finishes his follow-through but the ref is slow to react and Winner lands a few bombs on the unconscious Delgado.
