Re: UFC 127: Penn vs. Fitch (Feb. 26th) Blackledge/Perosh and Zhang/Reinhardt on Facebook prelims. Not the fights I would've picked but w/e.
Re: UFC 127: Penn vs. Fitch (Feb. 26th) ^ Ion TV will broadcast Fisher/Pearson and Gustafsson/Te Huna at nine, Facebook fights start at eight.
Re: UFC 127: Penn vs. Fitch (Feb. 26th) Weigh-in Results Curt Warburton 70.8kg vs. Maciej Jewtuszko 70.2kg Mark Hunt 119.2kg vs. Chris Tuchscherer 118.6kg Tiequan Zhang 66.2kg vs. Jason Reinhardt 66.0kg Tom Blackledge 93.2kg vs. Anthony Perosh 93.0kg Riki Fukuda 84.0kg vs. Nick Ring 84.0kg Alexander Gustafsson 93.2kg vs. James Te Huna 93.0kg Spencer Fisher 70.2kg vs. Ross Pearson 70.6kg Kyle Noke 83.6kg vs. Chris Camozzi 84.2kg Chris Lytle 77.2kg vs. Brian Ebersole 77.2kg George Sotiropolous 70.8kg vs. Dennis Siver 71.2kg Michael Bisping 84.0kg vs. Jorge Rivera 84.0kg B.J. Penn 76.0kg vs. Jon Fitch 77.2kg B.J. weighed-in with jeans on. He is probably going to be 10 to 15-lbs. lighter than Fitch come fight time. Bisping and Rivera got in each others faces. A more manufactured feud I have not witnessed.
^ That's how they weighed-in. The fighter stood on one side of the teeter-totter and they put jugs of goat's milk on the other side one by one until the thing balanced out.
Re: UFC 127: Penn vs. Fitch (Feb. 26th) Results Curt Warburton def. Maciej Jewtuszko via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) Mark Hunt def. Chris Tuchscherer via knockout (punches) - Round 2, 1:41 Tiequan Zhang def. Jason Reinhardt via submission (guillotine choke) - Round 1, 0:48 Anthony Perosh def. Tom Blackledge via submission (rear-naked choke) - Round 1, 2:45 Nick Ring def. Riki Fukuda via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) Alexander Gustafsson def. James Te Huna via submission (rear-naked choke) - Round 1, 4:27 Ross Pearson def. Spencer Fisher via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) Kyle Noke def. Chris Camozzi via submission (rear-naked choke) - Round 1, 1:35 Brian Ebersole def. Chris Lytle via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) Dennis Siver def. George Sotiropoulos via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-28, 30-27) Michael Bisping def. Jorge Rivera via TKO (strikes) - Round 2, 1:54 Jon Fitch vs. B.J. Penn is scored a majority draw (29-28 Fitch, 28-28, 28-28)
Re: UFC 127: Penn vs. Fitch (Feb. 26th) Great night of fights! Goes to show you can't judge a card on paper.
I think that was a fabulous PPV. Sure it lacked the drama of a title fight but every bout was worthwhile. Lots of great moments. Bisping did his best to spoil it, though. The knee he threw at Rivera was deliberate and it completely changed the fight. Rivera wasn't the same afterward. Rivera wanted to continue so kudos to him but he didn't seem fit to do so. Afterward it looked like Bisping spit on Rivera's corner through the cage, then he marched over to Rivera to demand an apology before feigning mutual respect. Finally he whined during the post-fight interview about being sensitive and butthurt and the whole thing amounted to a shameful win. How this guy can't figure out why he is disliked is beyond me.
Re: UFC 127: Penn vs. Fitch (Feb. 26th) Like I said, so many great moments from this event. -- Hunt's absolutely gangster walk-off knockout; -- Ebersole's cartwheel kicks; -- Gustafsson reversing the tides and choking out Te Huna; -- Noke running through Camozzi; -- Zhang exposing Reinhardt's inflated fight record; -- Siver throwing around Sotiropoulos; -- Penn making Fitch fight him. Strangely the stacked UFC 126 card doesn't come close to the thin UFC 128 show.
Re: UFC 127: Penn vs. Fitch (Feb. 26th) The judging for this event was a bit suspect. Fukuda/Ring was robbery. I don't know how all three judges got it wrong. I understand not awarding much for take-downs when they amount to nothing but it's not like Ring's kickboxing was lighting Fukuda up. One judge had Ebersole winning all three rounds. I don't think he won the first by any means. Siver knocks down Sotiropoulos twice in the first round and can't get a 10-8 from any judge. Also, two judges scored a round a 10-10 draw. Pretty unusual and I didn't see it. I think Siver won the third round with the second going to Sotiropoulos. Should've been 29-27 on all cards IMHO. However the main event was judged perfectly. Penn narrowly won the first two rounds and Fitch got the third 10-8. No complaints from me on that score. Dead-on, I reckon.
Ironic. The main event was a good fight, but it left the UFC with a problem. DW would have been happier with a blow-out.
^ I think it was going to be a problem either way seeing as how a St-Pierre win means a vacant title. Can't have a #1 contender when there isn't a champion.
UFC considering a show at the Etihad arena in Melbourne, which has a roof and is comparable in size to the Rogers Center.
Fitch likes the idea of rematching Penn for a vacant title, should things shake out that way, but Penn is less enthusiastic, thinking he needs the win over Fitch to earn a title shot.
