Florian, Leben Victorious at UFC Fight Night
Mike Sloan Sep 20, 2007
LAS VEGAS -- Kenny
Florian (Pictures) is a diehard Boston Red Sox fan
and one hell of a fighter.
Now he is also one of the few men to hand Din Thomas (Pictures) a defeat, and the New Englander did so emphatically Wednesday in a bout that headlined the stellar UFC Fight Night 11 card inside the Pearl at the Palms Hotel.
Florian took the lead early as the two lightweight contenders sized
each other up. "KenFlo" reeled off a few high kicks, but Thomas
defended them well. An unintentional kick to Thomas' groin prompted
a pause for the fighter to recover, and when the match resumed,
Florian missed a wild high kick and fell to his back.
The American Top Team representative couldn't capitalize on the mistake, though, and soon Florian took him off his feet. A mad scramble ensued on the mat, and Thomas kicked off his opponent and sprung back to his feet.
Florian unleashed a hellish fury of punches, though nothing landed cleanly. Finally, after his attempt at a stoppage via strikes fell short, Florian dug his hooks in and applied a rear-naked choke that Thomas didn't really bother to defend.
Initially it seemed as if Thomas had simply quit, but replays showed that his left knee buckled as he shot for a takedown. "Din's an unbelievable competitor, " Florian said after the fight. "He's one of the best in the world. That's why I wanted to fight him. I have so much respect for this guy. He was fighting before I was even training."
Without a doubt the win was the biggest in Florian's career. His confidence was soaring during his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan.
"If the UFC calls," he said, "Joe Silva's on the phone, tells you [that] you got a fight coming up, you better hope and pray it's not Kenny Florian (Pictures)."
Florian entered the fight knowing that a dominant win could lead to another title shot. His first-round submission victory seems to warrant at least consideration.
Chris Leben (Pictures) desperately needed a win Wednesday to keep his UFC career afloat. After dropping three of his last four bouts, Leben knew he had to deliver against Terry Martin (Pictures) or he could have been sent packing.
Before the fight Martin was predicting an explosive and brutal knockout. Little did he know that it would be him, not Leben, who would be the knockout victim.
Leben entered the fight looking in the best shape of his life. He threw smooth, straight combos instead of the typical ogre-like bombs he's known for.
With a compact stance and easy movement away from his more aggressive opponent's strikes, Leben was clearly winning the fight early. Save for a point deduction in the first round for grabbing the fence, "The Crippler" was fighting a perfect fight.
Martin had no answers for his suddenly swift-footed foe and resorted to launching one bomb at a time. If Martin got too close, however, Leben would simply clinch with him, land knees and press him against the fence.
"The Crippler" even applied a triangle choke in the second round, but Martin fended it off. Still, without question, this was the best Leben the MMA world had seen.
Suddenly in the third round, though, Leben was completely sapped of energy and could barely stand upright. He began eating punches, and it seemed as if all of his hard work during the first two rounds would amount to nothing.
Martin then landed a huge right hand to his face that forced him to stumble back into the fence. Leben, it looked certain, was about to get knocked out.
When he bounced off the fence, he charged at Martin with punches thrown from all angles. The one that connected was Leben's patented left hook, which found a home on the point of Martin's chin.
In a split second, the Chicago native was flattened, and his head had bounced off the canvas. Martin was out cold at 3:56 of the third round, and Leben had just scored the most dramatic knockout of his UFC career.
"I thought he had me for a little bit," Leben said immediately after his win. "I was getting a little worried. He's tough as hell."
Nathan Diaz (Pictures), winner of "The Ultimate Fighter 5," looked sensational in submitting the durable Junior Assuncao (Pictures) 4:10 into the opening round.
Assuncao gave Diaz trouble early with pesky leg kicks. In the clinch Diaz tried a standing kimura, and Assuncao rolled with it and wound up momentarily taking Diaz's back. However, that success was short-lived.
After a scramble back to the feet, Diaz unloaded a crisp flurry of punches that dropped his opponent. The Stockton, Calif., native then sucked Assuncao into a textbook 10-finger guillotine and forced a tapout.
The submission was the second consecutive victory for young Diaz, who was rumored after the event to possibly be fighting Manvel Gamburyan (Pictures) next. Nathan Quarry (Pictures) had a lot to worry about going into his rematch with Pete Sell (Pictures), which was his first MMA fight in almost two years. In addition to his opponent's skills, he must have been considering whether his recently repaired back would hold up during a rigorous bout.
It did.
Quarry and Sell took turns rocking each other throughout the fight. For a while it seemed as though Sell's slightly superior hand speed would pave the way toward his triumph.
In the second round, "Drago" dropped Quarry with a vicious right hand. Both fighters were bloodied, but Sell had unofficially won the first two rounds.
Still, Quarry's resolve and power kept him in the fight. It was evident that he needed a come-from-behind knockout or submission in the third round to win, and that's what he got.
Sell was trying to tee off on his visibly worn-out and battered adversary when Quarry flattened the Serra-trained fighter with a perfect right cross. Another powerful right hand to Sell's jaw while he was on the mat made it final.
The win was a sensational comeback for Quarry, especially considering how rusty he was early in the fight, and a thrilling ending to a three-round war.
Dark bouts
Gray Maynard (Pictures) scored one of the quickest knockouts in the history of the fight game against Joe Veres. He faked a shot and delivered a Joe Frazier-esque left hook that dropped Veres into the cage and out cold.
Before Mario Yamasaki could officially stop the fight, Maynard landed a follow-up right hand. The fight actually ended in just six seconds, though the official result was nine.
For three rounds Cole Miller (Pictures) out-slugged and out-grappled an always-game Leonard Garcia. He had Garcia guessing the entire fight, worrying about strikes from every angle imaginable and also about virtually every submission in the book.
Garcia was pliant, though, as he staved off rear-naked chokes, Americanas, armbars and arm triangles. He appeared to run out of gas, however, in the third round. In the end Miller's aggressive approach earned him the unanimous decision, 30-27 (twice) and 29-28.
Luke Cummo silenced opponent Edilberto "Crocota" de Oliveira by knocking him completely out 1:45 into the opening round. Crocota had taunted Cummo from the start, but once a thudding right hand crashed into the Brazilian's head, he began looking to his left, seemingly unaware of Cummo's whereabouts.
Moments later Cummo dropped his opponent with another right hand and then closed the show with a final right on the fallen de Oliveira.
Thiago Alves (Pictures) put a hurting on Kuniyoshi Hironaka (Pictures), stopping the super-tough fighter 4:04 into the second round. Alves peppered his Japanese counterpart with dozens of leg kicks and dropped him a few times with lethal punches to the head.
The Brazilian then ended Hironaka's night by slamming a final kick into his leg, forcing him to motion to referee Herb Dean (Pictures) that he was done. Alves didn't notice the surrender and dished out a few more punches for good measure, prompting the stoppage.
In the opening bout of the evening, crafty jiu-jitsu expert Dustin Hazelett (Pictures) submitted popular Canadian fighter Jonathan Goulet (Pictures) 1:14 into the first round. Goulet scored an early takedown and moved to side control, but Hazelett slipped his legs over his opponent's head and wrapped up a beauty of an armbar that forced Goulet to tap and verbally submit.
Now he is also one of the few men to hand Din Thomas (Pictures) a defeat, and the New Englander did so emphatically Wednesday in a bout that headlined the stellar UFC Fight Night 11 card inside the Pearl at the Palms Hotel.
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The American Top Team representative couldn't capitalize on the mistake, though, and soon Florian took him off his feet. A mad scramble ensued on the mat, and Thomas kicked off his opponent and sprung back to his feet.
The fight seemed as if it were going to be the dramatic barnburner
everyone had hoped for. However, just as soon as the two fighters
squared back up on their feet, Thomas was down on his elbows and
knees, covering up.
Florian unleashed a hellish fury of punches, though nothing landed cleanly. Finally, after his attempt at a stoppage via strikes fell short, Florian dug his hooks in and applied a rear-naked choke that Thomas didn't really bother to defend.
Initially it seemed as if Thomas had simply quit, but replays showed that his left knee buckled as he shot for a takedown. "Din's an unbelievable competitor, " Florian said after the fight. "He's one of the best in the world. That's why I wanted to fight him. I have so much respect for this guy. He was fighting before I was even training."
Without a doubt the win was the biggest in Florian's career. His confidence was soaring during his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan.
"If the UFC calls," he said, "Joe Silva's on the phone, tells you [that] you got a fight coming up, you better hope and pray it's not Kenny Florian (Pictures)."
Florian entered the fight knowing that a dominant win could lead to another title shot. His first-round submission victory seems to warrant at least consideration.
Chris Leben (Pictures) desperately needed a win Wednesday to keep his UFC career afloat. After dropping three of his last four bouts, Leben knew he had to deliver against Terry Martin (Pictures) or he could have been sent packing.
Before the fight Martin was predicting an explosive and brutal knockout. Little did he know that it would be him, not Leben, who would be the knockout victim.
Leben entered the fight looking in the best shape of his life. He threw smooth, straight combos instead of the typical ogre-like bombs he's known for.
With a compact stance and easy movement away from his more aggressive opponent's strikes, Leben was clearly winning the fight early. Save for a point deduction in the first round for grabbing the fence, "The Crippler" was fighting a perfect fight.
Martin had no answers for his suddenly swift-footed foe and resorted to launching one bomb at a time. If Martin got too close, however, Leben would simply clinch with him, land knees and press him against the fence.
"The Crippler" even applied a triangle choke in the second round, but Martin fended it off. Still, without question, this was the best Leben the MMA world had seen.
Suddenly in the third round, though, Leben was completely sapped of energy and could barely stand upright. He began eating punches, and it seemed as if all of his hard work during the first two rounds would amount to nothing.
Martin then landed a huge right hand to his face that forced him to stumble back into the fence. Leben, it looked certain, was about to get knocked out.
When he bounced off the fence, he charged at Martin with punches thrown from all angles. The one that connected was Leben's patented left hook, which found a home on the point of Martin's chin.
In a split second, the Chicago native was flattened, and his head had bounced off the canvas. Martin was out cold at 3:56 of the third round, and Leben had just scored the most dramatic knockout of his UFC career.
"I thought he had me for a little bit," Leben said immediately after his win. "I was getting a little worried. He's tough as hell."
Nathan Diaz (Pictures), winner of "The Ultimate Fighter 5," looked sensational in submitting the durable Junior Assuncao (Pictures) 4:10 into the opening round.
Assuncao gave Diaz trouble early with pesky leg kicks. In the clinch Diaz tried a standing kimura, and Assuncao rolled with it and wound up momentarily taking Diaz's back. However, that success was short-lived.
After a scramble back to the feet, Diaz unloaded a crisp flurry of punches that dropped his opponent. The Stockton, Calif., native then sucked Assuncao into a textbook 10-finger guillotine and forced a tapout.
The submission was the second consecutive victory for young Diaz, who was rumored after the event to possibly be fighting Manvel Gamburyan (Pictures) next. Nathan Quarry (Pictures) had a lot to worry about going into his rematch with Pete Sell (Pictures), which was his first MMA fight in almost two years. In addition to his opponent's skills, he must have been considering whether his recently repaired back would hold up during a rigorous bout.
It did.
Quarry and Sell took turns rocking each other throughout the fight. For a while it seemed as though Sell's slightly superior hand speed would pave the way toward his triumph.
In the second round, "Drago" dropped Quarry with a vicious right hand. Both fighters were bloodied, but Sell had unofficially won the first two rounds.
Still, Quarry's resolve and power kept him in the fight. It was evident that he needed a come-from-behind knockout or submission in the third round to win, and that's what he got.
Sell was trying to tee off on his visibly worn-out and battered adversary when Quarry flattened the Serra-trained fighter with a perfect right cross. Another powerful right hand to Sell's jaw while he was on the mat made it final.
The win was a sensational comeback for Quarry, especially considering how rusty he was early in the fight, and a thrilling ending to a three-round war.
Dark bouts
Gray Maynard (Pictures) scored one of the quickest knockouts in the history of the fight game against Joe Veres. He faked a shot and delivered a Joe Frazier-esque left hook that dropped Veres into the cage and out cold.
Before Mario Yamasaki could officially stop the fight, Maynard landed a follow-up right hand. The fight actually ended in just six seconds, though the official result was nine.
For three rounds Cole Miller (Pictures) out-slugged and out-grappled an always-game Leonard Garcia. He had Garcia guessing the entire fight, worrying about strikes from every angle imaginable and also about virtually every submission in the book.
Garcia was pliant, though, as he staved off rear-naked chokes, Americanas, armbars and arm triangles. He appeared to run out of gas, however, in the third round. In the end Miller's aggressive approach earned him the unanimous decision, 30-27 (twice) and 29-28.
Luke Cummo silenced opponent Edilberto "Crocota" de Oliveira by knocking him completely out 1:45 into the opening round. Crocota had taunted Cummo from the start, but once a thudding right hand crashed into the Brazilian's head, he began looking to his left, seemingly unaware of Cummo's whereabouts.
Moments later Cummo dropped his opponent with another right hand and then closed the show with a final right on the fallen de Oliveira.
Thiago Alves (Pictures) put a hurting on Kuniyoshi Hironaka (Pictures), stopping the super-tough fighter 4:04 into the second round. Alves peppered his Japanese counterpart with dozens of leg kicks and dropped him a few times with lethal punches to the head.
The Brazilian then ended Hironaka's night by slamming a final kick into his leg, forcing him to motion to referee Herb Dean (Pictures) that he was done. Alves didn't notice the surrender and dished out a few more punches for good measure, prompting the stoppage.
In the opening bout of the evening, crafty jiu-jitsu expert Dustin Hazelett (Pictures) submitted popular Canadian fighter Jonathan Goulet (Pictures) 1:14 into the first round. Goulet scored an early takedown and moved to side control, but Hazelett slipped his legs over his opponent's head and wrapped up a beauty of an armbar that forced Goulet to tap and verbally submit.
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