TORONTO — Sportsnet.ca was live at the Air Canada Centre for UFC 165 to bring you cageside analysis, stats and reaction to all the action inside the Octagon.
The attendance for the show was 15,504, which is the lowest attendance rate of the four events the promotion has held in Toronto. The gate was $1.9 million.
Jones defends title in instant classic
In a word: Wow.
Alexander Gustafsson began the main event at UFC 165 by doing something Jon Jones’ recent challengers didn’t. He was aggressive.
He attacked Jones and where fighters like Rashad Evans and Quinton (Rampage) Jackson didn’t. And when you couple in the fact his reach is close to Jones’ and he’s got excellent footwork, it resulted in Jones looking human and bleeding for the first time in his UFC career. He was also taken down for the first time in his UFC career.
Despite the Swede’s strong start, Jones, like a true champion, never backed down and was effective in landing solid punches and kicks of his own.
The two went back and forth for five of the greatest rounds in recent UFC history and Jones edged out an extremely competitive unanimous decision. Judge Chris Lee scored the bout 49-46 while Richard Bertrand and Doug Crosby had it 48-47 for Jones.
With vicious strikes landed and dramatic shifts in momentum, the fourth round in particular has got to be the best round of UFC action so far in 2013. Jones and Gustafsson put on a show for all 25 minutes.
Outstanding. Exceptional. And since it was so close, somewhat controversial. Regardless of how you may have scored the fight, you can’t take anything away from either fighter.
The UFC has said Glover Teixeira, who had a front row seat, will be the next title challenger but certainly no one would be upset if the promotion booked a rematch.
At the post-fight press conference UFC president Dana White said although a lot of people want to see an immediate rematch he could not commit to that at this time.
One thing lost in all the hoopla over the sheer entertainment of the main event is the fact Jon Jones made some UFC history. He now holds the record for most UFC light-heavyweight title defences.
As if it was ever in question, the bout took home the Fight of the Night bonus where each fighter earned an additional $50,000. Both men were taken to hospital and were unable to attend the post-fighter press conference.
The two men combined for 244 significant strikes, which is the most ever in a UFC title fight.
Jones registered 134 significant strikes compared to Gustafsson’s 110. Jones landed more strikes than Gustafsson in each of the first four rounds; Gustafsson had a slight edge in the fifth.
Gustafsson stuffed 10 of Jones’ 11 takedown attempts and took Jones down once on eight attempts.
Though Gustafsson didn’t claim victory there was a general feeling after the bout that no one was a loser after that fight.
Jonny Bones steals The Machine’s thunder?
Jon Jones stole a bit of former UFC featherweight Mark Hominick’s UFC Toronto thunder as he entered the Octagon to the popular P. Diddy song “I’m Coming Home.” Hominick made it famous when he thrilled fans at UFC 129 with that entrance.
There are no hard feelings though as Mark is sitting right behind me and was laughing about it.
Barao spin-kicks his way to title defence
The first time I saw Renan Barao and Eddie Wineland fight in person was at WEC 49 in Edmonton a few years ago. Both were victorious that night and I got the sense then that they would one day meet in a high profile bout. That finally came to fruition on Saturday at UFC 165 and it concluded in dynamic fashion.
Midway through the second round Barao landed a spinning kick that grazed Wineland’s chin and spent him to the mat. Barao followed up with a few punches and that was that.
It was the spin kick of its kind that led to a knockout in the UFC, according to UFC commentator Joe Rogan. The win was Barao’s first by KO or TKO since a 2009 win over Jurandir Sardinha in Brazil.
Barao is now unbeaten in 32 fights since his MMA debut in 2005, which is by far the longest unbeaten steak of any fighter on the UFC roster.
Toronto sports well represented at UFC 165
In between fights several high profile Toronto athletes have been shown on the big screen including Toronto Maple Leafs winger Joffrey Lupul, Toronto Raptors forward Rudy Gay and former Toronto Blue Jays star Roberto Alomar among others. They all received loud cheers.
Former Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke is also here, just like he was at UFC 152 last year.
Schaub puts Mitrione to sleep
It was anticipated that someone would end up unconscious in the heavyweight tilt between former NFLers and TUF 10 housemates Brendan Schaub and Mattrione, but everyone believed it would be because of a knockout.
Well, Schaub shook things up by putting Mitrione to sleep with a beautiful d’arce choke.
The win was Schaub’s first by submission since debuting in MMA in 2008. It also happened to be Mitrione’s first submission loss.
Carmont controls Costa
Sometimes fighting smart isn’t the best way to win over prospective fans, but Francis Carmont was dominant in a unanimous decision win over Costa Philippou in middleweight action.
In the five fights following his UFC debut in March 2011, Philippou had only been taken down three times, yet Carmont was able to land all five of his takedown attempts.
Philippou, a member of Montreal’s Tristar Gym, extended his win streak to 11 and improved to a perfect 6-0 in the UFC though a couple of those wins were controversial decisions. Still, it was a very impressive and dominant performance considering Philippou is currently ranked as a top-10 UFC middleweight.
Georges St-Pierre was in the corner of Carmont yet no “GSP!” chants rang from the crowd. The camouflage hat the welterweight champ was wearing must have worked.
Nurmagomedov emerges as serious contender
Pat Healy and Khabib Nurmagomedov are nothing if not darn exciting. The two top-10 lightweights battled back and forth for three exciting rounds and the fans loved all but about 20 seconds of it.
Nurmagomedov won all rounds on all three judges’ scorecards and improved to 21-0 as a pro and 5-0 in the UFC. All five of his wins inside the Octagon have been quite dominant as he’s able to mix in unconventional striking with strong takedowns.
“Listen to me. UFC give me title shot,” Nurmagomedov pleaded after the bout.
The UFC brass in all likelihood won’t listen to him, but the young Russian who turned 25 on Friday has now potentially put himself in a position to fight in a No. 1 contender’s bout.
He has previously called out Canadian T.J. Grant, a pending lightweight title challenger, and if the UFC makes Grant take one more fight before placing him in another title bout that would seem like a perfect matchup.
Nurmagomedov landed 90 total strikes compared to Healy’s 68, but also added in five takedowns. In his five UFC fights, Nurmagomedov has taken down his opponents a whopping 29 times.
Jury does his duty
Two of the lightweight division’s most intelligent, technical fighters displayed their patience and tactical approach to fighting as Myles Jury topped Montreal’s Mike Ricci by split decision in the final preliminary bout, but the fans weren’t all too happy with either fighter.
Ricci is one of Canada’s best, but Jury seemed a half step ahead in all areas to remain unbeaten as a pro. In a very even matchup of skills, neither fighter seemed to show killer instinct. The Michigan native climbed the lightweight ladder and improved to 13-0 as a pro, while Ricci fell to 8-3 as a pro after just his second loss while fighting in Canada.
Jury landed just 29 of 84 strikes while Ricci hit Jury 31 times on 105 attemtps.
The best part of the fight was the fact Bellator lightweight champ Michael Chandler was in the corner of Myles Jury. Wouldn’t it be great to one day see him in the UFC?
Reis, Menjivar draw ire of crowd
Ivan Menjivar and Wilson Reis are two of the most exciting fighters in one of the most exciting divisions in MMA, so it was a real shocker that their three-round bantamweight tilt was the first to draw the ire of the fans in Toronto.
The longtime Bellator veteran Reis picked up the unanimous decision win in his UFC debut.
The crowd cheered boisterously twice during the bout but it was because of things happening in the stands. Can’t confirm if it was a fight between fans or a celebrity sighting, but either way the crowd enjoyed it more than the fight in the Octagon.
Early on Menjivar, an orthodox fighter, found a home for his right body-kick, which was the perfect answer to Reis’ southpaw stance. Reis adjusted his game plan and was able to take Menjivar down in the final two rounds.
Menjivar managed to out-strike Reis 78 to 41 but Reis was 3-3 on takedowns and that was the difference.
The win was Reis’ fifth straight win. The Brazilian hasn’t lost since being knocked out by Bellator’s 135-pound champ Eduardo Dantas two years ago.
Menjivar has now lost three of his last four fights in the UFC.
Clements goes out on his feet
Georges St-Pierre has said Stephen Thompson is the best striker he has trained with and the acclaimed former kickboxer showed what he’s capable of against London, Ont.’s Chris Clements. Thompson knocked Clements out in the second round of a fan friendly affair.
Thompson is now 8-1 in MMA and slowly emerging as a threat in the welterweight division. He is still honing his skills, but tonight he showed he is capable of taking an opponent down in order to keep them off balance. The Simpsonville, S.C., native said after the fight his improved ground skills have led to him being more relaxed while striking. It showed.
The knockout blow was a straight right hand that caught Clements below the left ear which affected his equilibrium. Clements didn’t fall to the ground immediately as he was out on his feet for a second before his legs gave out.
Clements hadn’t fought since UFC 149 last July. The success rate of fighters coming off long layoffs is not good in the UFC and cage rust may have been a factor in this loss.
Gagnon puts Kimura to sleep
Sudbury, Ont.’s Mitch Gagnon may find himself as the next Canadian to appear in the UFC’s top-10 rankings as the bantamweight put on perhaps the most impressive performance of his UFC career against Dustin Kimura.
Gagnon displayed some quality striking, but it was a powerful arm-in guillotine choke that ended in Kimura laying on the floor unconscious.
The arm-in guillotine is typically a more difficult hold to finish opponents with since the attacking fighter must adjust their body in order to get the right amount of leverage to cut off blood circulation to the opponent’s brain. Gagnon executed the technique masterfully and it resulted in Gagnon’s second straight win in the UFC.
Gagnon, who recently co-hosted UFC Central, hadn’t fought since his last win — a first-round submission of Walel Watson at UFC 152 in Toronto. The 28-year-old is now 2-0 when fighting in his home province Ontario.
Gagnon landed 27 of 58 strikes and one takedown, while Kimura landed 15 of 44 strikes in a losing effort. It was Kimura’s first career loss.
Gognon’s teammate, former UFC featherweight Antonio Carvalho, was telling myself and Showdown Joe Ferraro that even though Gagnon looked terrific he’s not even close to reaching his full potential. Gagnon is proving that he could very soon be capable of competing with the cream of the crop at 135 pounds.
Makdessi gets the crowd off their feet
The arena is only about half full at this stage of the night, but you wouldn’t know it by the ovation Montreal’s John Makdessi received when he knocked out Renee Forte in two minutes.
“I’ve been dreaming of this my whole life,” an ecstatic Makdessi said after the fight.
Since 2010, Makdessi has fought at six UFC events in Canada and is now 5-1 in those contests. This was his third straight win, but his first stoppage win since a spinning-backfist KO of Kyle Watson at the UFC’s first trip to Toronto back at UFC 129.
Makdessi landed at over a 50 per cent efficiency rate, hitting Forte 20 times on 39 attempts, while only eating seven shots himself.
He is the early favourite to win the Knockout of the Night award, which would mean a $50,000 bonus. The Tristar Gym product showcased his pinpoint accurate striking, landing a counterpunch that sent Forte to the mat. Makdessi followed up with a series of punches before the ref stepped in.
Many felt it was a late stoppage as Forte ate several huge shots while he was unconscious. It’s a tough call from the ref’s perspective as things happen so quickly, but they are supposed to err on the side of caution.
Forte’s eyes looked glossy as he passed by media row, though he wasn’t wobbling as he made his way back into the locker room. It was his first loss in the lightweight division.
Ronson can’t unleash the ‘Body Snatcher’
There was a huge ovation for London, Ont.’s Jesse Ronson as he made his way to the UFC’s Octagon for the first time in his career.
Chants of “Canada! Canada!” and “Ronson! Ronson!” rang throughout the stands, but after his three-round bout against Brazil’s Michael Prazeres those chants turned to boos with Prazeres earning a split decision win.
Ronson was never able to find a home for his patented body shots as he constantly had to thwart off takedown attempts. The most exciting moment of the fight came in the final seconds when Ronson slammed Prazeres to the mat hard and unleashed some aggressive ground-and-pound as the horn sounded.
The loss, Ronson’s first by decision, snapped a nine-fight win streak and dropped his record to 13-3.
Educated crowd appreciates grappling of Caceres, Delorme
Some MMA fans wish for a slugfest in each and every fight, but the crowd at the ACC seemed to enjoy the technical grappling exchanges between bantamweights Alex Caceres and Winnipeg’s Roland Delorme.
There was a slew of highly technical positional battles, submission attempts and sweeps, which is a sign that the majority of fans in the building are quite educated in the sport and not only looking to see brawls.
Caceres (9-5, 1 NC) ended up winning a split decision, but instead of booing the result because the Canadian lost, unlike in Ronson’s bout, they applauded the efforts of both fighters. You don’t see that in every city the UFC travels to.
Delorme’s only two professional losses have come by split decision, while Caceres has been on the winning side of split decisions in two of his last three bouts.
Former lightweight champion Benson Henderson was in the corner of Caceres giving him instructions. Henderson was very pleased with Caceres’ performance and showed off a big smile as he walked by media row after the bout. He told me backstage afterwards that it’s always nice seeing someone in your corner win.
Heavyweights kick it into high gear to start things off
When the big boys in the UFC fight it can be hit or miss in terms of excitement. The fight can end at any second if the right strike connects, but on the flip side, their cardio isn’t the greatest and their fights and the pace can often slow down to a snails pace. Luckily for the fans at the ACC it was the former that prevailed as Daniel Omielańczuk knocked out Nandor Guelmino at 3:18 of the third round.
Both men threw many kicks throughout the fight and Omielańczuk (16-3) used that to his advantage as he timed an attempted kick from Nandor perfectly and landed a strong overhand right. The native of Warsaw, Poland was smart as he adjusted to Guelmino’s repetitive attack.
It was Omielańczuk’s 12th win in a row and only his second win by knockout in his four-year, 19-fight MMA career. It was also the latest stoppage win of his career. Nandor (11-5) has now lost two fights in a row; it was the fourth time in his career he has been knocked out.
This was the only fight on the preliminary card that did not feature a Canadian fighter. It was the UFC debut for both men.
