UFC 118 Aftermath

The effects of UFC 118 are still rippling across the MMA landscape.  With a UFC Lightweight title fight and and a Hall of Fame caliber professional boxer taking on a UFC Hall of Fame member there was plenty to talk about.  On top of these two co-main events there were three other excellent bouts I want to touch on.

The fight between Joe Lauzon and Gabe Ruediger is the first noteworthy fight.  SpikeTV broadcasts two preliminary fights and luckily this fight was the lead in to the pay-per-view.  The first fight that Spike aired was Nik Lentz vs Andre Winner and it was brutal.  15 minutes of Lentz attempting to take Winner down to avoid his striking.  This fight's lack of action could have been the nail in the coffin for anyone on the fence about buying the pay-per-view.  Luckily, Boston's very own Joe Lauzon came through in the second fight of the night with an amazing display of ground work.  After slamming Ruediger to the mat, Lauzon unloaded some vicious punches, causing Gabe to attempt to improve his position.  Lauzon saw it coming and slapped on a fight ending armbar in just over 2 minutes.  Joe gets a much needed win and does it in front of the home crowd.

Gray Maynard versus Kenny Florian was also an important fight.  The winner of this fight would become the #1 contender in the UFC's Lightweight division and would get the title shot against the winner of B.J. Penn vs Frankie Edgar, who would fight later that night.  The bigger and stronger wrestler, as is usually the case, won out in this fight.  Maynard was able to nullify Florian's crisper boxing and muay thai with takedowns.  Florian threatened with submissions off his back in the third round, but by then Maynard had the fight well in hand.  With the win, Maynard sets himself up to fight for the UFC Lightweight title, most likely in December barring any injuries.

The co-main event of the evening saw professional boxing champion, James Toney, try his hand at MMA for the first time against MMA legend, Randy Couture.  The fight went like most people expected.  Couture immediately shot in for a takedown that Toney had no defense for and passed to mount.  Once Couture had the mount secure, he peppered Toney with punches before sinking in a tight arm-triangle choke.  During the post-fight press conference, Dana White informed reporters that this would be the first and only fight for James Toney in the UFC.  Don't feel bad for James though, he made a reported $500,000 for less than four minutes of work.

James Toney dreaming about spending half a million dollars with some help from Randy Couture.

The main event was a rematch from UFC 112 where Frankie Edgar won a razor thin decision to take B.J. Penn's Lightweight title.  This time there was no controversy.  Edgar danced around a flat-footed Penn the entire fight and scored a dominating 50-45 decision on all scorecards.  B.J. is known for his excellent boxing, especially his piston-like jab, but he could not catch up to Edgar's speed, timing, and footwork.  Penn looked absolutely lost during most of the fight.  In between rounds his cornermen were just as bewildered.  Instead of giving technical instructions to help turn the fight around for their fighter, all they could muster was "You've been here before, this is your fight.  He has nothing for you" style pep talks.  With this win, Frankie gets a chance to avenge his only professional loss when he fights #1 contender, Gray Maynard.  Penn sounded like he was on the verge of retiring, but just weeks later he has already signed up to fight former UFC Welterweight champion Matt Hughes in November.

Frankie Edgar dominated B.J. Penn for 5 rounds to retain his Lightweight title.

UFC 118 results:
Frankie Edgar defeats B.J. Penn by Unanimous Decision
Randy Couture defeats James Toney by Submission (arm-triangle choke) in the first round
Demian Mai defeats Mario Miranda by Unanimous Decision
Gray Maynard defeats Kenny Florian by Unanimous Decision
Nate Diaz defeats Marcus Davis by Submission (guillotine choke) in the third round
Joe Lauzon defeats Gabe Ruediger by Submission (armbar) in the first round
Nik Lentz defeats Andre Winner by Unanimous Decision
Dan Miller defeats John Salter by Submission (guillotine choke) in the second round
Greg Soto defeats Nick Osipczak by Unanimous Decision
Mike Pierce defeats Amilcar Alves by Submission (straight armbar) in the third round

Be sure to tune in at 7 p.m. cst to SpikeTV Wednesday, September 15 for another night of fights.  UFC Fight Night 22 will be live from the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas with Nate Marquardt versus Rousimar Palhares as the main event.  Following Fight Night 22 on Spike, will be the premiere of the 12th season of the Ultimate Fighter reality show with coaches Georges St. Pierre and Josh Koshceck.  MMA fans are in for a treat.  September has 8 major events still in the pipeline from the UFC, WEC, Dream, and Bellator so enjoy.