MMAVu

First off the bat was former WEC 205lb Champ Steve Cantwell taking on Luiz Cane. Cantwell had his moments here and there, but Cane clearly was the aggressor with more damage, taking the nod.

Another former WEC 205lb Champ Brian Stann was also on this card, taking on former IFL and TUF fighter Krzysztof Soszynski. Stann never threatened much, and Soszynski soon had down on the mat, and sunk in the kimura for the win. Soszynski also picked up a cool $70,000 for Submission of the Night.

Cheik Kongo finally fought someone his own size in Antoni Hardonk, but Kongo showed more versatility and crisper striking, eventually taking Hardonk down and grinding him out with some ground n’ pound.

Canadian Sam Stout, coming off of two losses to Terry Etim and Rich Clementi, needed this win in a bad, bad way versus Matt Wiman. Stout and Wiman fought a fast and furious, back and forth battle. Stout crumpled Wiman with a nasty liver shot in the second round, but could not seal the deal. Stout ended up taking a Unanimous decision, but it really should have been a split for Stout. Both guys earned an extra $70,000 for putting up the Fight of the Night.

Next up was the, “Win or Retire” match for Chuck Liddell vs Shogun Rua. Personally, I don’t buy that threat by Dana White. He says he doesn’t want Chuck to get hurt by staying in the game too long, but really, what is White going to do? Liddell still wants to fight, so White has to cut him? That’s like handing opposing promotions a golden ticket on a silver platter. No way. Anyways, Rua counters Liddell’s lazy left with a left of his own, sending Liddell crashing to the matt. Rua follows up with about 8 hammer fists for good measure, earning the TKO and $70,000 for Knockout of the Night. Poor Chuckie has been on the receiving end of KO of the Night awards in back-to-back pay-per views.

Anderson Silva and Thales Leites were up next, and the crowd was buzzing…but not for long. Leites refused to engage in strikes, and Silva refused to do much of anything besides counter-punch…therein lied the problem. A counter-puncher fighting someone who pretty much refused to punch. Leites managed to get Silva down in the second round, but could not threaten. After that, Leites resorted to falling on his back in an attempt to get Silva to the ground, as he had lost the energy needed to take Silva down. A visibly frustrated Silva turned to a nasty move, side-kicking Leites’ knee in an effort to buckle the leg. The crowd lustily booed the lack of action, even resorting to chants of ‘GSP’ at various points in the fight. Silva finally engaged Leites on the ground near the end of the fight, smashing Leites with some punches and elbows which made Leites turtle up in the fetal position. In the end, Silva took the Unanimous Decision in a rather lacklustre bout.

Here’s the rest of the night’s action:

Anderson Silva defeats Thales Leites via Unanimous Decision
Mauricio Rua defeats Chuck Lidell via TKO Round 1
Cheik Kongo defeats Antoni Hardonk via TKO Round 2
Luiz Cane defeats Steve Cantwell via Unanimous Decision
Krzysztof Soszynski defeats Brian Stann via Submission Round 1
Sam Stout defeats Matt Wiman via Unanimous Decision
Denis Kang defeats Xavier Foupa-Pokum via Unanimous Decision
Nate Quarry defeats Jason MacDonald via TKO Round 1
Ed Herman defeats David Loiseau via Unanimous Decision
Mark Bocek defeats David Bielkheden via submission Round 1
TJ Grant defeats Ryo Chonan via split decision
Eliot Marshall defeats Vinny Magalhaes via unanimous decision

Former WEC Welterweight Champion Carlos Condit will make his UFC debut on April 1 against tough vet Martin Kampmann, in the Fight Night headliner leading into the Ultimate Fighter 9.Condit has long been considered one of the top welterweights not (officially) in the UFC and now he finally gets the chance to prove himself.

Kampmann is new to the welterweight division, after having fought at 185lbs for most of his time with the UFC. He was actually at the cusp of a title shot back at UFC 72, when he was slated to face Rich Franklin in a number 1 contender’s bout, when he sustained a bad knee injury. Kampmann holds a victory over Thales Leites, the man scheduled to face Anderson Silva for a middleweight title shot in Montreal this April.

Interesting factoid: Kampmann defeated Leites, who defeated Nate Marquardt, who crushed Kampmann. Further proof that MMA math doesn’t add up!