OTM reports from The Pearl located at The Palms Casino and Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada with live play-by-play of UFC Fight Night 11, which is headlined by two of the UFC’s top lightweight contenders Kenny Florian vs. Din Thomas. OTM reports from The Pearl located at The Palms Casino and Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada with live play-by-play of UFC Fight Night 11, which is headlined by two of the UFC’s top lightweight contenders Kenny Florian vs. Din Thomas. Following the night’s action will be the debut of The Ultimate Fighter 6, which features 16 welterweight fighters coached by UFC welterweight champion Matt Serra and UFC welterweight #1 contender Matt Hughes. UFC Fight Night 11 and TUF 6 will both be aired on SpikeTV.
Dustin Hazelett vs. Jonathan Goulet (Welterweight Bout)
Round 1:Dustin Hazelett and Jonathan Goulet started the night’s festivities by exchanging punches briefly before Goulet out wrestled Hazelett and took him down with double underhooks. Goulet began working from the top of side-control, as the flexible and agile ground specialist Hazelett swung his legs over his head and went for what Goulet thought would be an omoplata. Hazelett then used that omoplata decoy to beautifully and effortlessly transition into a pain inducing armbar. Goulet’s left elbow appeared to pop during the final moments of the bout, which forced Goulet to verbally submit 74 seconds into the fight.
Kuniyoshi Hironaka vs. Thiago Alves (Welterweight Bout)
Round 1:If anyone came in during the first four minutes of this fight, they would think they were watching a K-1 Max event inside a cage. The fight remained standing where Thiago Alves caused lots of damage with low kicks in his first action since serving a 9-month suspension for using performance-enhancing drugs late last December. In the round’s closing moments, Alves threw a straight right cross that dropped his black-belt opponent Kuniyoshi Hironaka. Alves pounded away and nearly got a stoppage from referee Herb Dean, but Hironaka was able to wrap Alves up into his guard. OTM scored the round 10-9 for Thiago Alves.
Round 2:The second round saw Alves pick up where he left off by showcasing his superior Muay Thai skills and power. Alves went right back to work on Hironaka’s legs with some brutally effective low kicks, while he began to follow up more decisively with his hands. Alves dropped the Japanese fighter with a 1-2 combo, but Hironaka survived and scored a gutsy single-leg takedown in a last ditch effort for damage control. Alves methodically worked back to his feet, where he landed several more devastating kicks to Hironaka’s already swollen leg. The onslaught of low kicks continued until the Japanese fighter tried signaling to Herb Dean that he had enough. Alves unloaded with stiff punches before Dean could step in. The official time of the verbal submission came at 4:04 of Round 2.
Gray Maynard vs. Joe Veres (Lightweight Bout)
Round 1:The Ultimate Fighter 5 stand out Gray Maynard squared off with UFC newcomer Joe Veres in the center of the Octagon before Maynard threw a leaping left hook that slammed into Veres’ chin. Maynard added a right hand as referee Mario Yamasaki stepped in at just nine seconds of the opening period making this one of the fastest KO wins in MMA history. This was a very impressive performance for Maynard and a very rude awakening to the UFC for Veres.
Leonard Garcia vs. Cole Miller (Lightweight Bout)
Round 1:On paper, Leonard Garcia vs. Cole Miller had all the intangibles for an entertaining fight and they wasted no time in proving that theory right. Garcia came out the aggressor with a few hard lefts and backed Miller up to the cage. Miller stayed calm and hit a nice suplex after a brief scramble. Miller then looked for a keylock, an arm-triangle, and an armbar, all of which came close to ending the fight. Garcia escaped all of Miller’s submissions and landed a big right hand to Miller’s jaw near the end of the round. Miller was hurt and visibly shaken, but survived to see another round. This was a very close round, due to Miller’s near submissions and Garcia’s near KO. OTM scored the round 10-9 for Cole Miller.
Round 2:Miller switched things up in the second round by coming out and throwing hands. This forced Garcia to shoot for a takedown along the fence. Miller easily stuffed the attempt and took the mounted position, where he looked for another arm-triangle. Miller then went to Garcia’s back looking for a rear naked choke and an armbar, but Garcia showed good scrappiness and avoided all of the close submissions. OTM scored the round 10-9 for Cole Miller.
Round 3:Garcia rocked Miller with a punch and bullied him to the ground in the opening seconds of the final round, but Miller countered by locking up a tight guillotine choke. Garcia escaped and tried to pass Miller’s guard to o avail. Instead, Miller used his superior jiu-jitsu to sweep Garcia and take the mount. Miller continued his submission assault by again going for an arm-triangle before moving to Garcia’s back. The rest of the fight saw Miller on Garcia’s back with a body-triangle, looking for a rear naked choke. OTM scored the round 10-9 for Cole Miller. The judges scored the fight, 29-28 and 30-27 (twice) giving Cole Miller the well earned Unanimous Decision.
Luke Cummo vs. Edilberto de Oliveira
Round 1:Luke Cummo picked up where he last left off in April by throwing leather early and often, while the Brazilian fighter Edilberto “Crocota” de Oliveira stood back and tried to taunt the TUF 2 finalist. Cummo, known for his unorthodox and unpredictable striking ability, then silenced the taunts by landing a big right hand that sent Oliveira reeling. Cummo followed with two more right hands to force referee Herb Dean to do his job by saving the Brazilian and awarding Cummo a TKO win at 1:45 of Round 1.
Nate Quarry vs. Pete Sell (Middleweight Bout)
Round 1:Nate Quarry opens the fight up with a low kick, while Pete “Drago” Sell cracks Quarry with a 1-2 combo. Sell clinches with Quarry against the cage, throwing short elbows and knee strikes to the body of Quarry. Sell drops levels for a takedown and takes Quarry to the mat, but Quarry quickly works back up to his feet. Referee Mario Yamasaki stepped in to separate the fighters due to lack of action. Both fighters step back and throw leather, but Quarry gets the best of the exchange. A right hand from Sell connects, while Quarry answers with a right hand of his own. Both fighters are bleeding. Sell finds his range on more heavy left and rights before the round closes. Quarry looked very frustrated at the end of the round. OTM scored the round 10-9 for Pete Sell.
Round 2:Sell picks up where he left off, landing lefts and rights at will. Quarry looks sloppy with his striking, perhaps due to his two-year hiatus from the sport. A flush right hand from Sell puts Quarry on the mat, but he again bounces back up. Another right hand snaps Quarry’s head back. Quarry charges forward, but Sell takes him to the mat again and attacks his neck with a guillotine choke. Quarry gets to his feet and eats another right hand. Sell lunges in with a superman punch that lands. Quarry tastes more of Sell’s right hand before the round ends. OTM scored the round 10-9 for Pete Sell.
Round 3:Sell continues to tee off on Quarry and then from out of nowhere Quarry rocks Sell with a big right hand, knocking Sell out cold with some sweet chin music! To everyone in attendance, this bought immediate flashbacks to Scott Smith’s last second KO of Sell in their match last November. This was an incredible come from behind victory for Quarry and another devastating loss for Sell, as he just doesn’t seem to know how to finish fights he clearly has in the bag. Quarry set the punch up perfectly and then executed with the straight right bomb that put Sell down for the count. Quarry added one more shot before the fight was stopped. The official time of the KO was 44 seconds of Round 3.
Nate Diaz vs. Junior Assuncao (Lightweight Bout)
Round 1:The Brazilian fighter Junior Assuncao opened up the match with two leg kicks that surprised Nate Diaz and nearly caused a huge upset. Diaz returns a short right hook and both fighters clinch. Diaz looks for a standing Kimura a la Sakuraba, but Assuncao rolls with it and momentarily takes Diaz’s back. Diaz, now on the bottom, secures a half-guard where he works for another Kimura. Assuncao decides to stand up and is quickly dropped by Diaz’s right hand. Diaz swoops in and locks up a ten-finger guillotine on the dazed Assuncao that forces a tapout at the 4:10 mark of the opening round.
Chris Leben vs. Terry Martin (Middleweight Bout)
Round 1:Chris Leben starts this fight between two egotistical middleweights by throwing leg kicks, while Terry Martin rushes in with a jab and right hands. Martin drops down a level and takes Leben to the mat with a nicely executed double-leg takedown. Leben gets back to his feet, but Martin lands with a left and a right. Leben answers with two knees to the chin of Martin. Many thought Martin would have the edge standing, but Leben looks to be the more refined striker. However, Martin has an obvious power advantage and Leben remains cautious. Referee Herb Dean takes a point away from Leben for grabbing the fence as Martin attempted to throw him to the mat. Leben gets busy with strikes and briefly lights Martin up with a right hand. Leben stomps the feet before the horn sounds. This was a close round with Leben getting the better of the exchanges. However, due to the point deduction, OTM scored the round 9-9.
Round 2:Martin looks very fatigued to start the second round. The new Icon coach, Leben starts by attacking Martin’s legs and goes back to his favored foot stomping tactics from the clinch. Just when it looked as if Leben was close to putting it together, Martin scored with a takedown. Leben began firing elbows to the head from the bottom as Martin lay inside his guard. Leben then transitioned to a triangle choke, but the round ends. OTM scored the round 10-9 for Chris Leben.
Round 3:Martin starts to score in the final round, as Leben appears to have joined him in FatigueVille. Martin clinches Leben and delivers some knees to the head. Martin abuses Leben’s midsection and follows with a right hand to the chin. Leben answers with some strikes of his own. Martin is completely gassed out, but he musters enough energy to tackle the TUF 1 veteran to the mat with an ugly takedown. Leben eats two left hands and then tries to trip Martin, but the Chicago brawler stuffs it and takes the top position. Martin then decides to stand instead of grinding out the remaining seconds on the clock. Martin throws a left hand that staggers Leben. Then out of nowhere, much like the Quarry-Sell match two fights before, Leben digs deep and knocks out Martin with a big left hand. The time of the KO is 3:56 of Round 3.
Kenny Florian vs. Din Thomas (Lightweight Bout)
Round 1:TUF 1 finalist Kenny Florian starts the action off by throwing head kicks at TUF 4 semi-finalist Din Thomas. The kicks miss their mark and Thomas looked to counter, but he too couldn’t find his mark. Florian fired a low kick, but accidentally clipped Thomas right in the man junk. Thomas falls from the low blow and is given time to recover and gather his thoughts. After the fight restarts, Florian slipped while throwing a kick, but Thomas was unable to capitalize. Thomas then taunts Florian and pays for it as the Bostonian shots in and secured a takedown. Thomas manages to kick his fellow jiu-jitsu black-belt off and gets to his feet. Thomas then tries to shoot in on Florian, but his knee appears to buckle as he drops down to shoot for Florian’s legs. He turns his back in pain from his knee injury and Florian shows no mercy as he begins pounding away. Florian then takes full control of Thomas’ back with both hooks in and locks in a tapout in a rear-naked choke to force a tapout at 4:31 of Round 1.