UFC 148 takes place later tonight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada and airs live on pay-per-view at 10pm ET/7pm PT. The PPV broadcast will be preceded by preliminary card on FX at 8pm ET/5pm PT, and on Facebook at 7:25pm ET/4:25pm PT.
In the main event, the middleweight title is on the line as Anderson Silva takes on Chael Sonnen in the biggest rematch in history.
Tito Ortiz wraps up his storied career as he finishes up his trilogy with Forrest Griffin.
Patrick Cote returns to the octagon to take on Cung Le.
Demian Maia makes his welterweight debut as he faces off against the always tenacious Dong Hyun Kim.
Chad Mendes looks to get back on track against Cody McKenzie.
And rounding out the main card, Ivan Menjivar takes on Mike Easton
Results and recap after the jump.
Results
- Anderson Silva def. Chael Sonnen via TKO (Punches) at 1:55 of Round Two
- Forrest Griffin def. Tito Ortiz via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Cung Le def.. Patrick Côté via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Demian Maia def. Dong Hyun Kim via TKO (Punches) at 0:47 of Round One
- Chad Mendes def. Cody McKenzie via TKO (Punches) at 0:31 of Round One
- Mike Easton def. Ivan Menjivar via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)
- Melvin Guillard def. Fabrício Camões via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Khabib Nurmagomedov def. Gleison Tibau via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Constantinos Philippou def. Riki Fukuda via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Shane Roller def. John Alessio via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Rafaello Oliveira def.Yoislandy Izquierdo via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Recap
Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen: The first round was eerily familiar, as Chael took Anderson down in six seconds, and dominated the champion. Anderson showed considerably better grappling defense, holding Chael in half guard for almost the entire round. In the second, Chael was unable to take down the champion, and found himself on the wrong end of some of the deadliest fists in MMA. Chael attempted a spinning backfist, fell into the cage, and ate a huge knee to the body. Anderson followed up with strikes to prompt the stoppage at 1:55 of the second round.
Forrest Griffin vs. Tito Ortiz: In Tito’s last fight, he faced a long-time rival in Griffin. Using his wrestling early, Tito took down the TUF winner, and used his ground and pound, but to no avail. Forrest got back to his feet and took control. In the second, a solid right hand dropped Forrest, but again he would recover and take control in the round. The third round saw a lot of wrestling from Tito, and it was vintage Tito. The two threw down to the very end, and then Forrest walked out of the cage, prompting Dana White to chase him down. It was an odd scene, to say the least. In what would be the last time Tito would hear the judges scorecards, all three judges gave Forrest Griffin the decision with scores of 29-28 across the board. The show was not over though, as Forrest took the mic from Joe Rogan, and began interviewing Tito, who thanked everyone and reiterated his retirement.
Cung Le vs. Patrick Côté: In one of the best fights of the evening, Patrick Cote returned to the octagon to face former Strikeforce champ Cung Le. Le, of course, used his fantastic arsenal of kicks to put a hurting on Cote, and when it was warranted, he used his underrated wrestling to take Cote the mat. Cote would not give up though, and used his powerful punches to hurt the traditional martial artist, and used his own strength to make the fight competitive full all three rounds. In the end, the judges scored the bout 30-27 all around for Cung Le.
Dong Hyun Kim vs. Demian Maia: Well, the absurdity continues as Maia took Kim’s back, and as Maia dragged him down, it appeared as though Kim broke a rib. He simply laid there and did not defend any of Maia’s ground and pound, and the fight was stopped at only 47 seconds in.
Chad Mendes vs. Cody McKenzie: Well, Mendes is back. Chad caught a kick early, threw a right to the body that dropped McKenzie, and finished with strikes on the ground. Game. Set. Match.
Ivan Menjivar vs. Mike Easton: That was a lot of kicks. Mike Easton and Ivan Menjivar threw a ridiculous amount of kicks in this fight, and the two, for the most part, went kick for kick. As the fight went on, the strength, speed, and athleticism of Easton was the difference, as he pulled away from his foe. In the end, the judges scored it 30-27, 29-28, and 30-27 for Mike Easton.
Melvin Guillard vs. Fabrício Camões: After an harrowing first round, where Guillard nearly performed as he oft does against submission specialists, “The Young Assassin” took control, and used his improved grappling defense and always dangerous striking to foil every attempt Camoes made to do something significant. Cut and dry 30-27s for Guillard.
Gleison Tibau vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov: Not necessarily the most exciting fight, but Khabib Nurmagomedov kept his undefeated record alive as he outgrappled the always game Tibau. Despite not landing a single takedown, Nurmagomedov kept the pressure on, kept Tibau against the cage, and had some interesting exchanges when the two decided to strike. Not a pretty fight at all, but Khabib Nurmagomedov takes the bout with scores of 30-27 across the board.
Constantinos Philippou vs. Riki Fukuda: Let it never be said that Constantinos Philippou is anything less than a bad dude. Using his strong wrestling defense and even more powerful striking, he constantly kept Fukuda guessing, as he stuffed his takedowns and beat his face into a swollen mess throughout. In the third round, Philippou found himself on the wrong end of one of the worst eyepokes to take place in the octagon, and all it served to do was make him angry. After nearly bulldozing his foe, Costa took home the unanimous decision with scores of 30-27, 30-27, and 29-28.
John Alessio vs. Shane Roller: John Alessio has found his kryptonite. Using his superior striking to light up Shane Roller throughout the first round, Alessio started to find his groove, but it would be roller who used his ground game and strength to put an end to any momentum that the Canadian had. In the second and third frames, Roller used dominant top position to stifle his foe, which caused Alessio to frustratingly ask “DO YOU WANNA FIGHT ME OR DO YOU WANNA RIDE ME? HUH?” – you can’t talk your way to a standup though, and after the final bell, it was Roller who took home the unanimous decision with scores of 29-28 across the board.
Rafaello Oliveira vs. Yoislandy Izquierdo: In the opening fight, and the only one to take place on Facebook, Rafaello Oliveira continuously used his stifling ground game to shut down Izquierdo’s attacks. Time and time again, “Tractor” found himself in reach of kimuras and wrist locks, nearly sealing his opponent’s fate several times. Despite the early portion of the fight being close, it was a pretty clear-cut decision after three rounds. Oliveira takes home the unanimous decision with scores of 29-28 all around.
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