Swick Wins One Night, Loses the Next

LAS VEGAS — Following his submission victory over Paulo Thiago, Mike Swick jumped up on top of the cage, raised his arms and screamed to the heavens as the fans went wild inside the arena.

Another victory, another celebration for “Quick” Swick.

But, as the AKA fighter now knows, life doesn’t necessarily imitate art, as this victory came during a presentation of the new video game UFC Undisputed 2010.

On Feb. 6 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, Thiago in the real fight, choked out Swick in the second round.

Thiago’s sub wasn’t the only one at UFC 109. Ironically enough, in this case, art did imitate life.

In the main event, Randy Couture, who walked out to the high-energy rock song “Stranglehold,” defeated Mark Coleman by rear naked choke.

“Once we hit the ground, I got the mount, he gave me his back and I fell right into the choke,” said Couture.

One fight that many probably figured would showcase a submission victory and didn’t was the bout between BJJ black belt Dan Miller and BJJ phenom Demian Maia.

Maia, coming off a devastating KO loss to Nate Marquardt, scored a decision over Miller in a bout in which both fighters spent the bulk of their time on their feet. This was a bout that Maia, at the post-fight press conference, explained that he wanted to showcase his improving boxing game.

“The victory was sweet especially after my last loss to Nate [Marquardt],” said Maia. “There were some boos, but I wanted to prove I could stand and fight. I can always do BJJ when I need to, but I want to be a complete fighter inside the Octagon.”

Following a brief pause, Maia summarized his feelings. “I am very happy,” he said. On this night, those were four words that neither Swick nor Coleman likely said.

The Main Card

Fighters: Dan Miller (11-3-1) vs. Demian Maia (12-1)
Division: Middleweight
Notes: Maia has five submission wins in the UFC.
The Fight: Maia threw a left and then shot on Miller. He worked him up against the cage where they tied up. Maia threw a left round kick to the head that Miller countered with a punch. At 2:08, Maia scored a takedown. When the action went back to the feet, Maia delivered a knee to the groin. While Miller was in pain and trying to get a timeout, Maia delivered some punches before Miller finally scooted away and got time.

In Round 2, they exchanged briefly on their feet to start the round. The rest of the round featured little action, and the crowd got a little impatient at the 2-minute mark, as a smattering of boos fell upon the cage. At the end of the round, the crowd booed again.

In Round 3, the fight went to the ground with less than 4 minutes to go, where Maia drove Miller up against the cage and dropped a few punches into his face. Miller stood back up at 3 minutes, but Maia immediately shot again. The Brazilian ended up in Miller’s guard briefly. The fight stayed on the ground the remainder of the bout, eliciting more boos from the crowd.
Winner: Maia
How: Unanimous Decision

Fighters: Paulo Thiago (13-1) vs. Mike Swick (14-4)
Division: Welterweight
The Fight: In Round 1, Thiago connected with a left round kick to the head, but Swick kept moving forward. Thiago then took Swick’s lead leg out with a low kick . Thiago came after Swick again with another devastating low kick that spun the AKA fighter around. Swick took Thiago down at 27 seconds and ended up in Thiago’s guard as time expired.

In Round 2, Thiago countered with a big left that dropped Swick. While on the canvas, Thiago choked him out.

Winner: Thiago
How: 1:54 of Round 2 (darce choke)

Fighters: Chael Sonnen (26-10-1) vs. Nate Marquardt (32-9-2)
Division: Middleweight
Notes: Matt Lindland was in Sonnen’s corner.
The Fight: These two came out and engaged right away. Punches, kicks and knees were flying right off the bat, and it stayed that way throughout the round. Before the round was over, they added elbows into the mix, too.

In Round 2, Sonnen continued his aggressiveness as he quickly scored a takedown. From Marquardt’s guard, he threw a few elbows and punches to Marquardt’s legs and back. Marquardt, in an attempt to escape, tried to slide away, but Sonnen stayed tight and tied him up against the cage. From there, he dropped some big punches onto Marquardt’s face. From all fours, Marquardt threw some big elbows backward into Sonnen’s face, which was bleeding profusely. After the round, the ringside physicians checked Sonnen’s cut, which was above his right eye.

Before Round 3 started, the crowd cheered loudly for the two fighters who didn’t slow down for a second. Sonnen then went right after Marquardt, scoring a takedown and holding him down for some time. Marquardt finally powered himself up before Sonnen shot again. Marquardt secured a guillotine, but he couldn’t finish off as the crowd grew louder and louder with each move the fighter’s made.

Winner: Sonnen
How: Unanimous decision

Fighters: Mark Coleman (16-10) vs. Randy Couture (18-10)
Division: Light Heavy
The Fight: Couture scored with jabs and knees and then he worked Coleman up against the cage where he connected with some uppercuts and an occasional knee. Couture controlled the majority of Round 1 this way.

In Round 2, Couture threw a combination that backed Coleman up against the cage, he worked him down, secured a high mount and blasted away with punches. Coleman gave his back, Couture went for the rear naked choke and finished him off.

Winner: Couture
How: 1:09 of Round 2 by RNC

The Undercard

Fighters: Chris Tuchscherer (18-2-1) vs. Tim Hague (10-3)
Division: Heavyweight
Winner: Tuchscherer
How: Majority Decision

Fighters: Phil Davis (5-0) vs. Brian Stann (8-3)
Division: Light Heavy
Notes: Davis is a wrestler. Stann has heavy hands and is known for being cool under pressure.
The Fight: Davis shot at 4:04 and drove Stann up against the cage. Davis threw a couple harmless knees before Stann broke away. Davis scored a takedown at 1:54 and ended up in side control. Stann tried to work his way up, but Davis scrambled to his back where he connected with some leather to the face.

In Round 2, Stann went on the offensive with a nice combination that had Davis backpedaling. Davis then responded with a nice takedown. He threw a hook and then shot. From there, he established side control and then moved into half guard. He controlled Stann and dropped punches from the side and the mount while Stann unsuccessfully tried to defend himself.

In Round 3, Stann missed a Superman punch, Davis followed with a double-leg takedown and worked Stann up against the cage. With 2:40 to go in the round, Davis mounted Stann and controlled him on the ground for the remainder of the fight.

Winner: Davis
How: Unanimous decision

Fighters: Phillipe Nover (6-3-1) vs. Robert Emerson (11-8)
Division: Lightweight
The Fight: The majority of the first round was spent on the ground, as Nover worked for a couple of submissions.

At the outset of Round 2, the pair exchanged kicks. Emerson’s were low; Nover’s were high. Moments later, the fight went to the ground, where Emerson aggressively went after Nover with a slew of punches.

In Round 3, Emerson scored a takedown at 2:30. While latched onto Nover, Emerson seemed to glance up to his left, in the direction of the clock. Nover then worked a guillotine, which he couldn’t finish.

Winner: Emerson
How: Unanimous decision

SPIKE PRELIMS

Fighters: Ronnys Torres (18-2) vs. Melvin Guillard (42-9-3-1)
Division: Lightweight
Notes: The reach was equal at 71 inches. Torres is a training partner of Jose Aldo, who earlier in the day said he was nervous about the fight.
The Fight: Guillard came out lightning fast and threw a high round kick, but Torres immediately took him down and worked him up against the cage. From there, Torres established side control. Guillard, second later, was able to stand, where the fight resumed on their feet. Torres quickly took the action back to the ground, however, where they each scrambled for the advantage. Guillard delivered a low round kick that echoed through the Events Center, which was about half full at 6 p.m. When Torres shot, Guillard threw a knee that caught Torres in the face, snapping his head back. During an exchange, Torres connected with a left that staggered Guillard.

Round 2, like the first, featured non-stop action, and several examples of Guillard’s athleticism. Torres attempted a takedown at the 3-minute mark, but Guillard sprawled. Torres eventually got it, however, by getting a sweep as Guillard tried to stand.

Winner: Guillard
How: Unanimous decision

Fighters: Justin Buchholz (9-5) vs. Mac Danzig (20-7-1)
Division: Lightweight
Notes: Urijah Faber was in Buchholz’s corner. Gray Maynard was in Danzig’s corner.

In Round 3, Danzig threw a combination, worked Buchholz up against the cage and then worked him to the canvas briefly. With less than two minutes to go, ref Herb Dean stood the fighters. After the break, Danzig came on strong with a combination.  With a little more than a minute to go, Buchholz seemed completely gassed, as he dropped his hands to his waist and his upper body tilted toward the canvas. With less than 50 seconds to go, Danzig, coming off a three-fight losing streak, got his opponent’s back and them mounted him. Buchholz gave Danzig his back to escape the punches.

Winner: Danzig
How: Decision

Quick Facts

WHAT: UFC 109

WHERE: Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas

WHEN: Feb. 6, 2010

ATTENDANCE: 10,687

GATE: $2.2 million

An Extra $60K

• Submission of the Night

Paulo Thiago

• Fight of the Night

Chael Sonnen and Nate Marquardt

• KO of the Night

Matt Serra