UFC 122: Marqaurdt vs. Okami

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UFC 122
Official Fight Card

Main Card
Middleweight bout: Nate Marquardt vs. Yushin Okami
Middleweight bout: Jorge Rivera vs. Alessio Sakara
Lightweight bout: Dennis Siver vs. Andre Winner
Welterweight bout: Amir Sadollah vs. Peter Sobotta
Light Heavyweight bout: Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Goran Reljic

Preliminary card
Welterweight bout: Duane Ludwig vs. Nick Osipczak
Middleweight bout: Kyle Noke vs. Rob Kimmons
Light Heavyweight bout: Seth Petruzelli vs. Karlos Vemola
Welterweight bout: Kris McCray vs. Carlos Eduardo Rocha

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This is another event that is being held outside of the US this time in Germany and it will air in the US on SpikeTV. The card isn't very stacked but that is expected when it is a PPV.

Mainevent is to determine the number one contender to the UFC Middleweight Championship. Marquardt has fought Silva once before and lost in the first round. Okami has fought Silva once and won due to a DQ from an illegal kick.
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MAIN CARD

•Yushin Okami def. Nate Marquardt via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)
•Dennis Siver def. Andre Winner via submission (rear-naked choke) - Round 1, 3:37
•Amir Sadollah def. Peter Sobotta via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
•Krzysztof Soszynski def. Goran Reljic by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
•Duane Ludwig vs. Nick Osipczak via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
PRELIMINARY CARD

•Vladimir Matyushenko def. Alexandre "Cacareco" Ferreira via TKO (strikes) - Round 1, 2:20
•Pascal Krauss def. Mark Scanlon via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
•Kyle Noke def. Rob Kimmons via submission (rear-naked choke) - Round 2, 1:33
•Karlos Vemola def. Seth Petruzelli via TKO (strikes) - Round 1, 3:46
•Carlos Eduardo Rocha def. Kris McCray via submission (kneebar) - Round 1, 2:21


Nate didn't look great here, he looked like Nate the mildly mediocre. Okami was beating him with a stiff jab and getting up immediately after Nate scores a takedown. I liked the fight, since it was two of the best MWs having a chess match in the Otagon. It wasn't boring for me, and I'm glad Okami FINALLY gets his title shot. Its been long overdue for about three years.

Siver gets the only stoppage of the night when he drops Winner and gets the RNC.

Saddollah tools the local boy Sobotta with leg kicks and better Muay Thai.

Soszynski gets the W with better striking and a better ground game.

Duane Ludwig returns after an 11 month layoff to beat a guy who stopped fighting after the second round. Weird to watch this guy get on his bike for the entire third round and take punches and headkicks.

 

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I caught the mainevent, didn't realise it was being shown for free here, might catch the full replay later tonight or tomorrow. Okami deserved that win and he looked strong in that fight. He controlled the entire fight and showed that he had a very strong chin when Nate caught him a couple of times yet Okami wasn't affected that much by it. Nate couldn't land many strong punches and when he took Okami down he did nothing. I look forward to Okami getting a title shot.

One thing I am very happy about is Kyle Noke winning, good to see another Australian in the UFC and it is even better that he is winning. Impressive that he finished him off with a submission early in the second round.

If I see a replay I will add more.

 

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Okami was beating Marquardt with a 1-2 jab, and Nate didn't seem to notice he was losing, his corner was giving him bad advice and he just didn't seem to know what to do. I'm a Marquardt fan but its very frustrating to see him choke like that. Okami followed his game plan and had a great fight, Marquardt couldn't seem to get out of neutral.

Okami is long deserving of this title shot, he will be a massive underdog against either Anderson or Vitor, but it doesn't mean he can't win. He has a solid chin and could eat some big shots and continue to move forward and catch them with a takedown, but he needs to go for shots instead of clinches if he wants to be successful againt Muay Thai experts like Anderson or boxers like Vitor.

 

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I saw some more of the replay before and it wasn't a bad show especially since it was free.

The first fight between Ludwig and Osipczak was an odd fight. Osipczak dominated the first two rounds and the elbow in the first round was powerful. The cuts looked quite serious and I was surprised that they didn't bleed that much in the final two rounds. The final round was weird how Osipczak just seemed to turn off, he didn't throw any serious punches and he just kept walking away with his hands down. Ludwig capitalised and good on him for that I guess, he took advantage of the situation.

I really enjoyed Soszynski vs Reljic. Good even fight for the most part and both fighters kept coming at each other again and again. Some solid hits and I was cheering on Soszynski hoping that he could lock in the kimura near the end.

Sadollah gave a clinic against Sobotta. Was never really troubled and controlled the entire fight. Sobotta was alright and if he could hit with his spinning heel kicks it would be a great sight to see, he has lost his three fights in the UFC though so I don't know if he will get another shot.

I saw the Noke fight as well and he looked good against Kimmons. Great wrestling skills and it was funny seing him ignore his team orders go for a full mount and then get the submission soon after that.

Another short turnaround with 123 next weekend.