UFC Fight Night 12 from The Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada, is in the books.
The two-hour SpikeTV special featured the welterweight debut of former middleweight contender, Mike Swick, against Josh Burkman in the main event of the evening. The 15-pound weight-cut for “Quick” was supposed to make him stronger and more dominant.
It didn’t happen … not last night, anyway.
Swick couldn’t find his riddum’ for most if not all of the 15-minute bout. His combinations were not crisp and the killer instinct that defined his rise to the top of the 185-pound class seemed to be nonexistent. Blame it on a lack of action (he hasn’t fought in about nine months) or just an aggressive and frustrating opponent in Burkman.
For his part, “The Peoples Warrior” didn’t do much to impress the judges sitting ringside, either. He focused primarily on taking Swick to the ground; however, Swick stuffed most of the attempts and the two would just end up pressed against the cage.
This was an even fight because not much ever really happened. Swick is fortunate to get the win because this writer agreed with the judge who scored the bout 29-29 — neither fighter really did enough to win that fight outright.
Nonetheless, it’s a win for Swick and a positive start in his new division. Don’t be surprised if we see him soon so he can knock off the rust and return to top form. For Burkman, this is his second loss in three fights. And with defeats against top contenders such as Jon Fitch, Karo Parisyan and Swick, it doesn’t look like he’ll be getting many more opportunities in the near future to prove that he belongs at the top of the heap — he can’t hang with the big dogs.
Congratulations, Patrick Cote. The French Canadian has turned his UFC career around after starting out miserably (0-4), taking out a very dangerous Drew McFedries in quick fashion. He’s now got three straight wins against some solid competition and can most likely set his sights on UFC 84, which is set to take place at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada, on April 19.
The bad luck continues for McFedries. Just recovered from a severe staph infection — and still reeling from the tragic murder of his mother — the Miletich product didn’t look right last night. Cote floored him with a nice uppercut and hook, but when he hit the ground he just balled up and did nothing to indicate that he wanted to keep fighting.
I’d say no big deal if he was hurt bad … but if you watch the replays he gets right up after the stoppage with a smile on his face.
Maybe he was punch drunk. Maybe he mailed it in. Who knows.
Nate Diaz looked spectacular once again, calling for some top contenders after he finished the real tough Alvin Robinson with relative ease. I can’t argue with the man. His awkward frame and long limbs pose a challenge to anyone at 155 pounds. And his jiu-jitsu is just on another level — he always has something up his sleeve.
Bring on Kurt Pellegrino. He looked impressive in his thrashing of Alberto Crane. And “Batman” even called out Diaz when we spoke to him prior to the event.
That’s a good match up.
There’s not much to say about the fight between Thiago Tavares and Michihiro Omigawa other than it was absolutely painful to watch. The only reason I can think that it made the main card to begin with was to showcase the talent of Tavares.
But last night he didn’t bring it. He was off and looked average at best. That’s the exception and not the rule, however. Tavares is a stud and just coughed up a stinker. He should shine his next time out regardless of the opponent.
All in all it was an underwhelming show. Perhaps it wouldn’t have seemed that way if it wasn’t for all the friggin’ commercials and cheesy ringside segments with the sponsors. Sure, the UFC has bills to pay but c’mon … find a decent balance.
The silver lining in all of this is the upcoming UFC Fight Night 13 card on April 2 from Broomfield, Colorado. It’s absolutely loaded with great fights and is pay-per-view caliber (just without the title fight). We also learned yesterday that lightweights Frank Edgar and Clay Guida were recently added to the already star-studded card (albeit in separate fights).
To check out the latest UFC Fight 13 rumored fight card click here.
And if you missed the action last night hit up our UFC Fight Night 12 LIVE results coverage and blow-by-blow commentary right here.
25 Comments »
That main event sucked so bad..i even went to sleep.
Thank God it was free!!! Only spike can take risks like this.
Burkman and Swick were fighting not to lose, instead of fighting to finish…
i dont understand why people think it should be a draw. Josh keeped on tring for takedowns and keeped getting stuffed. when someone trys the same take down over and over with no result, i think that should be points for oppisite fighter. Mike wanted it standing and he did keep it there for the most part, Josh wanted it on the floor and couldnt get it there! Mike won not by much or dramtic fashion but he clearly won!
What was with Josh keep on tring an Anderson Silva elbow. sorry josh your not A.Silva
I completly disagree that Swick looked physically weak in this fight. Burkman is a strong 170 lb fighter who takes fighters down at will and Swick stuffed EVERY takedown attempt. Swick neutralized Burkman’s wrestling strength with technique and strength of his own. If he were not physically strong enough for this division he would have been on his back multiple times against Burkman (who many say is one of the stronger 170 lb. fighters).
YAWN!!
Weak stuff. I wished they would have showcased Corey Hill. At least he finished his fight. I’m not one to knock fighters, because it’s not easy to get in there and do it, but you’re either in there to fight or you’re not. Burkman and Swick weren’t in there to fight. Tavares and Omigawa weren’t in there to fight. Rogan didn’t even go in and talk to Tavares after that debacle.
Omigawa wasn’t letting his hands go. He’d flinch a punch but that’s it. So what was Tavares so hesitant about? If Omigawa could knock him out then he shouldn’t be in the UFC. They talk about Tavares Muay Tai, I can’t tell.
Swick I’m going to give the benefit of the doubt and say he cut weight wrong and left his tank empty. Next fight will tell. McFedries, this is MMA not boxing, time to learn something other than left right left right if you want to stay around.
Pelligrino, fight of night in my book. Now that’s someone who was in there to fight. Can’t knock his heart. He was rocked by a vicious head kick that ends 90% of lightweights if it hit them and then he’s immeadiately stuck in a guillotine and still he didn’t quit. Much props man.
All in all there’s been so many solid UFC cards recently that I’m not mad at them for one stinker. Can’t wait for Pride of a champion. Oh yeah, Brock’s up first. “He broke Tim Slyvia’s arm, who cares?” Love it, straight WWE stuff.
How could that one judge score it 29-29? Isn’t it a 10-point must system???? im confused…..
[quote comment=”279115″]How could that one judge score it 29-29? Isn’t it a 10-point must system???? im confused…..[/quote]
10-9, 9-10, 10-10
[quote comment=”279122″][quote comment=”279115″]How could that one judge score it 29-29? Isn’t it a 10-point must system???? im confused…..[/quote]
10-9, 9-10, 10-10[/quote]
10-10? Ok I guess? I never knew that in a 10-point must system judges were allowed to give both fighters a score of 10 for the same round…
The only thing that stands out to me after the ultimate snooze night, was Nate Diaz. Wow. I don’t really like him too much, but I have to give him props. He has some really impressive BJJ. Very good win. Alvin Robinson is a solid fighter. Nice to see Nick in his bro’s corner, hope the UFC gets wise and gets him fighting for them again.
[quote post=”4676″] He focused primarily on taking Swick to the ground; however, Swick stuffed most of the attempts and the two would just end up pressed against the cage.[/quote]
Wrong mania. Swick didn’t stuff most of the attempts; he stuffed all of the attempts. This fight never hit the mat once.
[quote comment=”279159″][quote post=”4676″] He focused primarily on taking Swick to the ground; however, Swick stuffed most of the attempts and the two would just end up pressed against the cage.[/quote]
Wrong mania. Swick didn’t stuff most of the attempts; he stuffed all of the attempts. This fight never hit the mat once.[/quote]
Guess you missed round one.
My thoughts on the Main Card:
Nate Diaz vs Alvin Robinson: Since I have always been a huge fan of the Diaz brother’s, I was a little nervous about this fight because Alvin BEAT DOWN Jorge Gurgel who has great BJJ and decent standup which are similar qualities to Nate, but Nate is a MUCH better fighter than Gurgel. The 22 year old Diaz proved that he is indeed ready to step up in competition. Can anyone say Thiago Taverez??? SideNote: I was very happy to see Nick finally in Nate’s corner. I don’t think Nick has any fights coming up, but he did look much larger than usual. Yes he usually fights one weight class above Nate, but I thought he looked rather larger than usual - even considering he doesn’t have a fight coming up.
Thiago Tavarez vs Micci Omigawa: Tavarez should have finished him in the first round. Very dissapointing showing for Tavarez. If he wants to prove to be a Top 5 contender in the stacked LW divsion, then he has to finish fighers that have a losing record MMA (Omigawa was 4-5 coming into the fight).
Kurt Pellegrino vs Alberto Crane: WOW was I impressed with Batman. He was an animal in this fight. That kick to the jaw was wicked, to put it lightly. I thought the fight would be over within 10 seconds for sure. But Kurt was able to hang in there. Like I say, Crane is a BJJ guy fighting in MMA. I was impressed with that opening kick, but other than that, he did not look good on his feet. Other After that kick, Kurt simply dominated the fight. I loved when Kurt was slapping his most likely broken jaw and yelling and Alberto to bring it. I was a fan of Kurt before this fight, but now I am a big fan of Kurt. That hole in Kurts lower lip was SICK - his teeth went right through!
Patrick Cote vs Drew McFedries: A quick and explosive fight ending in KO as expected. Man oh man, does Cote have a jaw or what? The hardest punch thrown in the fight was the punch the Cote took before he put the beat down on McFedries. Working with Mark DellaGrotte is working wonders on Patrick Cote’s already impressive stand up game. Everyone but Hendo and Anderson Silva should be very weary to take a fight with Patrick Cote right now.
Mike Swick vs Josh Burkman: Zzzzzzzzzzz. What a sleeper. Burkman won round one. Round 2 was very close because not much happened, but I gave it to Swick because of the head kick. So it all came down to the 3rd and final round. Neither fighter did anything worthy of winning the round. I scored it 10-10, resulting in a 29-29 draw. One judge saw it my way. Gut I don’t know how 2 judges saw Swick clearly winning 2 rounds. I didn’t see Swick clearly win any rounds. The only round that was decisively won was round 1 by Burkman. As much as I don’t like Burkman, I think that the fight should have been a draw or Burkman should have gotten the split decision. Sidenote: The only thing that impressed me by Mike Swick was his take down defense.
“Ahhh, they’re speaking Purtugese”
“Ummm, that’s Japanese dude”
“Oh…”
“You are married to a Japanese woman, and you thought that was Purtugese?”
Immediately before Goldy had a Goldy moment, I asked my wife if she thought that guy was speaking Japanese or Portugese. She paused. I said I definitely think Japanese. No more than 1 second later is when Goldy said it was Portugese and Rogan corrected him. We paused it and looked at each other laughing at how bizzar that was. Then we rewound to hear it again, and then we hear that Goldy is married to a Japanese woman. I almost fell out of my recliner laughing…
After what Cote has done recently, I think he needs some big fights in the near future. I know if Kendall KO’d Cote, it would be a different story. Cote has broke top 10 I think, and should be fighting a top 10, on PPV. Great work Patrick, and solid respect for a heavy-handed opponent. But Drew spit out some garbage, Patrick cleaned-up. I think a good fight would be Marquardt.
[quote comment=”279178″]”Ahhh, they’re speaking Purtugese”
“Ummm, that’s Japanese dude”
“Oh…”
“You are married to a Japanese woman, and you thought that was Purtugese?”
Immediately before Goldy had a Goldy moment, I asked my wife if she thought that guy was speaking Japanese or Portugese. She paused. I said I definitely think Japanese. No more than 1 second later is when Goldy said it was Portugese and Rogan corrected him. We paused it and looked at each other laughing at how bizzar that was. Then we rewound to hear it again, and then we hear that Goldy is married to a Japanese woman. I almost fell out of my recliner laughing…[/quote]
Goldberg is such an idiot, but I wouldn’t want anyone else doing the telecasts. He always gives us something to talk about. I watched the show by myself last night, and when that dialogue went down, I was dying. I was mad that I didn’t have anyone there with me to make fun of Goldberg with. I actually had to call one of my buddies and tell him about it.
I wonder if Goldberg would be half as funny if it weren’t for Rogan making him look like an ass half the time. That was great television.
Did Rogan actually say “Karate Robot”?
Diaz looked tough….the main event was boring, but it looked like Burkman was the agressor. Swick stuff all his take down attemtps, but was unable to do anything from the clinch…including getting his back off the cage. This was a draw if I’ve seen one, but I’m glad the AKA guy pulled out the decision.
[quote comment=”279178″]”Ahhh, they’re speaking Purtugese”
“Ummm, that’s Japanese dude”
“Oh…”
“You are married to a Japanese woman, and you thought that was Purtugese?”
Immediately before Goldy had a Goldy moment, I asked my wife if she thought that guy was speaking Japanese or Portugese. She paused. I said I definitely think Japanese. No more than 1 second later is when Goldy said it was Portugese and Rogan corrected him. We paused it and looked at each other laughing at how bizzar that was. Then we rewound to hear it again, and then we hear that Goldy is married to a Japanese woman. I almost fell out of my recliner laughing…[/quote]
Your post reminded me, The fighters go through extensive training camps and preparation with that being said they should not allow the camps to be right next to the cage screaming instructions. Some times fighter take the fight to certain areas of the octogon for that reason. I can understand if its the ultimate fighter show but that was geting a little annoying hearing that guy scream the same thing over and over again. When a fighter steps into the octogon its up to him to implement the game plan and win, not to get instructions on the fly during the actual fight thats what inbetween rounds are for.
at least get them away from the octogon side microphone
Yaeh, I agree drew mcfedrias is not a true mixed martial artist yet but I would say with out a dout that there is no one in the lhw division who hits harder
goldberg is great when you hear that voice you know its the UFC, and he makes some good observations during the fight sometimes.
[quote comment=”279195″]After what Cote has done recently, I think he needs some big fights in the near future. I know if Kendall KO’d Cote, it would be a different story. Cote has broke top 10 I think, and should be fighting a top 10, on PPV. Great work Patrick, and solid respect for a heavy-handed opponent. But Drew spit out some garbage, Patrick cleaned-up. I think a good fight would be Marquardt.[/quote]
I’d like to see Cote fight Okami.
It’s like Goldberg hasn’t learned anything about MMA since he started…I love Rogan’s commentary, he never states the obvious..at least not too much - he does repeat himself every now again
Everytime i hear Goldberg speak im like “do you know what sport youre commenting on?”
I thought it was a good card overall. It was a good thing that Spike squeezed the Pelligrino fight in there. That fight saved the night for me. The hole-in-his-face that his tooth made after getting kicked-in-the-face was one coolest post fight blemishes that I have seen. 2KOs 1sub and 2 boring decisions is not too bad. At least the boring fights were only 3 rounds.
I really like the thought that these guys get paid bonuses for Fight of the Night and Sub/KO of the night. That makes the boring fights more palatable knowing that they are not going to get a bonus.
Couple of real snoozers that is for sure. I would have loved to see C. Hill fight to see if he looked much different than on the show.
Diaz- i think he is a bit of a punk, but I love watching high energy guys like him. Kurt P. is that kind of guy too.
Burkman– Doesnt it seem like he should be better? Nothing more than a stepping stone for others on the way up the ladder.
Swick- Some guys get on streaks, lose it, and never get it back.
Cote- Takes a punch, hits hard, and throws a bunch. What more to ask?
On paper this should have been one of the best free events ever, but for some reason it just didnt work out.