UFC 91: “Couture vs. Lesnar” from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, has come to a close.
And the “biggest fight in UFC history” between Randy Couture and Brock Lesnar, while incredibly hyped and very competitive, did not earn the “Fight of the Night.” That honor actually went to Aaron Riley and Jorge Gurgel, a bout which took place on the preliminary card.
It was a back-and-forth lightweight battle that went to the scorecards with Riley winning a very tight unanimous decision.
Demian Maia — who was riding a three fight “Submission of the Night” streak — was edged out by Dustin Hazelett despite winning with a very quick and impressive first round rear naked choke over Nate Quarry. “McLovin” impressed once again with an extremely creative and rarely seen armbar while having his opponent, Tamdan McCrory, wrapped up like a pretzel.
And there was probably little doubt that Jeremy Stephens earned “Knockout of the Night” after sending Rafael dos Anjos back to Brazil with a thundering upper cut that he threw from what appeared to be the center of the cage.
Slow motion is a beautiful thing … too bad dos Anjos didn’t have it as his disposal while inside the Octagon.
Here are the special fight bonuses for UFC 91 for those who can only read bold type:
Knockout of the Night — Jeremy Stephens
Submission of the Night – Dustin Hazelett
Fight of the Night — Aaron Riley vs. Jorge Gurgel
Each fighter received $60,000 for their efforts in addition to their respective base salaries, which is not too shabby considering the shaky economy … the promotion is apparently not holding back on the generosity.
For complete UFC 91 results and blow-by-blow coverage of the main card action click here.
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The quality of fights on this card are the best IMO in recent memory.
I agree, and my wife was the first to mention that too… hey punishment, check out this comment I found today!!
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Comment by hawaii girl
2008-11-15 23:20:11
what kind of bitch is you…haha one that can only say that on the net…i got his number if you wanna call him and tell him that yourself…would you do it
(Comments wont nest below this level)
I got hooked on phonics, you need it, if I sent it would you use it? by the way, I’d call him and tell him, he’s in hawaii right!??
lol what’s this?
It was in the kahloa hose thread, we were making fun of him wanting 3/3 minute rounds, but there were only 14 comments, so no one saw this! Must be his mom, or upset wife, either way it was funny!
all i’m SAYING IS THAnK GOD!!
i didn’t pay for this over-rated PPV in UFC history!!!
thanks mmascraps.com!
randy vs fedor.. in his dreams if that loe sh! t can rmeber ..
lol@ mikeybear. We got 9 fights, the whole card, not 3 fights free on UFC.com! The card was good, and what was cool, the 2 fights after the main event were great! Glad you’re giving us your opinion after watching 2 or 3 fights online!
Amazing card! do u guys realize that we got to see EVERY single fight that wet down last night? I dont think that has ever happened before. Great Event!
Joe Silva and Dana White took some heat about this card, but let me tell you, it was AMAZING.
Watching maia, and McLovin work on the ground is truly a thing of beauty!
After Nog and Brock unify the titles, I would love to see Brock vs. Gonzaga. That fight would be bad ass. Especially if Gonzaga looks like he did last night!
so you think brock will beat nog? ..Gonzaga looked good cause he fought someone who wasnt at the same level as he is.
I think it would either be a title fight if Brock wins or a contender match if Nog wins.
no i was assuming Brock looses to Nog, and fight Gonzaga after loosing the title!
That card was sick. So many fights, so many finishes. Thank you Dana White and Zuffa. Fight of the Night must have been a tough call. The other two bonuses are for finishes that we’ll be watching in UFC highlight reels for many years to come.
Oh and, IMO, Brock is going to give Nog (whom I hold in very high regard) some serious trouble. I’m going to have to take a look at Nog’s record but Brock has to bring a few tools to that fight that even he hasn’t seen before. Brock is such a stud, and one that is getting better every fight. And there are so many great fights down the road for him, the future looks bright in the HW division right now.
Heavyweight division is TRASH!!! After Nog, there are no more top ranked heavyweights. UFC has guys with potential like Carwin and Vallesquez, but the UFC doesnt match them up against good enough opponents for them to prove themselves.
After Nog beats Brock who the F could be the next challenger to the title? Beats me, looks like a bunch of B rated fighters if you ask me!
Don’t be such a Debbie Downer john. Those young guys you mention (and you should probably add Junior Dos Santos to that list as well) will eventually have to step up in competition, which should make for some very entertaining fights down the road. Throw Velasquez, Carwin, Dos Santos and Gonzaga at each other on a couple cards and see who rises to the top to challenge for the belt. Now, with the future of Affliction almost constantly up in the air, you don’t think that guys like Arlovski and Barnett might end up back with the UFC, maybe even as early as sometime next year? Who knows, maybe king Fedor drops in for a few fights before he retires.
The HW division may not be the best the UFC has to offer but “TRASH”? That’s more than a little harsh, if you ask me.
Nevermind. Found it in the Hose/Starnes thread. Don’t worry not everyone in Hawaii is as hot headed as hawaii girl.lol
hey mania, why’d you shut off the comment thing on the right that shows new comments? that was a cool feature!
I was hoping Demian would get sub of the night despite hazelett but very much deserved.
I can’t stand watching anyone use the rubber guard, only because the moment it happens Rogan goes completely crazy until he blows a load in his pants that even Tito’s girl would be impressed with. We know it is effective Joe, but it isn’t the holy grail of BJJ.
LMFAO at rogan going nuts over the rubber guard! Hazelet is incredible on the ground, so good to watch.
Man, that’s so true and it’s getting worse now too since more guys like using high guards. I can’t stand all the 10th planet guys and the way they hype bravo either. Or all the fucked up retarded names for moves they have also (electric chair, mission control?!? WTF).
I think Kenny deserved sub of the night. The body triangle coupled with one of the deepest RNC’s you’ll ever see against someone with the jiujitsu that Joe Daddy has was the most impressive to me. No offense to Maia(I hope he mops the floor with Anderson), or McLovin, but the guys they subbed were not the caliber of fighter on the ground that Joe is. Good job Kenny.
Maia impresses me more every fight I see. Quarry is prob top 15 so I see Maia getting 2 more wins than a title shot. Travis Lutter totally threw Anderson off with his ground game and Maia is way better. I just hope he keeps working on his stand up with Wandi.
Can somebody please remind me how many more fights A. Silva said he was going to do before he retires?
5 left
Well, we got our moneys worth tonight fellas. For once the UFC gave us a full 3 hours instead of ending the show after only 2! I would say this is directly due to the economy! As I said, wrestlinf was a non factor, and Randy in my opinion out wrestled Brock…then got caught. My wife was explaining to me that after 40, your brain actually begins to react differently, and response time or reflexes are slower! She is a big Randy fan and is hoping he retires!
Gonzaga looked good, and you guys were right on about the Quarry/maia fight! I like Maiai, and think it was very clever to call out Bisping! The UFC has worked way to hard building him up as their overseas star to let him get submitted by a relatively unknown!
I called the Florian fight, and thought it was a great showing after the lackluster win over Huerta! Only thing I laughed at (and I like Kenny), don’t call out BJ Penn! Yes you’ll get your title shit, yes you earned it, but BJ is going to kill you!
I would have to say the best two fights of the night were actually the final two fights of the night, and have one closing question, why wad Gugel wearing his black belt after the fight? Use it for christ sakes. He could have finished that fight by triangle or arm bar numerous times throughout the fight, but chose to pop back up and trade. I never again want to hear haw good he is on the ground, because anyone that good with half a brain would use their strength!
I know a lot of you guys will be saying this was yet another shitty ppv, but you guys will always say that! This was a pretty weak card that turned out to be a great show. This is how it usually goes, which really has me nervous for next month! Such a good card on paper, hope it lives up to the Hype…(what a segway). Brock Lesner is no longer hype, and if I may skip ahead, what if!! What if Brock destroys nog? Yes the purists will say I’m crazy, but he has plenty of time to prepare, so what if? Does the UFC then have to sign…dare I say for the biggest heavy weight battle ever…wait for it…
FEDOR???!!!
Come on Kev, you’re not on the feed Fedor to lesnar wagon are you? I didn’t think he could ever beat couture so i’ll give him his dues. His cardio looked suspect but i think that was just nerves. If he beats Nog, then definitely but we still have to see.
hey listen man, if, and it’s a big if he gets past nog/mir, why not? The hardcore fans will say Fedor wil kill him, the wwe guys will say Brock will win, the thing would do 2 million ppv’s. everyone wins. who else is he going to fight if he gets thorough randy, mir, herring and nog? Kongo? GG? No, might as well make a super fight!
*****
I forgot one thing, did you guys see them show Brock’s only (#1) fan before the fight? I was laughing so hard!
Carwin…Godzilla vs. King Kong. Carwin could f*ck him up.
Maybe. I think Lesnar is the better wrestler of the 2, but I give the striking advantage to Carwin.
we got our moneys worth!!
wow your crazy, this is the most ob=ver rated ppv in history!!!!!!!!!!!.. not one super fight.. chump!!!!
Go away and don’t come back.
I second that. Obviously a WWE fan that was hoping to see a chairshot or table match or somnething. Get a clue. If you didn’t like the fights last night, then you don’t like MMA. Go post on a different blog. I was expecting a card that would be only somewhat exciting but all of the matches were good. This card by far exceeded expectations.
agreed. this card was amazing! not a boring match all night. even the one fight that did go to the judges was the fight of the night, so yeah i got my money’s worth.
anyway i’m pumped a good night of action. think i’ll smoke a wind-down, get ready for bed bowl and round out the night in a good fashion.
oh and that KO was brutal!! i haven’t seen an uppercut that nasty, ever!
jits guys dream card…literally!!!
Yeah really. Lots of subs, and a good showcase for the art of jiujitsu. Anyone who has ever trained and understands the feel and flow of jiujitsu has got to respect it. A thing of beauty is a joy forever, or some such sh*t…lol.
I was shocked at how quick Maia worked.
I agree with Kevin on all points, especially about Gurgel. Theres a reason that you dont see Andy Wang fight anymore. Stick to the plan dummy. Use your jiujitsu and maybe youll win another fight in the octagon. If he wasn’t Rich Franklin’s coach, he wouldnt be here anymore. The guy needs to leave the UFC altogether. It pisses me off because I love the beauty of jiujitsu, and its actually kind of disrespectful to the art when you possess such great skills and refuse to use it.
Turned out to be an excellent show! Only one fight when to a decision, and we got to see some great submissions and a few sweet KO’s (Gonzaga and Stephens).
I want to see Lesnar destroy a few guys in HW before he takes on Fedor, like Congo, Nog, and Carwin.
this is the most ovr-rated ppv in ufc history and dana white got 500,000 ppv’s not even a cool million!!!!
all of us that bought it seem happy, and how many times you gonna tell us it sucked? you ripped a few fights and have an opinion? and you have the ppv buys too, are you allen greenspan?
Did it really only get half a million?! I thought the fights were great.
That was the prediction late this week based on ratings for the countdown show and pre-buys, which is apparently a pretty close prediction most of the time.
That punch Lesnar threw to knock down Couture reminded me a lot of that 1st punch Matt Serra grazed the back of GSP’s head before Serra capitalized on a seris of punches to end their 1st fight.
Couture was doing pretty good but what shocked me about the fight was Couture’s physique’ he looked smooth and a bit smaller than he did 1 1/2 yrs ago. Lesnar was right when he said Couture looked like a guy that took a year off. However, I don’t think the lay off is necessarily the case, it’s physiology and changes Couture is going through at his age, his body is producing more estrogen and even less testostrone, not to mention reflexes.. it looked like age is finally catching up to him.
The Couture that fought Gonzaga looked like the best Couture I’ve ever seen and we won’t see that type of performance from Couture again. Time to let the younger lions rule the cage.
Also, Lesnar would beat Nog, FEDOR would definitely beat Lesnar… Hope we get to see that someday Goldie comentating..
Goldie: “Are you kidding me”!!
Anybody saying that this card sucked is full of shit…. that was one of the best “all around cards” in recent memory…… Love the respect between Couture and Lesnar kinda a passing the torch moment. How long b4 we see Brock at Xtreme Couture anybody have a guess?
Did anyone else give a little chuckle when Wandy did the “throat slash” thing, and then held up 3 fingers. I agree with him, but I wonder what Rampage thinks?
Haha, I caught that as well. Can’t wait for that fight.
lol…that was beautiful.
Rampage got mad until the voice in his head told him eveything would be ok.
bob sapp will kill brock. This card is only for young boys which spent much more time in computer games.
lol bob sapp is a super heavy weight isn’t he? this comment is for clueless morons!
alright guys, comments not popping up, mania went to bed, see you in the A.M!!
great show…right mikey?
Bob Sapp is a 350lb walking pile of no-talent. Big Nog subbed him with a nice armbar, and CroCop made him cry with a body kick. They’d never fight, but if they did, Brock would destroy Sapp.
ufc 92 is really the best card in (ufc 2008), but Lesnar is real fighter. I want to see Lesnar destroy a few guys in HW because hi is figter not man like Tim, Mir,Couture with bored tactic.
hablas ingles?
fuck seeing wandy doing the throat slash got me pumped for next month!
WAR AXE MURDERER!!!
how come no one has talked about knock out of the night and how exciting it is to watch jeremy stephens every fight hes in?
im a fan of stephens, but he’s got to learn more jiujitsu, cause right now, hes more like a jens pulver. I dont think relying only on Sprawl and brawl will cut it, if you are actually gunning for the title.
This is the beginning of the end for the UFC. I canot believe that they gave a title shot to Fat Lesnar without proving himself. Nog or Mir deserved it more. Mir took Lesnar out and was still by passed. As of today, I am no longer a UFC fan. Like boxing, it is now all about the money.
First, you won’t be missed. Second, if you actually followed what has been going on you would know that Nog and Mir are fighting for the interim title that Nog won when Randy Paycheck walked away. Then the winner fights Lesnar to unify the title. And if Lesnar beats Randy and either Nog/Mir then he most definitely will have proved himself.
You can tell the casual fans usually just by realizing that youve never seen the name of the guy posting the comment. Casual fans are good for the sport, but they shouldn’t post stuff they know nothing about. He absolutely won’t be missed.
You can tell the casual fans usually just by realizing that youve never seen the name of the guy posting the comment. Casual fans are good for the sport, but they shouldn’t post stuff they know nothing about. He absolutely won’t be missed.
Mir wasn’t bypassed. He was given a shot before Lesnar was (against Nog), and when Randy came back it was too late to get out of that fight because of TUF. What were they going to do, let a 45 year old man sit around and collect another 6 months worth of dust? Who else were they going to put in there? Herring? Yeah, that would make more sense.
Oh, and it looks like Brock just proved himself last night, didn’t he?
Amazing card last night. I was just saying to my friends on Friday that while on paper the card looked weak, the fights themselves could still be top notch. The stacked cards are usually a let down. Supposedly weaker cards such as last night are often the ones that deliver.
Its funny you mention “stacked” cards. UFC 73 “Stacked” was a loaded card that turned out to be a disappoinment.
Sherk/Franca - 5 round boring LNP UD for Sherk, anmd both got busted for steroids afterwards
Tito/Raschad - 3 round draw because Tito held the fence
Nog/Herring 3 - 3 round UD for Nog, but kinda boring
Silva/Marquartd - Only fight that turned out to be exciting, but it was very short
They called this the most loaded card in UFC history at the time, and it goes to show that sometimes what you see on paper is not what happens. I just UFC 92 lives up to its hype. I think it will.
I agree. A lot of the less “stacked” cards turn out to be decent cards.
Last years final card in December was one of the only stacked cards that truly delivered. GSP vs. Hughes was a great fight and Liddell vs. Silva was (in my opinion) the most exciting fight I have ever seen. I have watched that fight about 30 times by now.