King Mo’ Lawal Almost Lost His Leg To A Recent Staph Infection

Since a positive steroid test following a win over Lorenz Larkins at the Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Jardine event, former light heavyweight champ Muhammed ‘King Mo’ Lawal has been pretty quiet, pulling away from the public limelight. On Monday, Lawal revealed to the SiriusXM Fight Club that after the bout he underwent ACL surgery and subsequently suffered a very bad staph infection, which was so bad that could have cost him his leg if it wasn’t for numerous surgeries.
(Props to BloodyElbow.com for the transcript)

Alright here’s the thing. All this happened like three weeks ago but I didn’t tell nobody. I was in the hospital with people texting me and I was trying to keep it like nothing was going on so there wouldn’t be any red flags. But what happened was I had surgery after the fight. I had ACL and macrofracture (?). The ACL wasn’t a big deal but the macrofracture was a bigger deal in my cartilage. One of the sutures got infected and I had to go to the hospital the day after the Rashad Evans/Phil Davis fight. I got blood taken out of my knee and taken to a lab. I was at my manager’s crib…Mike Kogan’s crib and all of the sudden my doctor’s like ‘hey, you’ve gotta come to the hospital right now’. And this is right after Chael won. So I went to the hospital before the Rashad Evans/Phil Davis fight and I watched the fight at the hospital. Then went into the surgery spot and woke up with the pick line in my arm and they were telling me I would be in there till Monday. I figured I’d go in there and clear my knee out and I’d be out the same night or the next night but I was in there till Monday. Then they checked out my knee again and took the temperature and the knee was still hot and swelling up. They decided to take me back into surgery to do another flush procedure to get the staph infection out. In twelve days I had five procedures to remove the staph and I’m staph free now. But now they’ve pushed IV medicine through my pick line that’s connected to my heart through my arm every day for six weeks.

This is the toughest thing I’ve ever experienced in my life. The harded that I’ve experienced in my life. Spiritually and emotionally, man I’ll put it like this. I’m not religious at all. I was born to a Muslim family. Man this had me thinking I had to purchase the Quran and get back to my faith and start having more talks with Allah. Seeing my teammates come see me, it broke me down a few times man. Coach Mendez came and saw me a lot. Coach Bob, Paul Buentello, Dan Cormier…people on the team. Jermain Ramsey and Jenna…Phil. I just had so many people contact me and come through it was tough man. It pushed me. Mentally I’ll be a stronger person. I know I’ll be stronger and I’ll be a better fighter.

Brazilian Rani Yahya Plans Drop To UFC Bantamweight Division

Former ADCC Submission Wrestling World Champion, and current UFC featherweight fighter, Rani Yahya (16-7) is planning a move back to the bantamweight division after a 1-1 record at 145-lbs in the Octagon. Yahya moved up to the featherweight division after competing as a bantamweight in the WEC, going so far as to face Chase Beebe for the WEC 135-lbs title back in 2007.
One of Yahya’s coaches broke the news to Tatame.com recently.

“He’ll drop to the bantamweight and UFC is already looking for someone for me to fight”, tells Ataíde Junior, his coach at Constrictor Team, confident about returning to the winning streak after a bad sequence in the UFC. “Rani is like a chess match, you can never know what’s going to happen. We get anxious about seeing him fighting”.

The Brazilian debuted in the Octagon at the UFC: Fight for the Troops 2 show one year ago, moving up in weight after two straight losses in the WEC. Yahya would earn a unanimous decision over late replacement Mike Brown at the Texas show. He would then go on to face Chad Mendes last summer at UFC 133, losing by decision to the former No.1 contender.

UFC Champ Jon Jones Named Honorary Race Official For The 54th Annual Daytona 500

UFC Light Heavyweight champion Jon “Bones” Jones will serve as Honorary Race Official for the 54th annual Daytona 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race on Sunday, Feb. 26 at Daytona International Speedway (FOX, 1 p.m. ET).

As Honorary Race Official, Jones will be introduced at the driver’s meeting, participate in pre-race ceremonies and ride in one of the honorary race official cars ahead of the 43-car field for the 200-lap, 500-mile historic race.
“Jon ‘Bones’ Jones is a huge star in mixed martial arts,” Daytona International Speedway President Joie Chitwood III said. “We are excited to welcome him to the ‘World Center of Racing’ and have him be a part of the pre-race ceremonies for NASCAR’s biggest, richest and most prestigious race.”
“I am thrilled to be able to serve as Honorary Race Official at this year’s Daytona 500, NASCAR’s premier event,” Jones said. “Like the UFC, NASCAR has a passionate and knowledgeable fan base, and I am honored that I will get to share this experience with them.”
Jones’ holds a career record of 15-1, which is comprised of eight knockouts and five submissions. He was named “Most Dangerous Man” at the 2011 Spike Guys’ Choice Awards and “2011 Fighter of the Year” at the World MMA Awards.
In December 2011, the Endicott, N.Y. native capped off what many have hailed as the greatest year in MMA history with a submission against Lyoto Machida.
Earlier in the year, Jones became the youngest champion in UFC history at the age of 23 after he won all four of his fights and earned the Light Heavyweight title. With two more defeats of former champions later in 2011, Jones became the first fighter in UFC history to defeat three former champions in one year.
Jones entered the UFC in August 2008 after only four months of competing in professional fights.
Currently, Jones trains in Alburquerque, N.M. under legendary MMA coach Greg Jackson. On April 21 in Atlanta, Jones will take on his former champion training partner, “Suga” Rashad Evans, in one of the most anticipated UFC fights of the year.
Tickets for Speedweeks 2012 events, including the 54th annual Daytona 500, are available online at www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com or by calling             1-800-PITSHOP      .

Warlike`s Stupid Photos Gallery

Two New Fights Added To The Score Fighting Series

The Score Fighting Series has announced two additional bouts for its Friday, March 16th event at Hamilton Place Theatre in Hamilton, Ontario. World Muay Thai champion Shane Campbell of Stoney Creek will face off with fellow power striker Derek Boyle of Lethbridge, Alberta at lightweight (155 pounds) and unbeaten prospect Ryan Dickson (2-0) of Hamilton will duke it out with Chris St. Jean (5-3) of Ottawa at welterweight (170 pounds).
The matchup between Campbell (5-1) and Boyle (7-5), both winners of four of their last five fights, pits two of Canada’s most exciting, young, up-and-coming strikers against one another.
The 24-year-old, six-foot Campbell, comes from a strong lineage of kickboxing talent at Stoney Creek’s Iron Muay Thai, under master trainer Kru Alin Halmagean. Since he made his MMA debut in June 2008, Campbell has taken on the grueling task of simultaneously maintaining his kickboxing career where he holds an overall record of 45-10 (11 KO’s).
Campbell’s opponent, 27-year-old, six-foot Boyle (7-5), has earned more than half of his victories by KO. He is coming off an incredible flying knee KO of Alex Popov in September.
Dickson (2-0) is the prize student of local MMA icon Jeff Joslin, the first and only Hamiltonian to date to fight in the UFC. The 22-year-old prospect claimed both his victories to date by way of submission.
St. Jean, 27, (5-3), who fights out of the Ottawa Academy of Martial Arts under Pat Cooligan, has proved to be one of the more durable fighters in the sport after competing seven times in 2011. All five of St. Jean’s career wins have come by way of either KO or submission.
St. Jean is hungry to return to the win column after his five-fight win streak was snapped in his last start at the hands of Brandt Dewsberry, who submitted St. Jean with a triangle choke in the second round of their meeting last October. Tickets for The Score Fighting Series start at $30 and are on sale now at the Copps Coliseum box office and online at www.ticketmaster.ca.
In the main event, UFC and PRIDE veteran and Xtreme Couture team member John “The Natural” Alessio (33-14) will square off with Strikeforce and WEC veteran and Team Quest member “Diamond” Ryan Healy (19-9-1). For more on Alessio, check-out this video feature from theScore.com.
Undefeated Stoney Creek sensation Josh Hill (7-0) will take on rising star Eric Wilson (5-1) from Saskatoon at bantamweight (135 pounds).
In a featured welterweight bout, UFC veteran Forrest “The Meat Cleaver” Petz (24-9) of Cleveland, Oh. will take on kickboxing champion Sergej Juskevic (11-6-2) of Toronto via Lithuania.
Unbeaten Jason Meisel (2-0) of Caledonia will battle Mike Sledzion (3-2) of Barrie at lightweight. Lyndon Whitlock (5-2) of Hamilton will face Cory Houston (4-1) of Winnipeg at featherweight (145 pounds). John Macphearson (1-1) of Hamilton will lock horns with Craig “War Dog” Hudson (1-1) of Brantford at heavyweight (max 265 pounds).
Additional fights will be announced soon.
For more information or for images of fighters please contact:
Mike Afromowitz
Witz End Communications, Inc.
            917-566-8754      
mikea@yourwitzend.com
James Bigg
theScore Media, Inc.
            416-977-6787       x 2366
jbigg@scoremedia.com

Prospect Alexandre Bezerra vs. UFC Vet Douglas Evans Added to Bellator 57

By FCF Staff
Approximately one week before Bellator Fighting Championships will head to Rama, Ontario for its latest event, the promotion has announced that featherweight prospect Alexandre Bezerra will fight UFC vet Douglas Evans at the November 12^th card.
Bezerra (11-1) is coming off a second round, stoppage win over Scott Heckman in September, to extend the BJJ brown belt’s Bellator record to 3-0.
Evans (13-9) will be looking to end a two fight losing streak, as the Alaska native has dropped back-to-back bouts to Alexander Sarnavskiy and more recently Antonio Carvalho.
Several other preliminary bouts have been confirmed for the upcoming, November 12^th, Bellator 57 card, as Denis Puric will take on bantamweight Chuck Mady, lightweight Josh Shockley will face Eric Moon, Mike Sledzion will meet lightweight Taylor Solomon, and light-heavyweight Matt Van Buren will fight Shawn Levesque.
Bellator 57 will feature the finals of the promotion’s welterweight tourney, as Ben Saunders will fight Douglas Lima, as well as its middleweight tournament finale, which will see Alexander Shlemenko battle Vitor Vianna.
The card will be hosted by the Casino Rama and will be broadcast live on MTV 2.

Marquardt’s Management and BAMMA Comment on Postponement of Veteran’s Debut

Earlier today the British Association of Mixed Martial Arts announced that former UFC contender Nate Marquardt, would not make his debut for the promotion as originally expected next month, but will do so rather in February. While the original news release did not offer any specific information as to why Marquardt’s debut has been postponed, FCF has since learned that the highly regarded fighter is healthy and was ready to fight.
The President of Alchemist Management Lex McMahon, who helps oversee Marquardt’s career, informed FCF that although they were disappointed that the 32 year-old-veteran will not be fighting next month, they “support BAMMA’s decision.”
Although Marquardt will no longer be competing at BAMMA 8 on December 10^th, the promotion announced that the former middleweight will fight Japanese veteran Yoshiyuki Yoshida for its vacant welterweight championship on February 11^th.
McMahon confirmed that Marquardt was not injured, before adding that “BAMMA has been a pleasure to work with” and that “Nate is looking forward to putting on a great fight with Yoshida.”
BAMMA’s Media Relations department informed FCF that the postponement was due to the fact that “with only a handful of fighters around the world that are of Nate’s calibre, it’s all down to which fighters were willing and able to step up and take the challenge. Yoshida did exactly that but unfortunately only Feb 11th works for both guys.”
The promotion added that it is “confident that BAMMA 8 will be a great success”, a card that will feature several experienced vets, including Jim Wallhead, Joey Villasenor, Andre Winner and Dean Amasinger, among others.
BAMMA 8 will be hosted by Nottingham’s Capital FM Arena,
Marquardt (31-10-2) has not fought since March, 2011, when he worked his way to a unanimous decision win over Dan Miller at UFC 128. The accomplished fighter was released by the promotion this past June, after Marquardt was not cleared to compete at a UFC Live 4 event, just hours before he was set to fight Rick Story.
Marquardt reported afterwards that issues tied to his ongoing hormone replacement therapy were the reasons behind his medical suspension. The Pennsylvania Athletic Commission lifted Marquardt’s suspension a few weeks later and cleared the veteran to compete once again.
Yoshida (13-6) is coming off a UD win over Phil Baroni in September, while competing for One FC.

Scott Corl: The Ultimate Fighter’s Bryan Caraway: “I Got The ‘W’ and They Looked Like Jackasses”

Bryan Caraway, featherweight (145 pounds) contestant on this season of The Ultimate Fighter, talks with Full Contact Fighter correspondent Scott Corl about his experience living in a house with 15 other fighters for the hit SpikeTV reality series.
The 27-year-old Caraway, who boasts a solid 15-5 career record as a professional and is a veteran of Strikeforce, WEC and EliteXC competition, talks about the direction he feels the sport of MMA is headed in as well as the future of women’s MMA and the inspiration that his girlfriend, Strikeforce women’s 135-pound champion, Miesha Tate, has become.
Caraway also discusses his victory over Marcus Brimage on The Ultimate Fighter and getting revenge on the opposing team on the show.

Dana White’s UFC 138 Octagon Update (video)

UFC President Dana White looks back at UFC 138 believing that, despite the naysayers decrying the event for a lack of “name value” fighters, the fighters on the card delivered, and delivered big.

As is typical, he didn’t shy away from other topics of interest either, talking about the lack of UFC events in the U.K., Michael Bisping’s vicinity to a title shot, Josh Koscheck vs. Carlos Condit, Italy, and more.
Check out Dana White’s post-UFC 138 Octagon update…

SCC 3 Results: Alessio & Marunde Score Big

 

Bristol Marunde

LAS VEGAS – This past Friday, Nov. 4, at The Orleans Hotel & Casino, two fighters took big steps forward in their dreams of reaching the UFC with their victories at Superior Cage Combat 3.
In the main event of the night, John “The Natural” Alessio won his ninth fight in his last 10 with a close unanimous decision victory over former Pride star Luiz “Buscape” Firmino. Ex-IFL light heavyweight Bristol Marunde continued his tear at 185 pounds and claimed the SCC middleweight championship after winning by unanimous decision over former UFC fighter Jay Silva in a bout that earned both men Fight of the Night honors.
In other action, former MFC light heavyweight title contender Emanuel Newton submitted James McSweeney with five seconds left in the first round to earn his fifth win in a row. And former UFC lightweight Shane “Sugar” Nelson picked up his third consecutive win via TKO when opponent Lance Wipf could not continue due to a knee injury in the second round.

Full SCC 3 Results:John Alessio def. Luiz Firmino by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Bristol Marunde def. Jay Silva by Unanimous Decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46)
Emanuel Newton def. James McSweeney by Submission (rear naked choke) at 4:25, R1
Steve Lopez vs. Dominique Robinson ends in Majority Draw
Porfirio Alves Jr. def. Alonzo Martinez by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Shane Nelson def. Lance Wipf by TKO (Dr. Stoppage) at 2:15, R2
Phil Dace def. Dave Terrel by Unanimous Decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-27)
Cameron Diffley def. Sidney Silva by Submission (arm bar) at 4:01, R1
Shawn Fitzsimmons def. Blas Avena by KO at 3:42 in R2
Shorty Weikel def. Kui Gonsalves by Submission (rear naked choke) at 2:30, R2

Michael David Smith: Barao, Pickett, Mills and Etim Win UFC 138 Bonuses

Renan Barao, Brad Pickett, Che Mills and Terry Etim are all $70,000 richer after picking up bonuses for their performances at UFC 138.

Barao and Pickett won the Fight of the Night bonus for their fast-paced bantamweight brawl in the co-main event. Pickett is an Englishman who had the Birmingham fans on his side, and he came out swinging to get the crowd roaring. But it was Barao who showed he had too much for Pickett to handle, ultimately forcing Pickett to tap out to a rear-naked choke after just over four minutes of intense action.

This was Barao's first bonus in his fourth fight under the Zuffa banner. Pickett had previously won a Fight of the Night and a Submission of the Night award, with both of those coming in the WEC. For both men, the bonus makes this the most lucrative fight of their career.

UFC newcomer Che Mills finished off Chris Cope in just 40 seconds, and as a result he won the Knockout of the Night award. For Mills, the $70,000 bonus undoubtedly makes this by far the biggest payday of his MMA career.

And Terry Etim, who needed just 17 seconds to force Eddie Faaloloto to tap to a guillotine choke, walked away with the Submission of the Night award. Etim has now won the Submission of the Night bonus a whopping four times.

Michael David Smith:Tim Sylvia, Andrei Arlovski Earn ProElite Victories

A pair of former UFC heavyweight champions were in action on Saturday night in Moline, Illinois, and both of them won. But neither looked particularly impressive in the process.

Tim Sylvia and Andrei Arlovski were both victorious at Saturday night's ProElite event, yet save for one high kick from Arlovski at the very end of his fight, it was a dreadful affair all around.

Sylvia took a unanimous decision over Andreas Kraniotakes, 30-27 on all three judges' cards. The fight consisted of a lot of clinching from Sylvia, and the crowd loudly booed at the end of the fight and again as Sylvia got his hand raised in the cage afterward.

Arlovski knocked out Travis Fulton with a shocking head kick with one second remaining in the third round of a fight that had been, up to that point, a dud. HDNet announcer Michael Schiavello accurately described the fight as "a cure for insomnia" heading into the third round, but Arlovski finally got busy in the third, and when the opportunity arose just as the fight was coming to an end, he threw a left high kick and landed his shin perfectly against Fulton's jawline, knocking him cold.

Reagan Penn, the brother of B.J. Penn, looked even worse than Sylvia and Arlovski in losing a unanimous decision to Evan Cutts, 30-26, 30-27 and 30-27 on the judges' scorecards. It was the second pro fight of Penn's MMA career, and it's hard to see any reason he'll have a third fight.

And in the first round of ProElite's eight-man heavyweight tournament, four men advanced to the semifinals:
-- Ryan Martinez handed Mark Ellis the first loss of his career, winning by unanimous decision, 30-27 on all three judges' cards. It was an extremely disappointing showing from Ellis, who entered the cage as a heavy favorite but left with the crowd loudly booing his lackluster performance.
-- Jake Heun brutalized Ed Carpenter, knocking him down with a kick-punch combination and then finishing him off with ground and pound for a first-round TKO.
-- Cody Griffin was losing the fight after two rounds but came back on fire at the start of the third, battering Justyn Riley, knocking him down and finishing him with punches on the ground to win a third-round TKO.
-- Richard Odoms beat Rodney Housley by unanimous decision, with all three judges scoring it 30-27. The fight wasn't particularly competitive or particularly compelling -- which meant it fit in well with this disappointing fight card.

UFC on Fox: Velasquez vs. Dos Santos Viewing Guide

Everything you need to know about watching UFC on Fox: Velasquez vs. Dos Santos on Saturday, November 12

Watch UFC Primetime: Velasquez vs. Dos Santos

 

Facebook.com/UFC
FoxSports.com

Selected prelims also air live and free at 7 pm ET/4 pm PT on Fox Deportes (Spanish broadcast)

Prefight Special LIVE at 7 pm ET/4 pm PT

Watch live on FUEL TV
Jay Glazer, Kenny Florian and special guests are live on FUEL TV for a breakdown on the UFC, fighter profiles and expert analysis, as well as celebrities from the red carpet arriving at UFC on Fox: Velasquez vs. dos Santos.

Postfight Special LIVE at 10 pm ET/7 pm PT

Watch live on FUEL TV
Join Jay Glazer and Kenny Florian Live on FUEL TV for a complete breakdown of the biggest event in UFC history after Heavyweight Champion, Cain Velasquez, and top contender, Junior dos Santos, go head-to-head on FOX.

Find FUEL TV

Plus:

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11

7 pm ET/4 pm PT UFC Velasquez vs. dos Santos Weigh-In LIVE on FUEL TV and UFC.com
7 pm ET/4 pm PT Cain Velasquez: Brown Pride (Part 3) on Fox Deportes:

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 12
3 pm ET/noon PT Cain Velasquez: Brown Pride (Parts 1, 2, 3) on Fox Deportes
5:30 pm ET/2:30 pm PT UFC Velasquez vs. Dos Santos Weigh-In Replay on FUEL TV
6 pm ET/3 pm PT UFC Lo Mejor: Lesnar vs. Velasquez on Fox Deportes
6 pm ET/3 pm PT UFC Primetime on FUEL TV

UFC on Fox PrelimsUFC on Fox main event: Velasquez vs. Dos Santos at 9 pm ET/6 pm PT:
Watch live on Fox and Fox Deportes

See the full fight card



streaming live & free at 4:45 pm ET/1:45 pm PT:

UFC 138 Post-Fight Press Conference Highlights

Highlights from the UFC 138 post-fight press conference, held in Birmingham after the highest-grossing event ever held at LG Arena.

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UFC president Dana White announced the winners of $70,000 (US) UFC 138 bonuses, and several of the hometown heroes were named. Gloucester's Che Mills won Knockout of the Night for his 40-second demolition of Chris Cope. Liverpool's Terry Etim scored Submission of the Night for his 17-second finish of Edward Faaloloto.

Fight of the Night honors went to London's Brad Pickett and Brazilian Renan Barao, who put on a back-and-forth battle for the ages during their single round of combat. Barao ultimately tapped out Pickett via rear-naked-choke at 4:09 of the first.

In attendance were winners Mark Munoz, Barao, Thiago Alves, Etim, John Maguire and Mills. English fighters Pickett and Jason Young were also at the dais.

Click to view video highlights from the following fighters:
Mark Munoz
Thiago Alves and Terry Etim
Brad Pickett and Jason Young

UFC 138 Main Card Results - Munoz Halts Leben; Barao Wins War over Pickett

Click below for the UFC 138 main card report....

 

 

MIDDLEWEIGHT - CHRIS LEBEN VS. MARK MUNOZ

BIRMINGHAM - At the end of round one of the UFC 138 main event at the LG Arena Saturday night, Chris Leben had to be stopped by the referee from hammer fisting Mark Munoz’s head. Moments prior he had walked through some massive bombs, taken square on his chin, to deliver a crashing left hand of his own to Munoz. That prompted Munoz to look for a takedown but ended up with him crouched against the fence taking shots. See post-fight interview

He was probably wondering what we all were - what do you have to do to actually stop Chris Leben? Anderson Silva managed it once, only one fighter (Brian Stann) has since. Like a broken bone, Leben’s chin seems to have calcified and become stronger following Anderson’s assault on it.

Unfortunately his skin hasn’t, so when Munoz had Leben down in the second round he was able to open a nasty cut over his eye that had blood pouring into it with wild abandon. The fight was stopped briefly to allow the doctor to take a look but he let the clash proceed. Fans went wild, chanting Leben’s name deliriously as he staggered back into the fray.

But the cut got worse and blood kept coming. At the end of the round, Leben’s corner felt the cut was too bad to allow their man to wade back into battle. He might have a heart twice the size of the average man but still he cannot fight with one eye.

It was a shame the fight ended on a cut; before the stoppage it had been a glorious clash. Munoz did what he said he was going to do - take Leben down and throw ‘Donkey Kong’ punches - while Leben does what he always does, wading through bomb blasts to swing huge left hands with stopping power in each one.

After the first round, Munoz looked like he wasn’t enjoying the exchanges, while Leben was in his element. But Munoz’s conditioning seemed to be holding up better, and as he got to work with his wrestling, Leben looked to be tiring, which would have been interesting to see had it played out over three rounds.

After the fight, Munoz called for a title shot against Anderson Silva. The crowd noise was non-committal, suggesting he isn’t quite there yet. Leben is the biggest win of his career but cuts are not conclusive and he will need a solid win over another name opponent to edge into that title picture.

BANTAMWEIGHT - RENAN BARAO VS. BRAD PICKETT

What a fight! A description doesn’t even do this clash justice - you simply have to watch it. If you can watch this fight and stay sat down, you must be made of ice. Remember when Paul Kelly and Paul Taylor threw down at UFC 80?? The first 30 seconds of that fight are already part of UFC legend for their pace and ferocity - this fight was the same, except for its entire duration. See post-fight interview

The pair absolutely battered each other from the opening bell, furiously exchanging punches and both landing frequently. Renan Barao had the better of some exchanges, Pickett’s intensity allowing perhaps more openings in the guard than Barao was. But it was very even until Barao landed a nuclear right knee on Brad Pickett’s jaw out of nowhere - Pickett wasn’t even bent forward at the time.

That staggered him and Barao was all over him, punching him until he hit the floor and then following with a ground and pound barrage of such a high workrate it contained more punches than the rest of the evening’s card put together. Pickett rolled away, but gave up his back. Barao was on him in a flash and working for the rear naked choke. Pickett tried to gut it out for the remaining minute but he could be seen fading into unconsciousness and had to tap.

Watch this fight as soon as you can. If you are a fight fan you owe it to yourself. The bout was an easy choice for Fight of the Night, and both men received $70,000 bonuses for their performances.

Barao wins by RNC R1 4:09

WELTERWEIGHT - THIAGO ALVES VS. PAPY ABEDI

Papy Abedi was aggressive at the start of the fight, ploughing forward with a flurry of punches, but there was a scrappy nature to it that suggested he was nervous and maybe rushing his work a little bit. At the same time, Thiago Alves was able to deploy a precise Muay Thai striking style, landing numerous clean shots on his Swedish opponent. See post-fight interview

But as Abedi relaxed he became more effective and the fight became even, with good exchanges and damage done by both sides. Alves landed a huge right kick to the body on two occasions while Abedi was able to land an Anderson Silva-style front upkick to the jaw that Alves later admitted had rocked him solidly.

But he became perhaps too loose; Alves noticed Abedi was dropping his left hand and so he fired off a crunching right which staggered him. A left hook followed and down Abedi went. Alves followed him and the referee was about to step in, until Abedi turned turtle. But that did not save him - Alves circled his neck with a bulging arm and put the squeeze on him to get the first submission win of his UFC career.

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT - ANTHONY PEROSH VS. CYRILLE DIABATE

At 39, Anthony Perosh is one of the oldest fighters on the UFC books and to be brutally honest, he looked it during the first round against his striking stylist opponent. Cyrille Diabate was picking Perosh off with strikes pretty much at will and Perosh’s response was either to backpedal or shoot a bad double-leg which Diabate saw coming a mile off. See post-fight interview

It looked like Diabate was going to cruise to an easy win, maybe even a stoppage, until Perosh ended up on the floor and he went with him to try and pound the Australian out. Perosh swept him, mounted him and suddenly was able to use the jiu-jitsu skills that make him such a world-class grappler. Diabate was at a loss to defend himself as Perosh methodically set up a rear naked choke to end the fight just over three minutes into the second round. He is now 2-0 in his last two outings while Diabate goes 1-1 and 2-2 in his last four.

LIGHTWEIGHT - TERRY ETIM VS. EDWARD FAALOLOTO

Two stiff jabs and a savage leg kick from Terry Etim prompted Edward Faaloloto to step back onto the cage. Etim launched a huge spinning back kick to Faaloloto’s body, but Faaloloto caught his foot and transitioned to a body lock. He lifted Etim high into the air to slam him - but Etim pulled guard and locked on a tight guillotine, something he is infamous for in his own gym. Faaloloto sank to the floor, resisted briefly and then tapped - the whole thing took seventeen seconds. Writing this report took far longer than the actual fight. See post-fight interview

Now returned from his long layoff, Etim is looking to get busy and his next bout will undoubtedly be a tougher proposition. At the post-fight press conference, after awarding Etim the $70,000 Submission of the Night award, UFC president Dana White said that matchmaker Joe Silva had already chosen Etim's next opponent and that fans could expect to see him fight again "right away."