UFC 137 play-by-play plus the multiple story lines

Nick Diaz, once again a major player, once again on the right side of the UFC revolving door.

Main event: B. J. Penn (16-8, 7 KOs) of Hilo, Hawaii versus Nick Diaz (26-7, 13 KOs) of Stockton, CA. Penn, the former UFC Lightweight and Welterweight Champion is only the second fighter in UFC history to win titles in two different weight classes, the first being UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture.

B. J. Penn went down fighting.

Round #1: Penn started things off with a solid left. Then, after being tied up against the cage, he delivered some short uppercuts and both men took turns kneeing each other and trading blows. Penn landed a right on the break. After two hard rights from Diaz, Penn returned fire with a solid combo, a short uppercut followed by a left hook. After a single leg take down by Penn, Diaz tried to roll him over. Penn had his back and landed some good punches from behind.

Diaz worked his way lose to get back on his feet, then kneed Penn in the thigh and had him against the cage. After some body punching by Diaz back came Penn with a good knee and solid lefts. After Diaz landed a right, Penn did the same followed by an uppercut. After an amazing exchange, the bell finally sounded. Round #1 definitely went to Penn.

Round #2: Penn started out with a hard combo and Diaz delivered a kick. Penn followed with a solid jab and uppercut. Once again, they were tied up against the cage and Diaz landed some nice body shots.

By this time, Diaz, whose eyes were starting to swell, got even busier with knees to the body, and a combo of body shots and hooks. Penn then tried to tie him up. Diaz went for a double leg take down but was stuffed. After some more inside punching and a hard left, Penn appeared to be hurt. Diaz landed another combo working both the body and head. After landing another flurry Penn was bloody. Diaz finished the round with a barrage of punches and Penn pinned against the cage. Clearly Diaz was in complete control at this point.

Round #3 began with Penn landing a hard body shot in an attempt to put up a good front, re-right the ship. Diaz dismissed the effort by first doubling up on his left hooks and then following with the solid right hands, jab then a right, body shot then another doubling up of the hooks. His short uppercuts came in the clinches.

Then fearing the end might be near, Penn made one last attempt at a comeback. The two warriors traded blows, a hook for a body shot, a combo for a solid uppercut.

After being tied up against the cage, Diaz landed a nice combo which Penn answered with a left, a right, an uppercut and another solid right. Back came Diaz with a left and kick to the head. A left hook from Penn was answered with a right cross from Diaz. Penn’s flurry plus left hook wowed the crowd. At the end of this awesome fight, it was clear Diaz had come out victorious.

Nick Diaz (L) addresses the media after his win over B. J. Penn. Sitting next to Diaz is Roy “Big Country” Nelson who after his bout shaved off the beard, had someone trim his golden locks, then put on this Saks of Fifth Ave suit; all this to impress not only his family and friends but to stupefy or catch the media by surprise. Big Country is a non-stop entertainer.

At the post fight press conference, minus Penn who was taken to a nearby hospital, Dana White announced that Diaz (26-7 MMA, 7-4 UFC) would most likely headline his UFC 143 Super Bowl weekend show against Georges St-Pierre (22-2 MMA, 16-2 UFC) at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on February 4, 2012.

Top bouts on the Undercard included: 

The bearded one, Roy “Big Country” Nelson poses for a photo with Matt Mitrione.

Thirty-three year-old 6’3” 255 lbs. Matt “Meathead” Mitrione (6-1, 4 KOs), a former NFL defensive tackle for the N. Y. Giants versus 36 year-old, 6’5” 265 lbs. Cheick Guillaume Ouedraogo (17-6-2, 10 KOs) otherwise known as Kongo.

At 6’5″ tall, Cheick Kongo is like tall timber.

With so little being accomplished in Round #1, Kongo most likely took the round by default. Amidst all the kicking in Round #2, Mitrione benefitted big time from all the left hands he landed.

That meant, the fight was up for grabs in Round #3. Fast-forward, Mitrione gave up his back and Kongo tried to capitalize. Mitrione got back to his feet but Kongo still had the back and landed some solid knees to the thigh. When clinching, it appeared Mitrione had a cut above his left eye from Kongo’s earlier ground and pound. At that point Kongo got another take down. He was on top in half guard with Mitrione losing steam. Kongo used a combination of elbows to the body, the hammer fist and punches to score. Mitrione looked to scramble but Kongo continued to bully him on the mat and landed some good hard rights. For good measure, Kongo landed some more telling blows at the bell to insure an unanimous decision.

Thirty-five year-old Roy “Big Country” Nelson (16-6, 9 KOs) versus the 37 year-old Mirko “Cro(atian) Cop” Filipovic (27-7, 10 KOs), two very interesting characters.

Filipovic is perhaps the most multi-faceted, not to mention intriguing figures of any sport. Aside from his incredible list of credentials including time in both the Croatian elite Special Forces and Parliament, he has amassed a mixed martial arts and kickboxing resume that reads like a Hall of Fame list.

Roy Nelson bears quite a resemblance to John Kruk, the former first baseman of the Philadelphia Phillies.

Nelson, the fun loving UFC Champion, is best remembered for his destruction of the former street-fighter Kimbo Slice via TKO stoppage in round 2 with repeated punches to the head in the crucifix position. The broadcast was the highest rated MMA show in U.S. history. Nelson and ESPN color analyst John Kruk, the former slugger of the Philadelphia Phillies could easily be mistaken for one another.

In Round #1, Nelson lunged forward to get the easy take down. Cro Cop, with good defense, went right into a full guard to avoid the big strikes and used an up kick to get to his feet.

Mirko Cro Cop demonstrates not only his strength but amazing flexibility when pulling off this stunt.

Cro Cop then landed a solid left, a body kick and another left. Back came Nelson with a solid right. Cro Cop countered with a big uppercut. A left from Mirko and a right from Nelson followed. The round ended with two lefts from Mirko, a left from Nelson, and a body kick from Cro Cop. More than likely, Nelson, with his take down, took Round #1.

Round #2 started with a big right hand from Nelson which Cro Cop matched with a counter right of his own. When Nelson covered up, Cro Cop began to land the uppercuts and body shots to give Nelson a beating.

After being broken up, Cro Cop came back and landed a barrage of punches ending with a head kick. After a solid right from Nelson, the fighters were tied up against the cage. Working hard, Nelson got the take down and went right into side control to land some punches. Then he had Cro Cop in the crucifix position and began to land unanswered left hooks while Cro Cop tried to buck him off. Nelson took the round.

Round #3: After a body kick and a big overhand right from Nelson he had Mirko backing up. After landing a solid left hook, Cro Cop dove for Nelson’s leg. Big mistake. Nelson jumped on his back and started wailing away until the ref stopped the carnage.

At the post fight press conference, hardly anyone recognized Nelson. The practical joker was clean shaven, had his hair trimmed and was dressed smartly in a fashionable dark suit.

After 47 fights, Jeff Curran is still competitive.

Scott Jorgensen (12-4) versus 34 year-old Jeff Curran (33-13-1) who was making his return to the UFC after being let go seven years ago.

Round #1: After a good body shot resulted in a take down, Jorgensen was on top throwing punches. With some nice punches off his back, Curran got back to his feet. Jorgensen kept busy and peppered in some more punches while watching out for Curran’s lethal submission game. This scenario repeated itself twice more and aside from the half dozen solid rights and an elbow, Jorgensen controlled round #1.

Round #2: After Curran’s shoots and misses, Jorgensen landed a good knee to the head, followed by more knees to the head. Jorgensen got himself a slam take down and got on top. In half guard, Curran got back to his feet.

A while later Curran went for the guillotine choke but Jorgensen slipped out. After Jorgensen swept Curran’s leg, he got another take down and was on top in the butterfly guard. Then it was Curran with the sweep and he was in the north-south position on the ground. As the bell sounded, it appeared Jorgensen had won his second round.

With Curran clearly behind on the scorecards, he came out smoking in Round #3 in a last ditch effort to pull out the victory. As a result Jorgensen resorted to tying him up and pinning him against the cage. Things got really exciting after Curran delivered a knee, followed by a left hook, a solid right, a nice one-two combination and then two big uppercuts.

Up to that point, Jorgensen was resorting to leg kicks to keep Curran away. After a desperation shoot by Curran failed, Jorgensen ended up on top in side control. When the bell sounded seconds later, you can be sure Jorgensen was happy.

Complete results:

170 lbs: Nick Diaz defeats B. J. Penn Unanimous Decision

265 lbs: Cheick Kongo defeats Matt Mitrione via Unanimous Decision 

265 lbs: Roy Nelson defeats Mirko Filipovic via TKO (Strikes) in Round 3

145 lbs: Hatsu Hioki defeats George Roop via Split Decision 

135 lbs: Scott Jorgensen defeats Jeff Curran via Unanimous Decision 

Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone

155 lbs: Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone (17-3 MMA, 4-0 UFC) defeated Dennis Siver (19-8 MMA, 8-5 UFC) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in Round 1 to get the bonus money ($75,000) for the “Submission of the Night.”

145 lbs: Bart Palaszewski defeats Tyson Griffin via TKO (Strikes) in Round 1. Palaszewski’s KO earned him an additional $75,000 for the show’s “Knockout of the Night” award.

The day after the show, Brandon Vera (L) and Roy Nelson (R) pose for a photo.

205 lbs: Brandon “The Truth” Vera (11-5 MMA, 9-5 UFC) of the Alliance Training Center in Chula Vista, CA defeated Eliot Marshall via unanimous decision. It was reported that Vera needed the win to remain with the world’s biggest MMA promotion. Vera was already released this past January following a loss to Thiago Silva. At the time the defeat represented his third-straight loss, but then Vera was offered a reprieve after Silva was later suspended for a failed drug screening, apparently he had been taking steroids. Prior to the Silva fight, Vera lost to Randy Couture and the present light heavyweight champ Jon “Bones” Jones.

170 lbs: Ramsey Nijem defeats Danny Downes via unanimous decision

185 lbs: Francis Carmont defeats Chris Camozzi via unanimous decision

185 lbs: Clifford Starks defeats Dustin Jacoby via unanimous decision

List of medical suspensions includes 10 of the 22 fighters:

• Nick Diaz suspended until Nov. 29 with no contact until Nov. 20 for precautionary reasons
• B. J. Penn suspended until Dec. 29 with no contact until Dec. 14 for precautionary reasons
• Matt Mitrione suspended until Dec. 14 with no contact until Nov. 29 for precautionary reasons
• Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic suspended until Dec. 14 with no contact until Nov. 29 for precautionary reasons
• George Roop suspended until Dec. 14 with no contact until Nov. 29 due to lacerations.
• Dennis Siver suspended until Dec. 14 with no contact until Nov. 29 for precautionary reasons
• Tyson Griffin suspended until Dec. 14 with no contact until Nov. 29 for precautionary reasons
• Bart Palaszewski suspended until April 28 due a possible right-hand break
• Brandon Vera suspended until April 28 due a left-elbow ligament tear
• Danny Downes suspended until Nov. 29 with no contact until Nov. 20 due to lacerations

SportofBoxing.com’s

Top 10 MMA Welterweights

1. Georges St Pierre

2. Jon Fitch

3. Nick Diaz

4. Carlos Condit

5. Jake Ellenberger

6. B. J. Penn

7. Josh Koscheck

8. Jake Shields

9. Anthony Johnson

10. Rory Mac Donald