(L-R) Jose Aldo punches Frankie Edgar during their featherweight title fight at UFC 156 on February 2, 2013 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Donald Miralle/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS — Jose Aldo and Frankie Edgar competed in a competitive main event, but it was Aldo who came out on top, defending his featherweight title at UFC 156 in Las Vegas on Saturday night.
Aldo went the distance with the former lightweight champion, scoring points on the feet and stuffing takedowns on the way to earning the judges’ decision with scores of 49-46, 49-46 and 48-47.
“It was a very difficult fight,” Aldo said, adding how tough of an opponent Edgar was.
Aldo controlled the center of the cage for the first part of the fight. As he typically does, Edgar moved quickly around his opponent, but Aldo was able to find spots and land punches, bloodying up his opponent’s nose. The champ landed leg kicks that swiftly slowed down Edgar, giving Aldo the round as time expired.
Aldo continued landing strikes as the second round began. A single-leg takedown by Edgar was stuffed by the champ, and Aldo persisted with leg kicks that landed, one of which made edgar fall. Edgar landed a punch as his opponent threw another leg kick, and the the champion fell, but was quickly back to his feet and won the round.
Edgar attempted a takedown as the third round started, but Aldo stopped it. The Brazilian looked more fatigued as the round continued, but landed a front kick to the face of Edgar. The challenger began to land more leg kicks as the end of the round came, and also landed a right cross within the final 30 seconds of the frame, earning him the round.
Edgar continued to use the leg kick in the fourth round, and Aldo landed a spinning back kick. Edgar pressured the champ, constantly moving and working punch-kick combinations. At one point, Edgar clinched Aldo and slammed him to the ground. Aldo got back up, but his opponent worked strikes in the clinch. Time expired with the two at center-octagon.
In the final round, Aldo attempted a flying knee and followed that up with a strong jab. Edgar took control of the center of the cage and worked more leg kicks in, as well as some punch combinations. Aldo also landed counter strikes that stunned Edgar, but the challenger kept pushing forward. Time expired and both fighters raised their hands in victory before the judges’ decision.
“I keep finging myself in this situation,” Edgar said following the loss. “Congrats to Jose. He fought a great fight.”
With the win, Aldo improves to 22-1, defending his UFC title for the fourth consecutive time. In defeat, Edgar drops to 15-4 and has lost three straight fights.
(L-R) Antonio Rogerio Nogueira punches Rashad Evans during their light heavyweight fight at UFC 156 on February 2, 2013 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Rashad Evans vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira topped Rashad Evans and earned the unanimous decision in the UFC 156 co-main event on Saturday.
Nogueira kept the fight on the feet, stopping most of Evans’ takedowns with the judges scoring the bout 29-28 across the panel.
Evans and Nogueira measured each other as the fight began. Nogueira controlled the center of the octagon, as his opponent attempted various kicks. Evans landed a flurry, backing “Lil’ Nog” up, and scored a takedown shortly after. The two completed the round on the feet with Evans coming out the winner of the frame on GRACIEMAG’s scorecard.
Nogueira controlled the center of the octagon again as the second round started. The Brazilian worked the jab and followed it up with straight lefts that found their marks on Evans. The TUF Season 2 winner attempted a takedown, but Nogueira prevented the fight from going to the ground. Time expired with Nogueira edging his opponent in the round.
The third round showed more of the same from Nogueira, as he worked the one-two combination. Evans responded with forward-moving flurries before accidentally poking his opponent in the eye. Once the fight resumed, Nogueira continued with his favored punch combination, throwing in an occasional body kick. Evans was unable to land a takedown for the remainder of the fight, and the two clinched towards the end of the fight.
Nogueira has now won two consecutive UFC bouts.
Alistair Overeem vs. Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva
Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva came back in the third round, earning the technical knockout with an upset over Alistair Overeem on Saturday night at UFC 156.
Down two rounds to none, Bigfoot opened up in the final frame and landed punches in bunches to score the TKO at 0:25 of the round.
“I told him at the press conference, ‘I’m going to make you respect me, brother,'” Silva said in his post-fight interview.
Overeem closed the gap early, clinching with Silva and landing knees on the Brazilian against the fence on numerous occasions. Silva attempted to shoot in for a takedown, but Overeem stuffed it and clinched again. The Dutch striker kept his hands low, and landed leg kicks that found their marks. Overeem slipped a punch and landed a counter uppercut before time in the round expired, winning the round.
After a clinch in the early part of the second round, Overeem took Silva down and worked from top position. Overeem scored points with ground-and-pound, while Silva defended and landed short elbows and hammer fists. Bigfoot attempted to get up, but Overeem overpowered him and kept the Jiu-Jitsu practitioner on his back. The fight briefly came back to the feet, and Silva landed one significant strike, but Overeem ended up taking the round.
Silva came out in the third round swinging punches and landed several. Wobbled, Overeem backed up against the fence and Silva struck him with numerous punches before the Dutch heavyweight went falling the ground, unconscious. The referee stepped in to put a stop to the bout at that at that time.
Silva is now a winner of two consecutive UFC fights after losing his debut to Cain Velasquez.
Jon Fitch vs. Demian Maia
Demian Maia dominated Jon Fitch with his grappling, earning a unanimous decision at UFC 156 in Vegas.
Maia stifled Fitch for three rounds and the judges saw it in his favor with 30-27 scores across the board.
Maia immediately went for the takedown, getting Fitch to the mat before securing the back. Fitch stood with his opponent on his back, and Maia continued clinching onto him while landing punches and looking for the choke. Maia remained on the back, taking Fitch down every time he tried to stand up, earning the round on GRACIEMAG’s scorecard.
The second round remained on the feet for the first 40 seconds, but Maia took his opponent down again. The fight returned to feet momentarily before Maia scored another takedown and got Fitch’s back again. With a body triangle secure, Maia worked to sink a choke, but was met with stiff defense from his opponent. Maia continued to work for the submission while landing strikes through the end of the period.
Maia pressured Fitch some more as they entered the third round. The Brazilian scored another takedown, but Fitch defended and brought the fight back to the feet. The American attempted a guillotine choke after putting Maia on his back, but the Brazilian was able to escape and bring the fight standing before scoring another takedown. Maia secured his opponent’s back one more time before time expired.
Maia is now 3-0 since dropping down to 170 pounds.
Joseph Benavidez vs. Ian McCall
Joseph Benavidez defeated Ian McCall by unanimous decision in the opening Pay-Per-View fight at UFC 156.
Benavidez was superior in the stand-up game, landing several combinations to earn the judges nod with scores of 29-28, 29-28 and 29-28.
The first round had Benavidez scoring with punches early on, wobbling McCall on two occasions in the first half of the frame. After two accidental low blows by Benavidez, he continued his offensive push and scored points with strikes in the stand-up to win the round.
McCall began the second round with a cut over his hairline. Benavidez was strong on the feet again, landing combinations of leg kicks and punches halfway through the round. McCall, however, got the fight to the ground and controlled his opponent’s back, landing strikes from that position. Benavidez got the fight to the feet again, but it was McCall that appeared to win the round.
Benavidez opened the round with a big strike that staggered McCall. Benavidez continued landing effective combinations, but was taken down for a brief moment. McCall moved into side control, but his opponent was able to bring the fight back to a standing contest. While there, Benavidez landed another mid kick and stuffed a takedown before time expired.
Preliminary Card Results:
- Evan Dunham def. Gleison Tibau by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Tyron Woodley def. Jay Hieron by knockout (strikes) at 0:36, Round 1
- Bobby Green def. Jacob Volkmann by submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:25, Round 3
- Isaac Vallie-Flagg def. Yves Edwards by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Dustin Kimura def. Chico Camus by submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:50, Round 3
- Francisco Rivera def. Edwin Figueroa by TKO (punches) at 4:20, Round 1
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