UFC on FOX 12 was live from San Jose last night (July 26, 2014) and while it was a solid evening of fights, we saw a majority of them hit the judges’ scorecards. After the event concluded, the UFC awarded $50,000 to two fighters for ‘Performance of the Night’ and two fighters for ‘Fight of the Night’. The lines to wager on these props were available at Several Bookmakerss. Anthony Johnson earns Performance of the Night (formerly, Knockout of the Night) “Rumble” backed “Little Nog” against the cage and put his hands together effectively, scoring a TKO over the Brazilian at only 0:44 seconds into the very first round of action. It was another impressive and dominant performance by Johnson, who continues to climb up the UFC’s 205-pound ladder with his sights set for the number one spot. Noteworthy T/KOs : – None. Johnson’s TKO of Nogueira was the only T/KO finish on the entire fight card. Dennis Bermudez earns Performance of the Night (formerly, Submission of the Night) Bermudez was too fast and too strong for Guida, who had no answer for him on the feet or on the mat. After dominating and nearly scoring the finish in the first round, he made it happen in the second via rear naked choke, making it seven wins in a row for him inside the Octagon. For his next outing, he wants a title shot, but if that isn’t going to happen, he believes he deserves a top 5 opponent, likely with a title fight on the line. He was been nothing but impressive and I hope to see the UFC oblige. Noteworthy Submissions : – Brian Ortega earned a first round rear naked choke victory over Mike De La Torre in his promotional debut, staying undefeated and making fight fans eager to see him inside the Octagon again. This was the only fight that ended inside the distance on the preliminary card, as nine of twelve bouts in total went the distance. Robbie Lawler and Matt Brown earn Fight of the Night for having the most entertaining bout on the entire UFC on FOX 12 card, which featured 12 contests, including a four-fight main card that was live on FOX. These welterweight warriors shared the cage for the entire 25 minutes of action in a fight nearly no one predicted going the distance. Brown rocked Lawler very early in the first round of action and it looked as if another quick first round TKO was in the making for Brown. However, Lawler recovered and went on to win the round. It was a close fight for all five rounds, but I agreed with two of the judges who scored four rounds for Lawler and one for Brown. It was a close fight, and while I scored it 49-46 for Lawler, I could see bad judges having scored three rounds for Brown. Lawler will now get ready to take on UFC welterweight champion Johny Hendricks in a rematch for the title, and Brown will go back to the drawing board. Other noteworthy fights: – Jorge Masvidal took a close unanimous decision win over “The Detroit Superstar” Daron Cruickshank in a very entertaining 15 minute lightweight affair. While Cruickshank came out on the losing end, I’m sure his fan base continued to grow with his performance and could see him getting another main card slot for his next outing. Masvidal asked for a September fight against Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, post-fight, and I think the UFC will grant “Gamebred” his wish. – Joanna Jedrejczyk defeated Juliana Lima via unanimous decision in the second ever UFC women’s strawweight match-up, though it is worth noting that they competed at catchweight, as Lima came in half a pound over the weight limit and the commission did not allow her to cut any more weight. Both ladies were impressive in their promotional debuts, but it was the Pole who really stood out and solidified herself as a contender in the division. We are 2-for-2 with solid 115-pound women’s scraps, and I look forward to seeing this division explode with the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter.
