UFC Fight Night 26: Sonnen proves he ain't all talk, Overeem gets KO-ed again

Unknown   Mixed Martial Arts (MMA)  

This may not be one of the best cards of the year but it's definitely one of the very few events of year with this many entertaining fights. It was the first UFC event broadcast on Fox Sports 1 (not live in Malaysia, unfortunately) and it had some pretty cool new camera angles that were shown during the fights. The picture, too, seemed higher definition than usual. I totally enjoyed, way more than the previous few UFC events at least.

Chael Sonnen finally did it, he's back on the winning table, and it wasn't luck. He went up to the Light Heavyweight Division from Middleweight and faced one of the best UFC fighters in this weightclass, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. The American wrestler dominated his Brazilian opponent immediately from the start of the bout with his very effective trademark double-leg takedown and controlled top position with some usual light pounding (seriously, no idea why his punches on ground never seemed damaging). He locked up the guillotine choke when Shogun was getting back to his feet and pulled guard. The Brazilian tried to escape but couldn't and was forced to tap out. All of that happened in the very first round. I'm personally delighted that Sonnen won. Can't imagine how embarrassing it would've been if he lost again. Been rooting for him ever since his rematch against Anderson Silva. The way he trash talks is just world class and I absolutely love him for that. He's hilarious and I just hope he keeps pretending to be cocky while attempting to get a title shot again.

Then in the co-main event, we saw Alistair Overeem almost getting a referee stoppage win in the first half of the first round where he got his opponent Travis Browne on the fence and blasting consecutive powerful punches and knees but Browne managed to survive and then in last minute of the same round, he knocked Overeem out with a front kick to the chin and reaffirmed the finish with two hammerfists. Overeem looked to have had underestimated his opponent's striking again, standing right in front of Browne and moving forward regardless of what's being thrown at him. Until he snatches his second UFC win, those steroid puns probably won't end. To be fair, he did look fitter before he got tested positive for drugs.

Fifth degree BJJ black belt Urijah Faber got unanimous judges score card win against the taller Iuri Alcantara by dominant on the ground in all three rounds. Faber may be close to another shot of the Bantamweight Championship. Matt Brown, too, was impressive, finishing off Mike Pyle within seconds of the bout, and sort of called out GSP too during his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan. I certainly wouldn't mind witnessing his ass getting whooped by the current Welterweight champ.

UFC on Fox Sports 1: Shogun vs Sonnen (UFC Fight Night 26) Official Results

Fight of The Night: Michael McDonald vs. Brad Pickett
Knockout of The Night: Travis Browne and Matt Brown
Submission of the Night: Michael McDonald and Chael Sonnen

Main Card
Light Heavyweight: Chael Sonnen def. Mauricio Rua via Submission (guillotine choke) - R1 4:47
Heavyweight: Travis Browne def. Alistair Overeem via KO (front kick & hammerfists) - R1 4:08
Bantamweight: Urijah Faber def. Iuri Alcantara via Unanimous Decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-27)
Welterweight: Matt Brown def. Mike Pyle via KO (ground punches) - R1 0:29
Middleweight: John Howard def. Uriah Hall via Split Decision (30-27, 29-28, 28-29)
Lightweight: Michael Johnson def. Joe Lauzon via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-25)

Preliminary card (Fox Sports 1)
Bantamweight: Michael McDonald def. Brad Pickett via Submission (triangle choke) - R2 3:43
Featherweight: Conor McGregor def. Max Holloway via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
Featherweight: Steven Siler def. Mike Brown via KO (punches) - R1 0:50
Featherweight: Diego Brandao def. Daniel Pineda via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Preliminary card (Facebook/Youtube)
Featherweight: Manvel Gamburyan def. Cole Miller via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Light Heavyweight: Ovince St. Preux def. Cody Donovan via KO (punches) - R1 2:07
Lightweight: James Vick def. Ramsey Nijem via Submission (Modified Standing Guillotine Choke) - R1 0:58


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