UFC Live on Versus 4: A Night of “Didn’t See That Coming!”

Posted on | June 26, 2011 | No Comments

By: Holli Yargo

The first eyebrow-raiser of this event was the last minute drop of Nate “The Great” Marquardt, not only from the main event but also from the UFC entirely. The wrestler was set to make his welterweight debut tonight but after failing his medical for reasons yet revealed due to Pennsylvania’s strict HIPPA laws, his contract was yanked immediately following the official medical decision.

After being given six weeks to clear up the mystery medical condition by the PSAC, Marquardt was placed on indefinite suspension one hour before weigh-ins and fired from the UFC. Enigmatic UFC president and spokesman, Dana White, stated, “I think it’s pretty clear to the fans and everybody else that I’m pretty disgusted with Nate Marquardt. He has no business fighting in the UFC. … He’s going to have to man up and come out and tell the world why he didn’t pass. When he does that, I think everybody will understand why he was cut from the UFC.”

The first few fights of the evening went as expected until Javier Vasquez’s win over Joe “Daddy” Stevenson. To Stevenson’s credit, he didn’t get finished in the Octagon but it remains to be seen if the unanimous decision defeat finishes his contract with the UFC.

Tyson Griffin pulled off a hard-earned decision win over Manny Gamburyan. The Armenian’s killer instinct and aggression made him a favorite to win but Griffin showed why he’s still high on the radar for title contention.

With 32 seconds left in the second round, Matt Mitrione squashed Christian Morecraft’s assertions that the former NFL player’s punches were “weak ass pitty pats” when he knocked him out cold and confidently walked away without further strikes. Mitrione had stunned Morecraft and knocked him down more than once prior to the finish, but wasted little time adding another win to his perfect UFC record, proving he’s a real contender in this sport.

John Howard entered the Octagon a huge favorite to win his bout against The Ultimate Fighter alum Matt “The Immortal” Brown. Doomsday started his game plan softening up the brawler’s legs with mostly unchecked kicks but Brown managed to stymie most of Howard’s takedown attempts and scrambled out of the ones Howard managed to achieve. All three judges gave the bout to Matt Brown with a unanimous 2-28 decision across the board. This is good news for Brown as he and his fiancé just welcomed twin boys into the world 9 months ago and another loss would have sent him to minor leagues.

The two most “didn’t see that coming” moments were the main and co-main events of the evening.
With just one hour before weigh-ins, Charlie Brenneman, a PA native, agreed to step in for the dropped Nate Marquardt. Brenneman’s original opponent was also unable to fight so he was happy to face the Washington-born wrestler who was on a six-fight win streak.

Brenneman, who fights under the nickname of “The Spaniard” out-muscled Story whose last win against Thiago Silva only one month earlier may have depleted “The Horror” more than he realized.

However, in the third round, Story seemed to come alive, showing some very necessary urgency. He attempted multiple chokes and arm and shoulder locks without the strength to finish them. Most bizarre was the referee’s choice to stand the fighters up while Story was in a good position to lock in a kimora. Even though Brenneman was clearly the stronger fighter through most of the contest, that decision may have actually cost Story his best chance to win.

Left in the judge’s hands, the win was given to Charlie Brenneman by unanimous decision.

The strangest ending came by knockout in the main event. Pat Barry was well on his way to changing the minds of those who underestimate him as early as midway through the first round. After a few leg kick exchanges, Barry clipped Cheick Kongo on the chin, wobbling the five inch taller opponent. Righting himself, though still on rubber legs, Kongo survived to get clocked again. As Kongo went down, Barry dove in for the finish, dropping awkward-looking punches to the Frenchman’s face, waiting for the referee stoppage. Kongo managed to roll away, but Barry stayed with him, continuing the ground and pound. Then, out of some surreal nowhere, Kongo connected perfectly with Barry’s chin, stiffening the 31-year-old kickboxer from New Orleans just 2:39 in the very first round.

As Mike Goldberg so perfectly put it, this event was the definition of “Are you kidding me?” Dana White enthusiastically congratulated every competitor for giving 110%, making every event on tonight’s card exciting.

$50,000 bonuses were awarded to Charles Oliveira and Nik Lentz for Fight of the Night, Joe Lauzon for Submission of the Night, and Knockout of the Night to Cheick Kongo.