UFC 88 RESULTS

Posted on | September 6, 2008 | No Comments

UFC 88 RESULTS AND NOTES

By: Rich Bergeron

PRELIMINARY BOUTS:

Kurt Pellegrino defeats Thiago Tavares via unanimous decision
Tim Boetsch defeats Mike Patt via TKO (Strikes) Round 1
Jason MacDonald defeats Jason Lambert via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) Round 2
Ryo Chonan defeats Roan Carneiro via Split Decision

MATT “THE IMMORTAL” BROWN (9-6-0) VS. DONG “STUN GUN” HYUN KIM (10-0-1)

Round 1:

Brown got in trouble right off the bat as Kim took his back and latched on for a while. Brown looked very sloppy trying to work his way out of the situation and didn’t display much fire at all. He almost got caught in a quick rear naked choke, but he managed to stay alive for round 2. This was a 10-9 round for Kim in my humble opinion.

Round 2:

Brown dominated the entire round, but he just didn’t capitalize on his best positions. Kim looked gassed and got caught on his back blocking blows from Brown for most of the frame. This was probably the most boring round of the fight. 10-9 for Brown.

Round 3:

Brown looked great early, but once Kim scored the first takedown Brown was on his way to throwing the fight away. Kim got another takedown and never let up after that. A few well-placed elbows from Kim put the exclamation point on the round and left Brown’s face a bloody mess after a cut opened up on his cheek. Although the crowd booed heavily, there was no question in my mind that two of the three rounds went to Kim. 10-9 for Kim.

Split Decision:
Judge 1: 29-28 Kim, Judge 2: 29-28 Brown, Judge 3: 29-28 Kim

MARTIN “THE HITMAN” KAMPMANN (13-1-0) vs. NATE “THE GREAT” MARQUARDT (29-8-2)

Round 1: The feeling out period ended with Marquardt piling on the punches after a huge Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Cro Cop style kick to the head connected early on. Marquardt pressed the advantage with huge combinations that left Kampann crumpled against the cage fence trying to cover up. Marquardt’s uppercuts did some incredible damage. It only took 1:22 for Marquardt to put the first blemish on Kampann’s UFC record. Great effort!

DAN “HENDO” HENDERSON (22-8-0) vs. ROUSIMAR “TOQUINHO” PALHARES (17-1-0)

Round 1: Henderson starts off throwing pawing shots, then connects with a huge right from his knees that knocks Palhares down. Hendo lets him right back up after a brief scramble. Henderson shows good cage generalship by circling outside of Palhares’ range until a big body kick connects from Palhares but doesn’t seem to rattle Hendo. Henderson actually could have taken full advantage of Palhares falling on his ass after the kick, but it’s clear Henderson wants nothing to do with the ground game in this fight. That strategy pays off when he begins connecting with some huge left hands including a great uppercut that drops Palhares again. Palhares gets back up and puts on his own show with some kicks and punches that make Hendo back off. Palhares gets a sloppy single leg takedown to wind up on top in the final 30 seconds. Henderson (10-9)

Round 2: a few minimal exchanges at the beginning of the round seem to favor Henderson until Palhares scores a beautiful takedown. Henderson lands a couple shots from the bottom, but Palhares maintains control. He picks up a heel hook and tries to end it with that, but Henderson scrambles out with smart wrestling techniques. Once they are back on their feet, Henderson gets the best of the situation and brings Palhares to the mat briefly. Back to slugging again and Henderson is winning the exchanges until he takes Palhares down and covers him like a blanket for a while, landing a few pot shots here and there. The ref is forced to stand them up. Palhares keeps plenty of distance between him and Henderson for a while. Henderson pops him with a right hand, and Palhares scores a glancing head kick. Henderson really looks gassed between rounds. (10-10)

Round 3: Henderson uses his pawing jab to gauge when to throw his right. He throws an uppercut and then sprawls before getting caught with a sloppy kick. Palhares switches to southpaw and misses with a backwards kick. He keeps trying for the takedown and gets stuffed and punished with Henderson’s solid hands. Henderson keeps winning the exchanges even though Palhares is now managing to get a few punches in here and there. Henderson is biding his time like he thinks he’s already won. The crowd is letting both fighters have it as they paw at each other. Henderson lands a big right with a left follow, but it doesn’t phase Palhares. The dance continues as well as the boos from the crowd. Henderson amps it up a bit with a flurry that connects but does no real damage. Palhares tries but can’t get Hendo down again. Henderson lands a huge overhand right that drops Palhares yet again, but Palhares almost gets another heel hook in. Henderson scrambles back to his feet. Palhares goes for another takedown with no luck. Henderson explodes with some awesome right hands in the closing seconds and puts Palhares right back on his ass. (10-8 Henderson)

Unanimous Decision:

Judge1: 30-27 Judge 2: 30-27 Judge 3: 39-28

TIM “THE BARBARIAN” BOETSCH (7-1-0) vs. MICHAEL PATT (15-2-0):

Round 1: Boetch gets the better of the early exchanges by landing a couple huge rights between some grappling. Boetsch lands a 1-2 combo a bit later and follows with a body kick. Both fighters paw at each other for a while until Boetsch demolishes Patt with a straight right and then wades in with some finishing blows that weren’t all that damaging but did enough damage to justify the stoppage due to unanswered strikes. Patt’s lip is split from the good shots. Boetsch’s TKO comes at the 2:03 mark.

RICH “ACE” FRANKLIN (25-3-0) vs. MATT “THE HAMMER” HAMILL (5-1-0)

Round 1: Franklin scores first with a few leg kicks. Nothing much else is going on for the whole 1st minute. Hamill gets a 1-2 in and follows with a right. Franklin isn’t phased and comes right back with punches and kicks. Franklin is using his knowledge and experience to dictate the pace. Hamill is respecting his stand up game and keeping his distance. Franklin somehow gets cut under his right eye. Franklin’s leg kicks are relentless. Hamill catches Franklin sleeping in the last minute and gets top position, fighting through an arm bar in the process. Franklin gets back up and knees Hamill on the way up. Hamill is now cut as well. Franklin gets a few more shots in before the round ends. Franklin (10-9)

Round 2: Both fighters seem afraid to touch each other in the opening seconds. Franklin becomes the aggressor with a leg kick that almost gets him in trouble as Hamill catches it. Franklin rips it away. Hamill lands only one good punch in the following exchanges until the ref stops the action to check on Franklin’s eye. Making that cut worse might be Hamill’s only chance to win this one. Franklin gets right back into it after the stoppage and avoids a Hamill takedown to stay on his feet. Franklin keeps working with point-scoring punches and smacking leg kicks until another stoppage from a hard low blow from Franklin. Hamill lands a kick of his own and finally starts fighting back in the slugging exchanges despite Franklin getting the best shots in. Franklin is just owning the fight, looks composed and relaxed, and isn’t letting up. Hamill targets Franklin’s eye with each right hand that lands, but he can’t seem to string anything together. This fight is starting to look like a mismatch. Hamill tries again to grab a leg and scores a nice uppercut before Franklin pulls away again and goes back to the leg kicks and punches. Hamill misses another opportunity after catching Franklin’s leg during a knee strike. He looks clearly frustrated when the horn sounds to end the round. We can see between rounds that Franklin’s cut is bad but not bleeding. Franklin (10-9)

Round 3: Franklin picks up where he left off with leg and body kicks. He follows up with a right hand and a knee landing. Franklin then wades in with a big body kick to the ribs that drops Hamill. A few more punches for good measure from Franklin ends the fight by TKO.

CHUCK “THE ICEMAN” LIDDELL (21-5-0) vs. RASHAD “SUGAR” EVANS (16-0-1)

Round 1: Chuck’s coming into this one with 10 years on Rashad after having to pull out of an earlier scheduled match between the two. Chuck’s physique doesn’t look to be improved at all, But Rashad doesn’t seem to be in tip-top form either. Only about 2 punches land in the first minute, thrown by Liddell. Chuck lands a nice right hook later on, but Evans comes back later with his own overhand right. Chuck knocks him against the fence with his next right but doesn’t rush in with following shots. Evans lands a nice body kick and keeps dancing out of range. These guys just don’t want to hit each other, and the crowd lets them hear it with steady boos. Neither fighter is really landing anything or throwing much. Chuck tries to land and gets hit with a right hook that he shakes off. Chuck’s eye is cut bad. Evans lands a couple leg kicks before getting hit with an uppercut. Liddell barely misses a huge head kick at the end of the round.

Round 2: The boos start early until a straight right connects from Liddell. He slaps a leg kick in and then gets to slugging, winning the exchanges and keeping Rashad’s back to the cage. Evans just isn’t engaging much. Liddell takes full advantage. Evans finally lands a few good shots, but Liddell keeps stalking. Chuck lands a weak 1-2 and continues to follow Evans. Out of nowhere Evans lands a vicious right hook while avoiding a Liddell uppercut. Liddell collapses immediately and is out cold for a while. This knockout definitely ranks above Rampage’s KO of “The Iceman.” I don’t know why they are calling the win an upset for Evans. After all, the guy is undefeated. The knockout comes at 1:51 in the round. Liddell fans might not like it, but “The Iceman” looks like his best days are definitely behind him.

Final thoughts: None of these fights impressed me much, and if I had to pay for this I would’ve been pissed. Glad I got to see it for free.

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