The UFC 133 fight card definitely had its ups and downs, with fighters dropping out due to injury, but Joe Silva still managed to put a great card together. There weren't any title fights, but some of the match-ups definitely had title implications. As alwasys, there was a lot of action and some exciting outcomes. Keep reading for a complete re-cap of the action.
Rory MacDonald and Mike Pyle's match was pretty hyped up, but MacDonald showed that he really is the next big thing in the lightweight division. Facing a noticeable reach disadvantage, Pyle wanted to get the fight to the ground. He tempted MacDonald into his guard, but ended up getting TKO'd with ground strikes.
Brian Ebersole got a first round TKO over Dennis Hallman. The pace was very quick while the fight lasted. Ebersole was a pleasant surprise, as his ground game looked very sharp. He was able to posture up from half guard and drop vicious elbows and hammer fists onto Hallman's dome. Hallman was getting cut up pretty bad and after a few undefended strikes, the ref stepped in and saved him from further abuse.
Vitor Belfort needed a good outing and that's exactly what he got when he faced Yoshihiro Akiyama on Saturday. As you would have expected, Belfort looked much better than Akiyama on his feet and he got his work done before the fight ever went to the ground. He grazed Akiyama with a punch while standing, then followed him to the mat when he buckled. Belfort was relentless and followed with several hard punches and eventually knocked Akiyama out cold.
The Rashad Evans/Tito Ortiz match-up was intriguing, but the smart money was on Rashad. He's a very good wrestler, and even though Tito was able to take him down a few times when they fought back in '07, Rashad has come a long way since then. Still, Tito seems re-born and re-energized and as always, talked a good game coming into the fight. This was Evans' first fight not training at Jackson's MMA in New Mexico, so it was also going to be interesting to see how the change in coaches and training partners affected him. The first round was all Rashad. He dominated on his feet, then got a huge take down and side control on the ground. He wasn't able to finish before the round ended, so he came out fast in the second and picked up where he left off. He got Tito on his knees with his back against the cage and delivered a crushing knee to his chest. Tito just buckled after that and was all but defenseless to strikes, so it was a matter of seconds before the ref stopped the fight. With the TKO victory, Rashad has apparently put himself in line for another title shot, so that match with Jon Jones may get done after all.
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