UFC 104/5, Haye – Valuev, Beer

I’ll just mention Haye/Valuev briefly because for one my stream died at the end of the fifth, and for two it wasn’t that good in the first place (and Sky can fuck off if they think that fifteen quid for a Valuev fight is a good idea). But Haye on points? Seriously? I had Valuev up 49-46 after five, and from the reports nothing changed overly until Haye rattled him in the last round. Oh well, it sucks for my sports betting bankroll but it’s very good for the division. Pacman/Cotto should be good tonight after 105, which despite taking place in my home town looks crappy, Couture is cool but old enough to be my dad and Vera sucks, maincard doesn’t have any real big names (well, Bisping, but Bisping is crap), undercard looks slightly better.

104 then. Barry – Hardonk just looked like a K-1 match. Hardonk looked better in the first, Barry looked decent on the ground but couldn’t break Hardonk’s defence, Hardonk won the first, but Barry’s striking was that much better in the second, resulting in him first rocking Hardonk, then knocking him down and getting a stoppage.

Stefan Struve against Chase Gormley was OK, Gormley put on early pressure with good GNP after a takedown, followed by an intriguing leglock duel. Struve gained top position, but needed to take him down again in order to continue with effective hammerfists. Could have been stopped but wasn’t, but Struve was able to mount and finish with a triangle.

Ryan Bader vs Eric Schafer was an odd match, the first two minutes were mediocre until Bader exploded and dominated, nearly finishing Schafer, but he held on and tried a kimura and omaplata. Bader won the round clearly, but looked to lack the same explosiveness in the second. Schafer looked better standing in a mundane second round, easily stuffing cheap Bader takedown attempts, and I gave it to Schafer. In round three, Bader caught Eric easily, who pulled guard and slowed the pace down. Schafer is cut, but the fight continues at a more subdued pace, Bader takes him down with about a minute left and he just ran down the clock to get the round without either fighter looking to finish it. 10-9 and 29-28 Bader on my card, which was tighter than what the actual judges gave.

Yoshida – Johnson was at a catchweight and it looked like a horrible mismatch with Johnson being so much bigger. Funnily enough, a KO quickly ensued.

Spencer Fisher and Joe Stevenson fought a close first round, good early standup followed by Fisher stuffing an extended Stevenson takedown attempt. Fisher is cut early and it looks like it might cause trouble. Joe gets back very late, getting in good shots to win the round. In the second, Stevenson shows better control, getting top position but not being able to mount. He applies good elbows, not overly exciting but effective, as it caused a stoppage.

Okami – Sonnen was somewhat surprising. Sonnen brought the early pressure with takedowns, but Okami showed good strength to keep getting it back to standing. That was how the first round continued, quite close but 10-9 Sonnen. Okami’s striking was better in the second frame, Sonnen was able to get his back in the clinch though and just nicked the second round as well. Third round had fairly even striking, Okami appearing to lack any sort of game plan in order to get back into the fight. Sonnen takes Okami down, landing in a very good position and does some damage, Okami got it back to the feet but Sonnen was still on his back. Okami was unable to work any miracles and lost 30-27 which everyone in the world, Cecil Peoples included, agreed with.

Josh Neer against Gleison Tibau was a big clash of styles. In the first, Tibau was able to continually hit big takedowns, but Neer had enough on the ground to prevent him from capitalising once there. Neer had an obvious striking advantage, but not as big as advertised, and he wasn’t on the feet enough to use it. 10-9 Tibau. Second was similar, except this time Tibau was actually able to mount Neer, and Neer gave up his back at one stage but again Tibau couldn’t break through solid Neer defence. Close, but still 10-9 Tibau. Third round saw Tibau trying more takedowns, but Neer looked better, starting to stuff them and was able to land some damage with striking, and also from the bottom whilst on the ground. He won it for a 29-28 Tibau points decision.

Velasquez – Rothwell looked on paper to be interesting. Don’t know why the crowd were booing Rothwell. Cain looked solid early with good takedowns and control. He was able to find spots to ground and pount, and mount. The last 1:20 of the round were just nasty with Ben looking completely ineffective. 10-8 Velasquez. Early in the second Cain took him down easily, it could have been stopped very quickly, but when it was looked to be a touch early, but I don’t see a way that Rothwell could have got back into the fight at that stage, barring some lucky punch which didn’t look like being in his arsenal at that stage.

And oh boy did someone fuck up the main event. First round Rua had an edge. He looked to clinch and take down, had some success, was fairly even and passive but 10-9 Rua. Second had Machida looking more aggressive in the standup. Machida stuffed a takedown attempt. Rua is managing to get past Machida’s elusiveness somewhat. Very even, 10-10 for me, Rua did enough with knees in the clinch late to level it. Third saw Rua making a solid start with kicks. Isn’t much to separate them. Shogun had an edge in the second half, the action picked up, Machida pushed on a bit more but took enough in return for Rua to win it 10-9. Round 4 was quiet early, Machida landing a nice kick. Rua attempted a takedown early following a Machida slip but it went nowhere. Rua continued to push on but Machida’s striking was a lot better and more noticable. Rua had the fight swing to him more in the latter stages but not enough to prevent Machida winning the round. Could have gone either way though. Fifth had plenty of good shots and countershots, Rua pushed early, Machida landed good knees, looked decent in spots but Rua was more consistent, 10-9 and 49-47 Rua. Some rounds were very close, and I think you can make arguments that Machida won three of them, but I’m not sure how all the judges were able to come to the same 48-47 Machida decision. There’s a rematch due but I wonder if Rua’s chance has passed him by.

Beer fest finally!

239 – Oakham Baja 1000 (4.3%) – 8, has the appearance of a lager, has a slightly dry bitter aftertaste, refreshing with subtle citrus aromas

240 – Quartz Crystal (4.2%) – 8, light brown ale, slight fruity taste and a decent subtle hoppy finish

241 – Phoenix Arizona (4.1%) – 6, very light, touch hoppy, way too dry

242 – Salopian Symphony (4.3%) – 6.5, ever so slightly dry golden ale, actually hilariously bittersweet, perhaps slight hints of grapefruit

243 – Phoenix Earthquake (7.5%) – 7.5, slightly dark, hence light given the strength, which is noticable. Warm flavours, but fairly thin. Almost a barley wine/whisky taste

244 – Hoskin Brothers Hob Best Mild (3.5%) – 6.5, fairly standard darkish mild with slight ruby hints

245 – Old Swan Dark Swan (4.2%) – 6.5, dark mild, not overly smoky, slight liquorice notes

246 – Blue Monkey BG Sips (4.0%) – 6.5, hoppy refreshing ale, slight sour bitter aftertaste. Had this elsewhere shortly afterwards and gave it a 7 for what it’s worth

247 – Houston Warlock Stout (4.7%) – 6.5, decent stout, touch dry and smoky, fairly rich

248 – Hoskin Brothers White Dolphin (4.0%) – 6, meh wheat beer, straw coloured and obvious taste

249 – High House Farm Nel’s Best (4.2%) – 7, golden ale, nicely balanced if slightly hoppy, touch dry

And a few other beers:

250 – Titanic Last Porter Call (4.9%) – 6.5, more of a stout than a porter

251 – Rudgate Cuckoo (4.1%) – 6.5, notably hoppy, slightly sour but not unpleasantly so

252 – Storm Downpour (4.3%) – 7, light ale, touch hoppy, strong fruity tastes

253 – Blue Monkey Guerrilla (4.9%) – 7.5, a good stout with fruity flavours

254 – Blue Monkey 99 Red Baboons (4.2%) – 8, great dark and full fruity ale

255 – Summer Wine Joker (4.1%) – 3.5, truly awful bitter that tasted like a bad keg beer, bad enough that it couldn’t be finished