Wondering who won that fight and more? Then keep reading.
First up was a match between former TUF contestants Cole Miller and Junie Browning. "He's a comic book character. . . I can't wait to kick his ass," said Miller coming in. Browning, on the other hand, verbalized the belief that his striking skills were far superior to his opponents' coming in. Could two TUF contestants have any different personalities?
Millerstarted things off with a front kick that landed. However, when he went for a kimura, he gave up his back to Browning for a few moments. But Miller got out of trouble rather easily. From there, he got to his feet and landed a nice right hand. Soon after, Miller caught Browning in a guillotine and fell to his back into guard with in it hand. Moments later, Browning was tapping.
Cole Miller wins via guillotine choke at 1:58 of round one.
"I'm ready for this stand up war," said Rafael Dos Anjos before taking on Tyson Griffin in the main event of the evening. Of course, being ready for a fighter like Tyson Griffin, who never partakes in a boring fight, is often easier said than done.
Griffin started the round connecting with several low kicks. He also mixed it up with some solid body punches, moving in and out safely against his opponent. After hitting home with a hard right hand, Griffin then went for and succeeded in gaining a takedown. After some ground and pound, Dos Anjos caught his opponent in some type of leg compression with his own legs. Though Griffin got up, it was clear that his leg (the left one) was messed up. Soon after, came the bell.
With a left leg that was clearly compromised to some degree, Griffin and Dos Anjos traded to start the second round. Eventually, though, despite a lack of left leg kicks, Griffin began to win the striking battle again. Along with this, around the one minute mark he connected with a big overhand right that dizzied Dos Anjos. Flurries in spots followed until the bell sounded.
The third round saw Griffin come out connecting with hard low kicks and very solid punches. Further, he kept the pressure on. Dos Anjos answered with some nice shots of his own mid round, but Griffin still continued to press forward. Griffin then went for another takedown- hard to understand why- and almost got caught in a Kimura for his efforts (same thing happened in the second round). However, Griffin soon popped himself out of trouble on the canvas and pounded away at his adversary until the bell.
A really good fight, which is to be expected with Griffin. Griffin should win via decision.
The judges agreed.
Tyson Griffin wins by way of unanimous decision.
Next up was a match between TUF 8 champion Ryan Bader and Carmelo Marrero. We're talking about two top notch grapplers here. Marrero came in with way more MMA experience, while Bader seemingly entered the cage with far more athleticism and sheer power.
Early on, Bader shot in and took Marrero down hard. From there, he moved to side control. However, Marrero scrapped his way back to open guard. Soon after, Bader moved to the crucifix position and then transitioned to an armbar that almost ended the fight. However, Marrero got out and ended up on top. Moments later, Bader got to his feet and took Marrero right down again. Marrero got back to his feet after giving up side control momentarily. But then Bader once again took him down. Some ground and pound later, the bell sounded.
A clear round for Bader.
The second started off with some minor trading on their feet. Eventually, though, Bader ended up on top on the ground again, unleashing some ground and pound. Though positions changed a little while on the canvas, the bottom line was that Bader connected with ground and pound for the rest of the stanza and dominated things from a positional standpoint.
Marrero needs a stoppage in order to win coming into the third round.
The third round saw Bader take Marrero down quickly once again. From there, he nearly sunk in an arm triangle and even mounted his opponent for a brief moment. Though the two stood for a time when the referee brought them to their feet, the result of the final round was the same as the initial two.
Ryan Bader wins by way of a unanimous decision.
Then came the main event of Fight Night 18: Martin Kampmann vs. Carlos Condit. "I'm bringing that championship attitude and pride into the UFC," said Condit beforehand. Of course, Kampmann in no way represents an easy UFC debut. Thus, the stage was set.
Early on, Kampmann took Condit down hard into side control. From there, he sunk in a strong guillotine on his adversary. However, Condit managed to eventually pop his head out and then connected with some quick round and pound before Kampann got to his feet. That said, Condit almost immediately threw Kampmann to the ground. Then came a reversal by Kampmann. Soon after, Kampmann looked for a heel hook. It didn't work, allowing Condit to gain the top position. Then came a big elbow on the ground by Condit. Kampann got to his feet but paid for it by getting nailed with a huge knee that cut his adversary. Condit connected with some more nice striking before getting taken down. Kampmann ended up with a guillotine choke sunk in, but then the bell sounded.
That was a close round. Give it to Kampmann based on valid submission attempts (three).
Early in the second, Kampmann achieved a takedown and followed it up with some ground and pound. Eventually, Condit pushed off with his legs and got to his feet. The two traded strikes back and forth, with Condit connecting with multiple elbows that seemed to hurt. Condit achieved two takedowns. In accordance with this, Kampmann attempted two guillotine chokes on him unsuccessfully off of those takedowns (though these attempts were almost doomed to failure before they started). After the second guillotine choke attempt, Condit took Kampmann's back and came very close to sinking in the rear naked choke. But then Kampmann turned his adversary over. Kampmann is tired. Then came the bell.
Another close round in a great fight. Give that one to Condit (though the reality is that you could probably go either way with both stanzas). Onto the final round.
Early in the third, a Condit thumb poked Kampann in the eye, causing a momentary stoppage. When things returned, the two found themselves in the clinch. Kampmann then took Condit down. From there came some significant ground and pound in spots. Then Condit got to his feet, but Kampmann ended up on top again. For most of the rest of the round, Kampmann controlled things until the tail end when Condit sunk in a guillotine. It was hard to tell how tight it was. Regardless, the bell came soon after.
Kampmann won the final round. That leaves him ahead on my scorecard. That said, it will all depend on how the judges scored the first two rounds, both of which were close.
In the end, Martin Kampmann took home victory via split decision. A good call in a great fight!
In the end, Fight Night 18 was a good night of fights. Cole Miller came through big time against Junie Browning, Ryan Bader once again showed that he is going to be someone to be reckoned with in the 205 pound division, and both Carlos Condit and Martin Kampmann represented themselves well in the main event. That said, there could only be one winner, and that winner was Kampmann.
FULL RESULTS:
- Aaron Simpson def. Tim McKenzie via TKO (punches) - R1 (1:40)
- Rob Kimmons def. Joe Vedepo via submission (guillotine choke) - R1 (1:54)
- Jorge Rivera def. Nissen Osterneck via unanimous decision
- Tim Credeur def. Nick Catone via submission (guillotine choke) - R2 (3:45)
- Brock Larson def. Jesse Sanders via submission (RNC) - R1 (2:01)
- Ricardo Almeida def. Matt Horwich via unanimous decision
- Gleison Tibau def. Jeremy Stephens via unanimous decision
- Cole Miller def. Junie Browning via submission (guillotine choke) - R1 (1:58)
- Tyson Griffin def. Rafael Dos Anjos via unanimous decision
- Ryan Bader def. Carmelo Marrero via unanimous decision
- Martin Kampmann def. Carlos Condit via split decision