In a highly entertaining heavyweight brawl at
UFC 131,
Dave Herman came back and finished
Jon Olav Einemo with knees and punches to win by second round technical knockout.
It was the
UFC debut for both men, and it was a performance that thrilled the fans but also showed that both fighters have some limitations.
"I'm a little tired," Herman said as he gasped for air afterward. "I was just trying to land something."
Einemo is a great submission grappler who wanted to take the fight to the ground, and Herman did a good job in the early going of avoiding takedown attempts and staying on his feet. But when Herman threw a body kick midway through the first round, Einemo caught it and put Herman on his back. From there Einemo easily transitioned from half guard to side control, but Herman did a great job of getting back to his feet without taking much damage.
http://xml.channel.aol.com/xmlpublisher/fetch.v2.xml?option=expand_relative_urls&dataUrlNodes=uiConfig,feedConfig,localizationConfig,entry&id=1002055&pid=1002054&uts=1307851504
http://www.aolcdn.com/ke/media_gallery/v1/ke_media_gallery_wrapper.swf
UFC 131 Fight Night Photos
Yves Edwards is knocked out at UFC 131 on Saturday, June 11, 2011 at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Esther Lin, MMA Fighting
Esther Lin, MMA Fighting
UFC 131 Photos
Sam Stout throws a punch at Yves Edwards at UFC 131 on Saturday, June 11, 2011 at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
UFC 131 Photos
Yves Edwards is knocked out at UFC 131 on Saturday, June 11, 2011 at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
UFC 131 Photos
Sam Stout celebrates his win with coach Shawn Tompkins at UFC 131 on Saturday, June 11, 2011 at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
UFC 131 Photos
Sam Stout hugs UFC official Joe Silva at UFC 131 on Saturday, June 11, 2011 at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
UFC 131 Photos
Doctors attend to Yves Edwards at UFC 131 on Saturday, June 11, 2011 at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
UFC 131 Photos
Chris Weidman def. Jesse Bongfeldt at UFC 131 on Saturday, June 11, 2011 at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
UFC 131 Photos
Krzystof Soszynksi controls Mike Massenzio at UFC 131 on Saturday, June 11, 2011 at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
UFC 131 Photos
Krzystof Soszynksi gets hit by Mike Massenzio at UFC 131 on Saturday, June 11, 2011 at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
UFC 131 Photos
Mike Massenzio punches Krzystof Soszynksi at UFC 131 on Saturday, June 11, 2011 at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
UFC 131 Photos
Krzystof Soszynksi moves forward against Mike Massenzio at UFC 131 on Saturday, June 11, 2011 at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
UFC 131 Photos
Early in the second round Einemo started hurting Herman with punches to the face, and as Herman backed away it appeared that Einemo would go in for the kill. But Herman did a great job of slowing Einemo's progress down, and eventually it was Herman who hurt Einemo with big knees and bigger punches to the face, knocking Einemo down and repeatedly bashing his face until the referee stepped in to stop the fight.
Herman improves to 21-2 in his MMA career, and he could develop into a solid member of the UFC's heavyweight division. Einemo falls to 6-2, and this might have been both his first and last fight in the UFC. At age 35, Einemo can't take many more brawls like this one.
