UFC 108 Undercard Fights Were Much More Fun Than the Main Event

Share on Facebook posted 01-03-10 by John George

The Ultimate Fighting Championship 108 featured quite a few fights that were more fun than the main event bout between “Sugar” Rashad Evans and Thiago Silva. Broadcast live on pay per view from Las Vegas, the undercard was filled with submissions and knockouts that got the blood pumping.

Daley vs. Hazelett

The most hyped undercard fight was the welterweight between hard-hitting British slugger Paul “Semtex” Daley (23-8-2) and American submissions specialist Dustin Hazelett (12-5-0). Daley was unable to make weight for the fight, and Hazelett generously agreed to fight him, even though Daley was a pound over the allowed limit.

I was rooting for Hazelett because he’s a rangy, homespun everyman with some real grass-roots charm. The son of a coal miner Hazelett got into martial arts because he got picked on mercilessly and relentlessly as a kid, and is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt under Jorge Gurgel.

I was rooting against Daley because I find him arrogant and a touch thuggish, and because he knocked out my boy Martin Kampmann. The win over Kampmann was Daley’s last fight, and it was also his UFC debut. Kampmann is a very skilled striker with a ton of heart, but Daley pulverized him with his superior strength.

Unfortunately, Daley also pulverized Hazelett, knocking him out at 2:24 in the first round. Hazelett was really to blame for the loss. He began the fight with a bizarre roll to the center of the octagon, then stood and engaged Daley in a kickboxing contest. Hazelett’s striking actually looked good until Daley was able to land a left hook, and that’s all she wrote. Hazelett was done by the time he hit the ground, but Daley leaped on him and pummeled him until the ref stopped it, just to make sure.

Before the fight, Hazelett said he was going to take the fight to the ground to try and submit Daley, and he would have been wise to follow his strategy. Any welterweight would be foolish to stand and trade strikes with Daley, who has now proven twice that he’s got some of the heaviest hands around.

Kampmann vs. Volkmann

My favorite fighter in UFC 108 was the aforementioned Martin “Hitman” Kampmann (16-3-0), a Danish kickboxing champ, who faced tough Minnesota wrestler Jacob “Christmas” Volkmann (9-2-0) in a welterweight bout. Volkmann looked better than expected on his feet, hitting Kampmann with some hard punches that backed the Dane up. Kampmann was able to counter, though, and find a home for a right hook that knocked Volkmann down.

Kampmann followed Volkmann down and landed a couple of big punches. When Volkmann tried to get up, Kampmann caught him in a nasty reverse guillotine choke that had him tapping quickly.

In this fight, Kampmann once again showed that he’s got a good chin, a lot of heart and a knack for finding ways to win. He probably doesn’t have the physical attributes to be able to hang at the very top of the welterweight division, but Kampmann’s a great fighter who is a lot of fun to watch. I can’t wait to see him fight again.

Dos Santos vs. Yvel

Junior “Cigano” dos Santos (10-1-0) proved why he is considered one of the UFC’s top heavyweight contenders by delivering an impressive knockout victory over a very experienced and very tough Dutch fighter Gilbert “The Hurricane” Yvel.

Yvel displayed some slick kicking skills during the fight, but he fell prey to a left hook from dos Santos that knocked him down. Dos Santos was all over him until referee Herb Dean stepped in and stopped the fight.

Yvel complained that the stoppage was premature, and he may have had a good point: he wasn’t out, and he was making an effort to defend himself. Dean could and should have waited a few more seconds to see how it developed. On the other hand, you can’t really blame Dean for not taking any chances with a guy who hits as hard as dos Santos does.

It is clear that dos Santos can be successful as a striker against virtually anyone in the UFC heavyweight division. In addition to Yvel, he’s beaten legendary Croatian kickboxer Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic and the six-foot, 11-inch Belgian striker Stefan “Skyscraper” Struve in the UFC.

All three of dos Santos’ victories came against strikers. It is not clear at all how successful he’ll be against the huge, strong wrestlers like current champ Brock Lesnar or top contender Shane Carwin. I’d like to see dos Santos against Cain Velasquez, who is also a great wrestler, but who is sized more like a normal human.

Stout vs. Lauzon

Sam “Hands of Stone” Stout (15-5-1) survived an outstanding first-round submission attempt from Joe “J-Lau” Lauzon (18-5-0) to go on and win a unanimous decision in their lightweight matchup.

I’ve been a fan of Lauzon since watching him on The Ultimate Fighter reality show on Spike a couple of years back, and I was rooting for him in this fight though I’ve got nothing against Stout. Lauzon was unable to get anything going after Stout rebuffed his submission attempt in the first round, and Stout dominated both the second and third rounds with excellent strikes.

That Lauzon survived all three rounds is a testament to his toughness and his heart. Stout kicked the crap out of J-Lau for a good 10 minutes, but J-Lau, fighting gamely, never gave up.

Lauzon clearly needs to improve his striking if he’s going to compete at the higher levels of the lightweight division. As for Stone, it would be interesting to see how he would fare among some of the top-echelon guys in the division, such as Kenny Florian, Sean Sherk or Joe Stevenson.

Miller vs. Lauzon

Joe Lauzon’s brother Dan “The Upgrade” Lauzon (12-3-0) didn’t have any more success in his lightweight fight against Cole “Magrinho” Miller (16-4-0). Dan Lauzon showed some quality striking against Miller, but Magrinho used some extraordinaly jiu jitsu to land an inverted triangle and finish by kimura. Lauzon tapped three minutes into the first round.

Miller vs. Ludwig

Dan Miller’s brother Jim Miller (16-2-0) was successful in his lightweight fight against Duane “Bang” Ludwig (19-10-0). Jim Miller’s striking looked very solid as he landed some strong punches to start the round. When he knocked Ludwig down with a strong right hook, Miller mounted Ludwig and transitioned to an armbar. Ludwig was forced to tap two and a half minutes into the round.

(According to the UFC commentators, this was the first time in UFC history that two brothers competed in the same event. It was a happy night for the Miller brothers, and a disappointing night for the Lauzons.)

Munoz vs. Jensen

Mark “The Philippine Wrecking Machine” Munoz (7-1-0) literally beat Ryan Jensen (14-6-0) in the first round of their middleweight match-up. The fight started with Jensen coming out strong and scoring some good shots, but Munoz was able to take Jensen down. On the ground, Munoz got Jensen on his stomach and pummeled him until he was forced to tap exactly halfway through the round. It was a short, sweet and exciting fight.

Ellenberger vs. Pyle

Jake Ellenberger (22-5-0) looked very good in his dominant second-round referee stoppage win over Mike “Quicksand” Pyle (19-7-1) during their welterweight bout. Ellenberger was the aggressor throughout the first round, getting the best of Pyle during the stand-up, and maintaining dominant positions on the ground. Pyle looked hurt when the round ended, and he seemed to be telling his corner that he broke a rib. He may well have been hurt, because Pyle came out firing away in the second round and pummeled Pyle until referee Yves Lavigne saw fit to stop the fight after 22 seconds.

Oliveira vs. Gunderson

Rafaello “Tractor” Oliveira (10-2-0) survived numerous submission attempts by John “Quick Guns” Gunderson (22-7-0) and went on to win a unanimous decision in their lightweight fight. Oliveira won every round on the scorecards, though Gunderson was a game opponent who never quit fighting for the win.