UFC 149 *SPOILERS*

[flo]

Hector Lombard vs. Tim Boetsch

Round 1:
Josh Rosenthal is the referee. Lombard refuses to touch gloves. Lombard with his hands high, Boetsch throwing front kicks. Boetsch goes for a single-leg, Lombard sprawls it, and throws a few punches. Rosenthal warns Lombard for shots to the back of the head. They're standing again. Lombard with a takedown and Boetsch is breathing heavily. They're standing again, 90 seconds in. Boetsch with a leg kick a quick clinch and a knee. Lombard throws a left. Boetsch with a front kick, tries for a takedown, doesn't get it and pushes Lombard off. Both guys standing again. Lombard misses a couple bombs. Lombard throwing occasional overhand rights. Lombard isn't wasting much energy, Boetsch moving a lot. Final minute. Crowd gets a big restless. Boetsch again goes for a front kick to try to set up a takedown and Lombard again sprawls it. Close, cautious round.

Round 2:
Lombard tags Boetsch with a big overhand left. Also connects with a solid jab. Boetsch goes for a superman punch and walks into a counter combo. Lombard with a right and a left. Midway through the round and there isn't much action, as Boetsch has abandoned his front kick/takedown approach. Lombard lands an uppercut. Lombard connects with a body kick that sends Boetsch looking for cover. Boetsch covers up on the ground, Lombard on top of him but doesn't do anything with it. They're standing with a minute left, turns into a scramble which ends up with Lombard pinning Boetsch along the fence.

Round 3:
Absolutely nothing happens in the first minute. Lombard throws a left hand and Boetsch a knee. Not much action in the second minute, either. Neither fighter seems aware the decision is in the balance. Boetsch throws a couple leg kicks. Boetsch shoots a takedown, Lombard easily defends. Lombard with a trip, but Boetsch ends up on top of him and they're quickly back on their feet. One minute, crowd is booing. Lombard gets a takedown, They're back up, Boetsch lands a knee. Going to give Lombard round three based on the trip and the takedown, but he looks a lot more like a hype than a contender after this one.

Tim Boetsch def. Hector Lombard via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28).

[flo]

Urijah Faber vs. Renan Barao

Round 1:
Barao feins at a high kick. Faber using a lot of motion. Faber rushes in and eats a Barao combo. Crowd chanting for Faber. Barao with a front kick. Both guys throwing kicks. Barao misses with a spinning back kick. Barao lands a high kick and a knee to the body. Every time Faber rushes in he eats a few punches. Barao clearly going to the Jose Aldo playbook with his kicks. Faber lands a late straight right, but Barao landed most of the significant strikes in the round.

Round 2:
Cat-and-mouse game continues in round two. Ref Mario Yamasaki calls time as Barao catches an accidental eye poke. They're back after a short break. Barao connects on a flying knee, followed by a clinch. Faber lands a right hand on the break. Barao makes solid contact with a low kick midway through. Faber having trouble getting untracked. Barao's low kicks are starting to do damage. Barao with a low kick and a solid combo.

Round 3:
Faber lands a jab early. Barao once uses a leg kick to set up a combo. Faber's left leg is starting to swell. Faber catches Barao with a right hand as Barao came toward him. Faber with a straight right. Barao with a right which knocks Faber backwards, he rushes after Faber but Faber gets to safety. A Faber uppercut lands, but Barao responds with a right. Barao lands his biggest leg kick of the fight. Faber doesn't seem to have a path to victory here.

[flo]

Lots of boos from the crowd, just like the Boetsch fight. Dana can't be happy with that.

Round 4:
Faber's still moving and still looking for a way to break through, but his leg is pretty obviously hurt. Barao misses a spinning back kick. The crowd is booing, which is unfortunate given the amount of thrills Faber has given fans over the years. Yamasaki calls time as Faber absorbs an eye poke. We're back after a short break. Same story in round four as the first three, as Barao peppers Faber. Barao goes for another head kick, which Faber catches. Faber grabs a leg but can't do anything with it.

[flo]

Round 5:
Barao's got the fight well in hand, so he doesn't look like he's going to take any chances. Faber knows he needs to come up with a home run, but he just isn't able to find an opening. Faber catches a Barao kick, but Barao spins out of the way. Barao has an answer for everything Faber tries to do. Barao connects on a nasty left hook with two minutes left. Final minute. Barao throws a spinning back kick. While Faber has been one of MMA's most thrilling fighters over the past several years, tonight was basically the night which showed he's no longer a title contender.

Renan Barao wins the interim championship by unanimous decision, 49-46, 50-45, 49-46.

Well, if Urijah did suffer a broken rib in the second round I can see how that affected his fight.

[kevint13]

Originally Posted by flo

Round 5:
While Faber has been one of MMA's most thrilling fighters over the past several years, tonight was basically the night which showed he's no longer a title contender.

Renan Barao wins the interim championship by unanimous decision, 49-46, 50-45, 49-46.

Well, if Urijah did suffer a broken rib in the second round I can see how that affected his fight.

Whoever did the play by play on this is on crack. Styles make fights...Barao was mainly a counter striker tonight and it worked for him. I believe that Faber can beat Cruz and I believe that Cruz will pose problems for Barao.

[flo]

Originally Posted by kevint13

Whoever did the play by play on this is on crack. Styles make fights...Barao was mainly a counter striker tonight and it worked for him. I believe that Faber can beat Cruz and I believe that Cruz will pose problems for Barao.

Well, luckily for me, this was mmafighting.com's play-by-play, Kevin.

My only commentary was the brief Carvalho/Pineda fight, whew.

[kevint13]

Originally Posted by flo

Well, luckily for me, this was mmafighting.com's play-by-play, Kevin.

My only commentary was the brief Carvalho/Pineda fight, whew.

Yeah, I paid for it....not my best idea

But if you watched the mmafighting.com interview with Dana yesterday, he sold me on it. He was really pumped for this card and it just didn't deliver.

And for the first time in awhile, Joe Rogan was really getting annoying!

[flo]

Originally Posted by kevint13

Yeah, I paid for it....not my best idea

But if you watched the mmafighting.com interview with Dana yesterday, he sold me on it. He was really pumped for this card and it just didn't deliver.

And for the first time in awhile, Joe Rogan was really getting annoying!

I missed the interview but there were too many decisions on the main card, I enjoyed the prelims more but that's just me.

Heh, I get annoyed at Joe too but I'd really be hacked off if they replaced him or Goldy...

I still miss The Gladiator.

[kevint13]

Originally Posted by flo

I missed the interview but there were too many decisions on the main card, I enjoyed the prelims more but that's just me.

Heh, I get annoyed at Joe too but I'd really be hacked off if they replaced him or Goldy...

I still miss The Gladiator.

The prelims were great...the main card was awful.

The Kongo fight was painful to watch, it was like a HW boxing match where someone throws a punch and then they clinch. But the ref never broke them up.

Joe was just off...I can understand missing something, but even during replays he was giving credit for strikes that were blocked or missed.

[Liddellfan]

After Cruz wins, maybe Dana will give him the title shot.......AGAIN?