Martin Kampmann pulls a rabbit out of the hat to shock Thiago Alves with less than a minute left

Little was going right for Martin Kampmann until Thiago Alves made one vital mistake.

Kampmann was on the wrong side of a standup beating over the middle 11 minutes of the fight when he seized on the opportunity to lock on a guillotine choke to finish Alves at the 4:12 mark of the final round.

It's the second straight win for Kampmann, who's too often been on the wrong side of close decisions over the last few years. There was little doubt where this one was going with a minute left, that's why Alves' decision to shoot for a takedown was so confusing.

With 1:04 left in the fight, Alves rocked Kampmann with a straight right. The stunned Dane retreated to the cage. Alves got off a nice head kick that was partially blocked and then a combination. For some reason, he shot in for a takedown and left his head under Kampmann's left arm.

"I felt I really had to finish the fight. It wouldn't do me any good to keep it standing, so I thought I had a chance to go for the submission. I squeezed because I knew that was my window and I didn't want to miss it."

He didn't. Alves drove through the takedown. When it hit the ground, Kampmann had the choke locked on and rolled over. His topside guillotine was on tight. It took just a few seconds for Alves to tap. Alves, a striker by nature has suffered four submission losses in his career.

Kampmann (19-5, 11-4 UFC) knew he needed something dramatic.

"What are you talking about? I was doing great," joked Kampmann with UFC announcer Jon Anik. "Thiago caught me with some good shots. I'll be honest. He was gassing me out."

With a few minutes left in the fight, Alves had outlanded Kampmann 74-53.

Kampmann is a good striker, but his defense wasn't up to par against a good muay thai fighter like Alves. Frankly, the Brazilian was also better in the grappling game.

"I wanted to strike with him, but I wanted to take him down as well. He's got really good takedown defense," Kampmann said. "Usually when I get people on the fence I can get them down. He's got good defense. so I felt I was definitely behind."

This is a rough break for Alves, who's struggled for years with his weight. With the cutting issues behind him, Alves (19-9, 11-6 UFC) put together a sterling performance for nearly 14 minutes. Unfortunately, you have to finish all 15 minutes.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/kampmann-pulls-rabbit-hat-shock-alves-less-minute-043007820.html

Yoshihiro Akiyama  Gilbert Aldana  José Aldo  John Alessio  Houston Alexander

Thomson and Misaki take decisions while ?Jacare? and Sayers cruise at Strikeforce

Josh Thomson won in his first fight in more than a year with a decision over K.J. Noons in the co-main event at Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey in Ohio Saturday night. Thomson was not happy with his performance.

"It was [expletive]," Thomson told ringside commentator Mauro Ranallo after the fight.

Thomson used his wrestling prowess to control K.J. Noons for the first round and much of the second. A frustrated Noons had no idea how to get out from underneath Thomson's frame. In the third, Thomson used a beautiful takedown to set up an arm triangle choke. The submission looked close as Noons had trouble defending, but he was able to maneuver out from the choke. Still, Thomson controlled Noons' every move, and held on until the fight ended.

Though he and Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez have fought twice, a trilogy is possible.

"I do feel like [a championship shot] next," Thomson said.

In other action, a flat Paul Daley tried to grapple his way to a win over Kazuo Misaki, but it didn't work as Misaki won the split decision 30-27, 28-29, 29-28. Daley was able to get takedowns, but a faster Misaki had better stand-up. In the third, Daley threw an elbow from Misaki's closed guard to open a gushing cut just over Misaki's eye. The fight was allowed to continue as blood poured from Misaki's head like a faucet. Misaki still held on for a win.

After beating up Bristol Marunde for three and a half rounds, Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza showed off his world-class jiu-jitsu with an arm triangle. Souza tapped out Marunde, who had taken the fight on short notice, at 2:43 in the third round. After the fight, Souza said he wants another chance at the Strikeforce middleweight belt, which he lost to Luke Rockhold in September.

Lumumba Sayers made quick work of Strikeforce veteran Scott Smith. He slammed Smith early, and caught him in a guillotine to end the fight at 1:34 in the first round. This is Smith's fourth loss in a row, and fourth in five fights.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/thomson-misaki-decisions-while-jacare-sayers-cruise-strikeforce-045407293.html

Jermaine Andrè  Yoji Anjo  Tank Abbott Hiroyuki Abe Cyril Abidi 

Whoops! Ian McCall/Demetrious Johnson bout should have been a draw

In the first ever UFC 125-lb. match, an error by the athletic commission in Australia screwed up the result. Ian McCall and Demetrious Johnson's bout should have been scored as a draw, and their fight should have gone to a fourth, sudden-death round.

After the fight, MMA Junkie's John Morgan reported that the score announced was not the score written on the judges cards he received. During the post-fight press conference, UFC president Dana White reported that the fight was actually scored as a majority draw. By the rules of the flyweight tournament, it should have gone to a fourth and decisive round, but the error was discovered too late.

[Also: Ronda Rousey can break out in Strikeforce title bout vs. Miesha Tate | Rousey photos]

"Controversy has stuck to us like glue. Human error happens. Johnson-McCall was a draw. Fight was supposed to go to a fourth round. The commission has taken responsibility," White said.

The two will rematch to decide who will take on Joseph Benavidez, the other flyweight tournament winner at UFC on FX 2 on Friday night. For McCall, it's another chance to give the fans a show.

"We get to fight again. I feel vindicated," McCall said.

Johnson was looking forward to fight Benavidez for the promotion's first flyweight title, but now the process will take longer.

"I thought I had the victory, and it sucks because it prolongs stuff," Johnson said.

One consolation for Johnson and McCall is that they won the $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus, and they both received their win bonuses. They will now have to schedule another fight to see when they can get a step closer to the championship belt.

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Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/whoops-ian-mccall-demetrious-johnson-bout-draw-052007070.html

Yoshihiro Akiyama  Gilbert Aldana  José Aldo  John Alessio  Houston Alexander

Picture of the day: Chad Ochocinco vs. Miguel Torres

On the same day he was urinated on by a lion, New England Patriots receiver Chad Ochocinco faced off with UFC bantamweight Miguel Torres

Torres tweeted he wants the UFC to make this fight pronto, or at least after Torres fights Michael McDonald at UFC 145.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/picture-day-chad-ochocinco-vs-miguel-torres-145019541.html

Matt Andersen  Alex Andrade  Jermaine Andrè  Yoji Anjo  Tank Abbott

Battle of the fight promos: How an unknown becomes famous and ?Bones? gets arty

MMA has made huge leaps in promoting fights. Instead of videos that just show highlights backed by loud rap or metal music, they tell the story of why you want to tune in. These two videos from Bellator and the UFC fit that bill.

First, Bellator promotes its upcoming season by pushing the best part of their tournament. Lightweight champion Michael Chandler went from an unknown to a star thanks to his run through last season's tourney and his win over Eddie Alvarez. Now, Bellator has a whole new crop of lightweights who want to follow his example.

Next, the UFC takes a more artistic look at Jon Jones' submission of Lyoto Machida.

Did you have any idea that choking a man unconscious could be so pretty?

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/battle-fight-promos-unknown-becomes-famous-bones-165927645.html

Jermaine Andrè  Yoji Anjo  Tank Abbott Hiroyuki Abe Cyril Abidi 

Get to know the fighters in the flyweight tournament

Dominick Cruz already shared an inside look at flyweight fighters with Cagewriter, but before tuning into tonight's fight's on FX, you may want to get to know Joe Benavidez, Demetrious Johnson and Ian McCall a little better. (Yasuhiro Urushitani is not profiled.)

With the UFC on Friday and Strikeforce on Saturday, it's a jam-packed weekend of fights. The flyweight tournament is what I'm most looking forward to, but what about you? Tell us what you're looking forward to this weekend in the comments, on Facebook or on Twitter.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/know-fighters-flyweight-tournament-142754986.html

Thiago Alves  Andre Amade  Dean Amasinger  Jimmy Ambriz Matt Andersen 

UFC 144 upset: ?Kid? Yamamoto falls again; Gomi posts nice comeback

Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto is snake bitten or maybe it's simply that the division has caught and passed him by. The Japanese legend was shocked by Vaughan Lee in a submission defeat at 4:29 of the first round at UFC 144 in Tokyo, Japan.

Yamamoto, a huge knockout artist with good wrestling, was controlling the fight. With 1:04 left in the round, Kid got into a mix up with Lee. The Brit threw a bevy of right hand uppercuts and two body shots. Then came a right hook that landed on the Kid's chin. The Japanese legend stepped back and his right leg was like jello. Vaughn charged forward to attack but Yamamoto scored a takedown.

Still, he was in a no-win situation. Yamamoto was trying to slow the fight down, but he went into the guard of an excellent submission fighter. Lee (12-7-1, 1-1 UFC) quickly threw his legs up. He slapped on a triangle choke and eventually switched to an armbar. Yamamoto held out for a few seconds before tapping.

When he was freed from the hold, Yamamoto punched the canvas in frustration.

It's been a tough run for Yamamoto (18-6-1), who's now 0-3 in the UFC. Keep in the mind, this was a guy who went 14-0 from 2002-2007. Between injuries and the competition getting better, Yamamoto looks like he may be headed back to the minors. He's lost 5-of-6 overall.

Gomi escapes with win after horrendous first round

It looked like it was going to be a disastrous night for some of the former standard bearers of Japanese MMA. Takanori Gomi bounced back from the rough opening round to pour it on in the second and come away with a win over Eiji Mitsuoka.

It wasn't the prettiest win but one well earned and Gomi showed some gumption. With a minute left in the first, the 33-year-old fighter got drilled with a right hand and found himself caught in an inverted triangle for over 30 seconds. With seven seconds left in the round, Gomi lifted his hand and was ready to tap, but held out until the horn sounded.

When he got to the break, his cornermen told him that Mitsuoka was exhausted. They were right. Gomi came out for the second and threw a ton of punches behind a stiff jab. Mitsuoka backed up and stumbled around the cage with hands down and head pointed to the ground.

He tried to slow things down by shooting for a takedown. Gomi stayed patient with a good, wide sprawl against the cage. He eventually transitioned to hip control. Mitsuoka was done. He turtled and took 20-plus shots before referee Leon Roberts saved him.

It's tough to crush Mitsuoka (18-8-1, 0-1 UFC) for gassing. He did take the fight on short notice when George Sotiropoulos had to bow out with an an injury. Yes, Mitsuoka is also Japanese, but a win from the bigger-name fighter here was huge. Gomi (33-6-1) is now 2-3 in the UFC.

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Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/ufc-144-upset-kid-yamamoto-falls-again-022925420.html

Yoshihiro Akiyama  Gilbert Aldana  José Aldo  John Alessio  Houston Alexander