UFC 141 Results: Alexander Gustafsson Knocks Out Vladimir Matyushenko

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Alexander Gustafsson Knocks Out Vladimir Matyushenko at UFC 141.Alexander Gustafsson showed why so many people consider him one of the best young light heavyweights in the world on Friday night, knocking out Vladimir Matyushenko in the first round of their UFC 141 fight.

As Matyushenko was charging in, Gustafsson landed a perfect left jab that leveled Matyushenko, then pounced on him and landed several more punches on the ground before referee Yves Lavigne stepped in to stop the fight.

The fight lasted just 2 minutes, 13 seconds.

"He's a good fighter, I look up to him, but I got the knockout," Gustafsson said afterward. "It was a good punch. It was my day to day. It was my dream to fight in Las Vegas and it was the biggest win of my life."

The 24-year-old Gustafsson is now 13-1 in his MMA career, and he has a good chance of becoming a title contender in the light heavyweight division. Gustafsson has room to get bigger, stronger and better, but he's already plenty good. Matyushenko found that out the hard way.

 

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Source: http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/12/30/ufc-141-alexander-gustafsson-knocks-out-vladimir-matyushenko/

Tank Abbott Hiroyuki Abe Cyril Abidi  Daniel Acacio Bernard Ackah 

Strikeforce picks, Vegas-style: Finding underdog value

Tonight's Strikeforce card features plenty of bouts with sizable favorites, but don't be fooled that these are uncompetitive bouts. Strikeforce cards aren't as well researched as UFC events so the public is going lean even more heavily on the few names they're familiar with.

We haven't come across a person that gives Hiroki Yasmanka any shot in her fight for the Strikeforce 145-pound title against the returning Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos. At minus-1500 the fight is a total stay away.

Strikeforce picks, Vegas-style: Finding underdog value

The main event deserves a second look. Jorge Masvidal is long with a solid striking game. If it doesn't go to the mat, Masvidal can certainly stay in the fight as a plus-250 underdog. The strongest underdog plays look like Billy Evangelista and Caros Fodor.

Evangelista (+215) battles KJ Noons. How much wear is gone from Noons' tires? He took a beating in his last fight against Masvidal and before that went five hard rounds against a welterweight in Nick Diaz.  Wilcox and Fodor are hot as pistols coming into their clash. "The Silverback" Wilcox has been more a decision fight. Fodor's solid kicking game gives him a shot to pull off a finish.

Strikeforce betting odds:

Best bets in bold

Gilbert Melendez (-300) vs. Jorge Masvidal (+250) - Lightweight

Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos (-1500) vs.  Hiroko Yamanaka (+1000) - Women's Featherweight

Gegard Mousasi (-270) vs. Ovince St. Preux (+230)  - Light heavyweight

KJ Noons (-255)  vs. Billy Evangelista (+215) - Lightweight

Roger Bowling (-400) vs. Jerron Peoples (+325) - Catchweight 179 pounds

Caros Fodor (+135) v. Justin Wilcox (-155) - Welterweight

Devin Cole (-160) vs.  Gabriel Salinas-Jones (+140) - Heavyweight

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Strikeforce-picks-Vegas-style-Finding-underdog?urn=mma-wp10843

Yoji Anjo  Tank Abbott Hiroyuki Abe Cyril Abidi  Daniel Acacio

Johny Hendricks Knocks Out Jon Fitch

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Johny Hendricks Knocks Out Jon Fitch at UFC 141.The unthinkable has happened: Jon Fitch has been finished. And it took Johny Hendricks only 12 seconds to do it on Friday night at UFC 141.

Hendricks landed a huge left hand to Fitch's jaw that had Fitch falling straight backward, with his head bouncing off the canvas. Hendricks pounced and landed one more huge punch on the ground before referee Steve Mazzagatti stepped in to stop the fight.

It was a stunning upset victory voer Hendricks, who improves to 12-1 and earns by far the biggest win of his MMA career.



"I have a left hand," Hendricks said. "Everybody's been counting me out. I knew if I hit him with it I could lay him out."

Fitch, who falls to 23-4-1, had never been finished in the UFC and hadn't been finished in any promotion since 2002. Fitch has long been regarded as the No. 2 welterweight in the world behind Georges St. Pierre, but now there's a new kid on the block: Hendricks, who improves to 12-1, is for real.

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Source: http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/12/30/johny-hendricks-knocks-out-jon-fitch/

Daniel Acacio Bernard Ackah  Terrance Aflague Yoshihiro Akiyama  Gilbert Aldana 

Gegard Mousasi grinds out Strikeforce win

Gegard Mousasi grinds out Strikeforce win

Former Strikeforce light heavyweight champ Gegard Mousasi got his first Strikeforce win since losing the title with a decision over up-and-comer Ovince St. Preux in San Diego on Saturday night. Mousasi took it 29-28 on all three judges cards.

The first round started slowly, with both fighters using kicks to feel each other out. Mousasi caught a St. Preux kick to take him down and control him on the ground. Mousasi used short elbows and striking to damage OSP. Late in the round, Mousasi tried for a Kimura, but OSP rolled out and got top position for a moment. Mousasi again took control, putting OSP in a crucifix position to finish out the round.

Mousasi took over early in the second round, taking OSP down and pounding him out. After Mousasi worked in this position for more than half the round, the referee stood them up. OSP tried for a knee, but Mousasi caught it for a takedown, but then OSP took top position after hitting a switch.

With OSP behind going into the third round, he took Mousasi down and moved to side control. OSP moved to full mount, rode Mousasi out when he tried to escape and then landed several strikes. Mousasi escaped, and awkwardly took OSP across the cage as he took him down. From there, the two exchanged position several times. OSP tried to finish the fight with a choke, but he wasn't able to finish.

Fight stats showed that Mousasi led OSP 52-3 in power strikes, and that he was much more effective in ground striking. Mousasi has three wins in DREAM and a draw with Keith Jardine in Strikeforce over the past two years, and is now 32-3-2. OSP, who played football for the University of Tennessee, is now 11-5.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Gegard-Mousasi-grinds-out-Strikeforce-win?urn=mma-wp10857

Andre Amade  Dean Amasinger  Jimmy Ambriz Matt Andersen  Alex Andrade 

UFC 141 picks, Vegas-style: Timing is everything if you?re betting Lesnar vs. Overeem

UFC 141 picks, Vegas-style: Timing is everything if you?re betting Lesnar vs. OvereemLAS VEGAS - If you're batty for Brock Lesnar tonight against Alistair Overeem you may have missed your chance to get the former UFC heavyweight champ at his best betting number.

Lesnar has been a decent-sized underdog all week. Now that the casual fans are starting to fire on the main event at UFC 141, the fight has become a near even call.

Overeem was as high as minus-160 earlier this week. At the MGM, a few hours before the fight goes down, Overeem is now just minus-125 on the Las Vegas strip.

Listen here for picks on the top fights at UFC 141 with Yahoo! Sports' Kevin Iole, Frank Trigg and myself.

UFC 141 betting odds:

Best bets in bold

?Brock Lesnar (+105) vs. Alistair Overeem (-125) - Heavyweight
Alexander Gustafsson (-350) vs. Vladimir Matyushenko (+290) - Light heavyweight
Nate Diaz (+245) vs. Donald Cerrone (-290) - Lightweight
Jon Fitch (-240) vs. Johny Hendricks (+200) - Welterweight
Dong Hyun Kim(-400) vs. Sean Pierson (+325)
Nam Phan (-210) vs. Jim Hettes (+175) - Featherweight
Danny Castillo (-175) vs. Anthony Njokuani (+155) - Lightweight
Ross Pearson (-340) vs. Junior Assuncao (+280) - Featherweight
Efrain Escudero (+235) vs. Jacob Volkmann (-275) - Lightweight
Matthew Riddle (-155) vs. Luis Ramos (+135) - Welterweight
Manny Gamburyan (+225) vs. Diego Nunes (-275) - Featherweight

Other popular stories on Yahoo! Sports:
? The usual rules don't apply to UFC's Brock Lesnar
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? Teen, a brain-tumor survivor, reportedly attacked at hockey game

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/UFC-141-picks-Vegas-style-Timing-is-everything?urn=mma-wp11285

Tank Abbott Hiroyuki Abe Cyril Abidi  Daniel Acacio Bernard Ackah 

Look out featherweights, neophyte Jimy Hettes crushes Nam Phan at UFC 141

Look out featherweights, neophyte Jimy Hettes crushes Nam Phan at UFC 141

LAS VEGAS - The UFC must have a lot of faith in Jimy Hettes because it rolled the dice by putting the 24-year-old on the pay-per-view portion of UFC 141. Hettes made the bosses look smart by putting on a three-round exhibition of grappling, takedowns, submissions, and ground and pound on his way to an easy win over Nam Phan, 30-25, 30-25 and 30-26.

Hettes, 24, only had one UFC fight under his belt and he was taking on a grizzled veteran of the sport in Phan. He came out strong with takedowns 16 and 35 seconds into the fight. From there, Hettes used trip takedowns and judo throws to dump Phan (17-10, 1-2 UFC) on his head whenever he wanted.

"I'm very happy right now. Whether it was 10-8 or 10-9 or if he was winning, he's such a tough competitor, so every second I had to be going forward. Just making sure I didn't let him get on the offensive," said Hettes.

On the ground, Hettes (11-0, 2-0 UFC) shifted between working for submissions and pounding away at Phan's head was super accurate punches.

Look out featherweights, neophyte Jimy Hettes crushes Nam Phan at UFC 141

"I was working on keeping him down on the ground. Everyone knows I'm a submission specialist, so it just added a whole other aspect to my game," said Hettes.

Phan has been very competitive in four fights under the Zuffa banner. The severity of tonight's loss was shocking. Phan entered the fight as a minus-225 favorite.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Look-out-featherweights-neophyte-Jimy-Hettes-cr?urn=mma-wp11334

Jermaine Andrè  Yoji Anjo  Tank Abbott Hiroyuki Abe Cyril Abidi 

Jake Hecht Faces T.J. Waldburger at UFC on FX 2 in Australia

After successfully making his Octagon debut earlier this month at UFC 140, Jake Hecht will return to action against T.J. Waldburger in a welterweight matchup at UFC on FX 2, which airs live on FX on Friday, March 2 from Sydney, Australia, Hecht recently announced on Twitter.

Source: http://mmafrenzy.com/27008/jake-hecht-faces-t-j-waldburger-at-ufc-on-fx-2-in-australia/

Jimmy Ambriz Matt Andersen  Alex Andrade  Jermaine Andrè  Yoji AnjoÂ