UFC 81 Re-cap

In his first fight since a July 2007 loss to middleweight champ Anderson Silva, Nate Marquardt (26-7-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) looked sharp as he controlled veteran Jeremy Horn (79-17-5 MMA, 6-5 UFC) throughout the first round, scoring big punches from inside his opponent’s guard. Marquardt’s only real danger came toward the end of the first round, when Horn secured an arm and nearly forced a tap-out via omoplata.

However, after Horn took him down early in the second round, Marquardt quickly returned to his feet and sunk in a standing guillotine choke. Feeling the effect of choke with the the additional neck crank, Horn was forced to tap out — for only the third time in his past 42 fights (a stretch of seven years).

Although he ended the fight via submission, Marquardt did a lot of damage with his striking. He peppered Horn with a series of punches and then cracked him with a knee to the head halfway through the first round.

For Marquardt, a member of the resilient Team Jackson, it was his sixth win in his past even fights — and a big step toward another shot at the middleweight title.

Ricardo Almeida (9-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC) showed no ill effects from a nearly four-year layoff as he quickly disposed of UFC newcomer Rob Yundt (6-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC).

Yundt, a veteran of the Alaskan Fighting Championship, filled in for Alan Belcher (bronchitis) on just three days’ notice, and he just wasn’t prepared for Almedia, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu whiz. Yundt appeared to sting his opponent with an early uppercut, but Almeida threw a body punch and then scored a quick takedown. After whiffing on an elbow strike, Almeida then locked in a guillotine choke. Yundt tried to slam his way out of it — actually doing a full front flip in the process — but Almeida wouldn’t break the hold.

Yundt was forced to tap out just 68 seconds into the first round.

Tyson Griffin (11-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) pushed the pace and continually looked for the knockout punch, but in the end, he had to settle for the shutout unanimous-decision victory over Gleison Tibau (15-5 MMA, 3-2 UFC).

Griffin wanted to keep the fight standing, and he used leg and body kicks to tag Tibau to set up punches to the head and body. Tibau continually scored takedowns throughout the fight, but Griffin easily escaped before any damage was done.

Perhaps used to Griffin’s consistent fight-of-the-night performances, the crowd actually booed the decision, prompting the youngster to apologize for the performance — despite winning 30-27 on all three judges’ scorecards. The victory also snapped Tibau’s three-fight win streak in the UFC.

PRELIMINARY FIGHTS

Longtime fighter and professional boxer Chris Lytle (25-15-5 MMA, 4-7 UFC) made short work of newcomer Kyle Bradley (13-5 MMA, 0-1 UFC), who managed to fire off just one punch. Lytle countered with a jab and a series of hooks before his opponent tumbled to the canvas for a knockout loss just 33 seconds into the first round.

UFC newcomer and former IFL fighter Tim Boetsch (7-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) made the most of his opportunity in the UFC and delivered fellow light heavyweight David Heath (7-3 MMA, 2-3 UFC) his third consecutive loss. Boetsch set the tempo in the first round, showing phenomenal balance as he frustrated Heath with straight kicks and body punches. Eventually, though, he used the Thai clinch and a knee to the face to score the TKO victory at 4:52 of the first round.

One of the sport’s hardest-working men finally got his first UFC win as Chicago-area prison guard Marvin Eastman outscored Terry Martin (16-4 MMA, 2-4 UFC). Expected to be a slugfest, the pace of the fight was at times gruesome as both fighters continually clinched and waited for the referee to separate them. In the end, though, Eastman took it by scores of 30-27, 29-28 and 30-27.

“The Ultimate Fighter 5” cast member Rob Emerson (7-6 MMA, 1-0 UFC) registered his first career UFC win by registering a close split-decision victory over Keita Nakamura (14-3-2 MMA, 0-3 UFC). Two refs had it 30-27 for Emerson, and the third had it 29-28 for Nakamura. With his third straight defeat in the UFC, Nakamura is unlikely to compete in the organization again anytime soon.