Josh Perez Fitness

Heavyweights: Andrei Arlovski (14-5) def. Jake O’Brien (10-1)
Finish: TKO, 4:17 of the second round
Key Moment/Turning point: Arlovski scored a trip in the clinch and opened up a ferocious ground and pound assault.
Analysis: The UFC did everything it could to bury the popular former UFC heavyweight champion in the final fight of his contract. They put Arlovski on the non-televised undercard, matched him against human blanket O’Brien, and even angled the pre-fight video to focus on O’Brien. O’Brien was the aggressor in the opening round and won the round, getting stuffed on his first three takedown attempts but finally hitting on the third and scoring with several punches and elbows. The second was more of the same until Arlovski scored the trip. Soon thereafter, he unleashed the fistic power that made him a fan favorite and the fight was called to a halt.

Welterweights: Luigi Fiorvanti (13-3) def. Luke Cummo (9-5)
Finish: Unanimous decision by straight scores of 30-27
Y! Sports score: 30-27, Fiorvanti
Key moment/turning point: Not any specific moment, but the story of the fight was Cummo’s inability to stop Fiorvanti’s takedowns.
Analysis: Cummo had little chance to show his stand-up in what ended up as a wrestling match with light ground and pound. Cummo never got started and at best was successful in not taking any serious damage while being overpowered.
Welterweights: Josh Koscheck (10-2) def. Dustin Hazelett (10-4)
FInish: TKO, 1:24 of the second round
Key Moment/Turning point: Koscheck nailed Hazelett with a bull’s-eye of a high left kick that connected behind the ear, then finished the fight seconds later.
Analysis: In the final fight of his UFC contract, the former Ultimate Fighter 1 standout scored a big win in a tremendous match. Hazelett won an action-packed first round, opening things with a high kick which rocked Koscheck back to the fence and following up with a knee. The two stood and traded for much of the round. Hazelett cinched a standing guillotine and scissored Koscheck around the waist, but Koscheck managed to pop out. In the second the two were standing and trading again when Koscheck drilled Hazelett with the kick. Hazelett tried to get back to his feet, but Koscheck pounced and landed five punches before Herb Dean stopped the fight. Though Hazelett got caught, his performance against a fighter of Koscheck’s caliber should up his stock in the pecking order.
Mark Coleman became the fifth inductee into the UFC Hall of Fame in a ceremony held between matches. Coleman, an NCAA champion and All-American wrestler at Ohio State, also competed on the 1992 U.S. Olympic team. Coleman won the UFC 11 and UFC 12 tournaments before defeating Dan Severn to win the UFC heavyweight title. He then went on to PRIDE and became the first Grand Prix tournament champion.
Dubbed the “Godfather of Ground and Pound” by Joe Rogan, Coleman joins Royce Gracie, Randy Couture, Dan Severn and Ken Shamrock in the Hall.

“I’m overwhelmed, this is unbelievable,” said Coleman, who was visibily emotional after a montage of his career highlights aired on the big screen.

Welterweights: Diego Sanchez (20-2) def. David Bielkheden (12-6)
Finish: Sanchez won via punches from the mount at 4:43 of the first round.
Turning point/analyis: Sanchez took Bielkheden down at the ouset and dominated.
Analysis: Sanchez exploded out of the blocks with a takedown and dominated from start to finish, working for a Kimura at one point, before using it to get full mount. From there he pounded Bielkheden out.
Lightweights: Jorge Gurgel (12-3) def. John Halverson (16-6), unanimous decision
Judges’ scores: 29-28, 29-28, 30-27
Y! Sports score: 30-27, Gurgel
Key Moment/Turning point: Halverson got hit with an accidental kick to the groin at the start of the second round and then lost the round in a one-sided manner.
Analysis: A much-needed win for the popular Gurgel coming off a terrible loss to Alvin Robinson at UFC 77. Not much doing in round 1, in which Gurgel kept Halverson at bay with sharp leg kicks. Gurgel drilled Halverson in the groin early in the second round. The fight hit the ground and Gurgel unleashed a ground-and-pound onslaught which most referees would have stopped. But Halverson stuck with it. Halverson came out swinging in the third round, but Gurgel took the fight to the ground again and dominated the bulk of the rest of the round in Halverson’s guard. Halverson dropped to 0-2 in the UFC, having lost to Roger Huerta in 19 seconds at UFC 67.