Long-awaited rematch of disputed fight
MONTREAL – Mauricio “Shogun” Rua made certain there was no controversy this time around, taking the Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight title from Lyoto Machida with a devastating first-round knockout Saturday at the Bell Centre in the main event of UFC 113.
Mauricio "Shogun" Rua atoned for his loss to Lyoto Machida at UFC 104.
(Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images)
Machida, who won a highly controversial decision at UFC 104 in October, missed a right hand to start the closing sequence. Rua landed a grazing right and the two went down. Rua then landed a crushing right from the top that closed Machida’s eye and essentially ended the fight.
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Rua landed several more blows before referee Yves Lavigne mercifully stopped the bout.
The fight was fought on even terms until the final sequence. Machida had two takedowns and Rua had landed several hard kicks.
On the undercard, Josh Koscheck outwrestled Paul Daley in a lackluster welterweight fight that was more notable for post-fight antics. Koscheck won a 30-27 decision and earned the right to fight welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre in December. The UFC had announced on Friday that the winner of the Koscheck-Daley fight would coach opposite St. Pierre in “The Ultimate Fighter 12.”
Daley, who is a power puncher, had no answer for Koscheck’s superior wrestling skills. Koscheck repeatedly took him down and while he didn’t do much damage, he easily controlled the fight and nullified Daley’s punching power.
After the fight, Daley walked over to Koscheck, who shooed him away. Daley then threw a punch at him, forcing referee Dan Miragliotta to step in. UFC president Dana White entered the cage and berated Daley for his actions.
The large and vocal crowd did not like the fight and booed lustily throughout. It frequently chanted obscenities at Koscheck, but the fighter upped the ante by ripping into the hometown Montreal Canadiens of the NHL.
In a battle between two of the UFC’s most exciting lightweights, Jeremy Stephens slugged his way to a split-decision victory over Sam Stout. Judge Pasquale Procopio had it 30-27 and judge David Therien had it 29-28, both for Stephens. Judge Tony Weeks had it 29-28 for Stout. Yahoo! Sports had it 29-28 for Stephens.
The fight was fought on very even terms and both fighters left the cage bleeding from the nose and mouth, but Stephens seemed to have a little more power on his punches, and that might have been the difference.
Stout nearly rallied to win late in the third. He kicked Stephens, which Stephens thought was a low blow. Stephens grimaced and began to walk away, expecting referee Mario Yamasaki to halt the action.
But Yamasaki ruled it was a legal kick. Stout followed with several punches that put Stephens down, but Stephens did a good job of defending himself from his back.
Matt Mitrione scored a big victory over his much more well-known castmate from Season 10 of “The Ultimate Fighter” when he beat up Kimbo Slice and stopped him at 4:24 of the second round in a one-sided heavyweight fight.
The fight wasn’t the standup battle that many expected. In the first round, Mitrione and Slice were rolling around the ring. Mitrione nearly submitted Slice with a triangle choke, then later he worked for several other submissions, none of which got close.
“It was tight,” Mitrione said of the triangle. “I thought I had him, but then Kimbo put his thumb in my eye. Even the ref saw it.”
He was working Slice’s legs over in the second with leg kicks and it was clear that Slice did not appreciate the kicks and was unable to check them. He was backing away from Mitrione and trying to hide his lead leg.
Mitrione took him down and got a dominant position and pounded on him until Miragliotta stopped it.
“I feel like I softened him with those legs kicks and then when he went for that shot, I took him down,” Mitrione said.
Alan Belcher continued his nice run in the middleweight division by catching Patrick Cote in a rear naked choke and scoring a submission at 3:25 of the second.
Belcher slammed Cote face first into the mat just before the choke. Cote and his camp complained that it was a spike and should have been against the rules, but replays showed that Cote’s face hit first and not the top of his head. Had he come down on top of his head, it would have been an illegal move.
After the bout, Belcher called out UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva.
“I feel like I’ve won five in a row,” Belcher said. “I won that [Yoshihiro] Akiyama figh
All season long, the "American Idol" judges have harped on how important it is for the contestants to come across as "current" and "relevant." But then they've made the contestants warble decades-old songs by Elvis, the Stones, and now, this week, Frank Sinatra. Perhaps the judges have been hoping for a "wow" cover-song moment as we'd seen in past seasons, like when Blake Lewis beatboxed Bon Jovi, David Cook roughed up Lionel Richie, Adam Lambert radically remade Johnny Cash, or Kris Allen took on Kanye West. But such moments have been frustratingly few and far between in Season 9. And they were even fewer and farther on this Tuesday's Sinatra-themed show, since the top five contestants--who arguably aren't quite up to par with the aforementioned Idols to begin with--weren't even allowed to play guitar. Frontrunners Lee DeWyze, Crystal Bowersox, and Casey James have all been quite guitar-dependent throughout this season, so this restriction hindered them greatly (especially in Casey's case). But more importantly, such instrumentation may have helped the contestants bring Sinatra's old-fashioned tunes into the 21st century, so it's too bad that wasn't an option.
Well, honestly, Harry was perhaps the best mentor of the entire season, giving some solid advice, showing way more personality than most of the contestants combined, and taking a much more hands-on approach: He even played with the band and orchestrated all the musical arrangements. I bet past mentor Miley Cyrus never did that! But despite Harry's valiant efforts, the "Ol' Blue Eyes" theme still made for a rather boring ol' episode. It made me wish last week's castoff, Siobhan Magnus, was still around to do her promised version of Sid Vicious's "My Way." Oh well. As Sinatra himself once said, that's life.
Aaron Kelly - Young, geeky Aaron had his work cut out for him trying to recapture the smoothness and swagger of Chairman of the Board, and most of the time he was more like Chairman of the Bored. But, as always, he gave it his all during "Fly Me to the Moon"--like a merit-badge-bedecked Boy Scout, Aaron always tries his best. And he almost always delivers a pitch-perfect (if not particularly exciting) vocal, and this night was no exception. "Beautiful vocals!" raved Ellen DeGeneres. "You pulled that off!" declared a relieved and pleasantly surprised Randy Jackson. Simon, a huge Frank fan, was less thrilled--"If Sinatra was a lion, you were just a mouse," he told Aaron flatly--but he did point out Aaron's likability factor. "People like you after you perform, because you do try hard, and I'm going to give you that," Simon admitted. Will likability be enough to keep Aaron in the competition another week? We shall see.
Casey James - This season's blues-guitar heartthrob sang "Blue Skies," but after this, his "Idol" forecast looks bleak and gray. Casey is the most guitar-reliant contestant of Season 9, and perhaps of all nine seasons of "Idol"--the man and his six-string are rarely seen apart. So having to perform this week sans axe was clearly a major struggle for him. He looked awkward and "embarrassed," according to Simon; sounded like a "bleating lamb," according to Kara DioGuardi; exhibited no swagger and seemed downright uncool, according to Ellen; and somehow managed to make the orchestra sound out of tune, according to Randy. The judges were all right in their assessments. Randy was also right when he declared this to be Casey's worst performance of the season. I think Casey even agreed with the judges; he chuckled sheepishly at their comments and hardly protested. He just seemed antsy, like he was ready to rush backstage and pick up his guitar again. Sadly, Casey's lack of guitar revealed all his shortcomings, and I'm afraid this song might have been his surprisingly early undoing. On the bright side, Casey told Ryan Seacrest some dude in his local band back home offered him a $50 club gig, and next week, Casey--with guitar firmly in hand--may be available to accept that booking. Ouch.
Crystal Bowersox - This season's one remaining quirky girl was also very out of her element, all dolled up with an unnecessarily fussy pageant hairdo and mermaid prom dress (although her single dreamcatcher feather earring was a nice granola-girl touch). She definitely fared better than Casey--her voice sounded pristine and not at all like, er, livestock--but her version of "Summer Wind" was hardly her best effort to date. It was "just all right for me," to borrow a Randy turn of phrase. Randy himself used one of his other pet phrases and called her performance "a little sleepy." Ellen thought Crystal needed to loosen up more. And Crystal's biggest supporter, Simon, told her, "You've had two okay weeks now. Now it's about being in it to win it. I expect better." I expect more from her, too--especially at this late a stage in the game.
Michael Lynche - Sometimes Big Mike comes off as old-fashioned and theatrical, but on Sinatra Night, such tendencies were big advantages--not drawbacks. Michael was clearly comfortable with this theme, dressed in a smart suit and Timberlakian fedora as he smoothly and seductively crooned "The Way You Look Tonight." He seemed primed to go into the studio and record an album of standards with Harry Connick Jr. tomorrow--and if he did, it'd probably sell. "Mike is in it to win it! This is what it's about! You threw down the gauntlet tonight!" Randy howled with delight. "You did everything right!" Kara concurred. And even Simon--never an easy man to please, but especially critical on a night dedicated to his favorite singer--was impressed. "The first three performances have been okay, and now, with you, that's all changed," said Simon, adding, "You've put yourself back in the game." Sinatra Night couldn't have come at a better time for this often-at-risk contestant.
Lee DeWyze - Rocker Lee sang "That's Life," a song once smarmily and charmingly covered by David Lee Roth. And while Lee didn't exactly demonstrate Diamond Dave-level showmanship, I was surprised by just how comfortable and confident he seemed onstage with Connick, who seemed to bring out Lee's best. Unlike his fellow rock dude Casey, Lee didn't seem at all lost without his guitar, in a suit, and singing such grandma-friendly material, and his gruff vocal delivery did actually make "That's Life" seem a little modern. This was far and away the best--and most "current," most "relevant"--performance of the night. (Simon said so, and he was right.) Said Randy, "You stayed your rocker self. Even though the band was playing, I could hear the guitar with it." Kara told him, "You can win this thing." And Ellen went so far as to say, "If this was the last night of performances, you would have just won this whole thing." I must say, there was a triumphant vibe in the air once Lee was done. It was an upbeat end to an otherwise dreary evening.
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Veteran pop singer Michael Bolton is known for his soft-rock ballads like "When A Man Loves A Woman" and covering Motown classics, but his latest album, One World, One Love, might better connect him with today's youth.
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