UFC 69: Serra Wins the Belt, Koscheck Victorious

Wow what a night, I am still speechless…

The tone of the evening was set right off the bat when ‘The Ultimate Fighter III’ champion, Kendall Grove, came out early and set a frantic pace going after Alan Belcher with knees, punches and kicks. The majority of the fight was spent on the feet but it did hit the canvas in the second round and that proved to be costly for Mr. Belcher. Grove was able to lock in a modified choke that left Belcher unconscious.

Mike Swick and Yushin Okami locked horns in the second bout of the night. Okami controlled the first gaining the body lock and moments later the takedown. He worked his ground and pound for the majority of the first putting Swick in a world of trouble. In between rounds Swick told his corner that Okami was too strong.

The second was a lot like the first but there was one key difference, Swick ended the round with a huge flurry that had Okami rocked. Luckily Okami survived the barrage of punches from Swick earning himself a ticket to the third. With both fighters taking a round a piece, Okami came out in the third and imposed his will. Besides an early flurry from Swick, the round was all Okami. He mounted Swick and rained down blows from the top for what seemed like an eternity. Late in the round Swick was able to reverse position but it wasn’t enough as Okami was declared the winner by unanimous decision.

After the Okami-Swick fight, UFC president Dana White entered the octagon to announce the signing of former PRIDE heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

Roger Huerta continued his climb up the lightweight rankings tonight as he dispatched of tough lightweight Leonard Garcia. Both fighters were game as they met in the middle of the octagon and exchange bombs for 15 minutes. Huerta overwhelmed Garcia on the feet and canvas with punches and elbows. Garcia showed a great deal of heart fighting through Huerta’s onslaught but it was never enough as he was dominated for three rounds. I’d like to see Huerta vs. Edgar on an upcoming card.

Josh Koscheck provided Diego Sanchez with his first career loss as he controlled the fight for the full 15 minutes. Koscheck looked sharp landing his overhand right at will. Koscheck’s striking looked great as he incorporated kicks with his punches avoiding any offense from Sanchez. In what was a surprise to many, the fight only hit the floor once and that was late in the first round when Koscheck slammed his counterpart Sanchez to the canvas.

Finally the fight that left me speechless, Matt Serra vs. Georges St. Pierre. Serra looked great firing off hard combinations to the body and head as he took the fight to St. Pierre early. Besides a few missed head kicks St. Pierre did next to nothing before eventually being caught by a hard flurry from Serra. Serra followed St. Pierre to the canvas where he mounted him out and pounded him out. John McCarthy jumped in to stop the fight declaring Matt Serra the new UFC welterweight champion.

In undercard action Luke Cummo dominated Josh Haynes earning a KO victory early in the second round. Marcus Davis showcased his grappling skills as he tapped Spratt out with an ankle lock. Thales Leites return to the octagon and this time it was in impressive fashion as he dominated Sell for three rounds earning the unanimous decision victory. Heath Herring set the record straight dominating Brad Imes for three rounds to earn his first UFC victory.

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