UFC 76: Knockout PPV Results

My apologies these weren't posted earlier - big PPV party for UFC and more people showed up than I expected. Needless to say you were probably watching UFC 76 live just like I was but for historical purposes or those who missed it here are all the results from tonight. Thanks to www.Sherdog.com for their help with the scoring in the decision fights.

Thiago Tavares vs. Tyson Griffin
Griffin leads in R1, avoiding all of Tavares' submission attempts with seeming ease and landing big strikes when Tavares had him in guard. R2 was more dangerous for Griffin as Tavares got his back and nearly had the RNC but Griffin escaped and got the mount on the ground. Some straight up pro wrestling action as Tavares gets his back again so Griffin just hurks up and jumps backwards to slam him into the canvas. Tavares probably wins the round for all the attempts. In R3 Griffin continued to escape all submission attempts but Griffin more easily escaped Tavares who now appeared to be gassing from all the attempts. Tavares wanted a leg lock at the end but ran out of time. The judges score it 29-28 (twice) and 30-27, all for WINNER BY UNANIMOUS DECISION: Tyson Griffin.

Kazuhiro Nakamura vs. Lyoto Machida
Nakamura had a ceremonial Japanese umbrella over his head on his way to the ring, which definitely started this fight on a weird note. A round by round breakdown is not really necessary here because Machida dominated him from the opening body kick to the closing punches and knees. Nakamura is a gamer for surviving the onslaught and Machida looks a little weak for not being able to finish him, but there's no question about the decision. All three judges scored it 30-27 for the WINNER BY UNANIMOUS DECISION: LYOTO MACHIDA.

Diego 'Nightmare' Sanchez vs. Jon Fitch
Sanchez was hoping to explode right out of the gate a la Randy Couture and Tim Sylvia, but Fitch ate the right hand and stuffed the takedown with ease. Fitch had more strikes, Sanchez had more takedown attempts, but the fact Fitch got a takedown during the round probably gave him a slight edge on the scoring. R2 was more ineffective action from Sanchez with him looking for submissions but Fitch answering with strikes and hammer fists. More clearly Fitch's round than the first. R3 is as close as Sanchez comes to finishing the fight as he tries to sink in a tight guillotine from guard, but Fitch survives and Sanchez expends way too much energy in the process. Fitch kept Sanchez grounded for most of the rest of the round but Sanchez got a triangle attempt late that also failed. R3 probably scored for Sanchez but this was a close fight throughout that could ultimately have gone either way. Not surprisingly the judges end up with a split decision of 30-27, 29-28 for Fitch and 29-28 for Sanchez. JON FITCH WINS VIA SPLIT DECISION.

Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua vs. Forrest Griffin
This one probably surprised all the experts but after hearing Griffin's comments during the UFC 74 Q&A I was not that shocked at all. Forrest stuffed numerous takedown and submission attempts throughout the fight and scored his own takedowns with ease, not to mention scoring with strikes whenever he let Rua back up. Rua seemed to gas in round two and it cost him in round three as Griffin sunk in an omaplata, peppered Rua with punches, and when Rua gave up his back Griffin sank in a choke. FORREST GRIFFIN WINS VIA SUBMISSION (RNC) AT 4:45 OF R3.

'The Iceman' Chuck Liddell vs. Keith 'The Dean of Mean' Jardine
This was one of the strangest fights I've ever seen. If you looked at Jardine's face you might have thought Liddell won, as he bloodied him up on both sides. If you looked at Liddell's sides or legs you might have thought Jardine won, since he was getting leg kicks repeatedly. What probably swung the momentum in Jardine's favor was the fact he was dodging all of Liddell's big overhand strikes and answering with a leg kick or a left nearly every time. When it goes to the judges scorecard two see it 29-28 for Jardine and one sees it 29-28 for Liddell. WINNER BY SPLIT DECISION: KEITH JARDINE. I'm not happy with the decision but I really can't argue with it - Jardine controlled the fight and outstruck The Iceman. Either Liddell's gameplan for this fight was all wrong or Jardine was the superior fighter tonight - take your pick.

Since all of the fights went the distance and the one that didn't was only 15 seconds from going the distance anyway, no dark matches were shown. The PPV went off the air with three minutes to go before the top of the hour. Good UFC for fight fans but some casual fans might have been upset by the lack of big knockouts or finishes and a few fan favorites losing, although many will have been pleased by Forrest Griffin's improved striking and takedown defense in the win.