Live results and commentary for tonight’s “UFC 133: Evans vs. Ortiz”
PHILADELPHIA, Pa — HeavyMMA.com is on the scene and reporting from tonight’s “UFC 133: Evans vs. Ortiz” card in Philadelphia tonight.
The pay-per-view event features a light heavyweight rematch between former champions Rashad Evans and Tito Ortiz in a bout that is critical to each man’s career. In the co-main event, former middleweight top contender Vitor Belfort looks for redemption after a loss to Anderson Silva earlier this year, as he faces off against Yoshihiro Akiyama, a middleweight desperate for a victory.
Rounding out the main card, Brian Ebersole returns after his upset victory over Chris Lytle to take on veteran Dennis Hallman, Jorge Rivera and Constantinos Philippou meet at the 185 lb. mark, and prospect Rory MacDonald looks to defeat veteran Mike Pyle.
Join HeavyMMA.com beginning at 6 p.m. ET for live preliminary card updates and continue following for round-by-round updates from the main card, which starts at 9 p.m. ET.
PRELIMINARY CARD
Paul Bradley vs. Rafael Natal
To kick off the action in Philly, middleweights Natal and Bradley did battle for all three rounds. The story of the first was Natal’s stiff jab and leg kicks, along with Bradley’s inability to get the fight to the floor. But, in the second round, Bradley managed to even up the scorecards with an early takedown, followed by a late one, though Natal’s striking in the second frame continued to wear him down.
In the third and final round, Bradley looked for the early takedown again, but failed to get it. He continued to attempt the takedown time after time, but just could not seem to complete any attempts.By the 2:00, Natal was outclassing his opponent on the feet in a big way, scoring at will. Bradley finally did score a takedown with just over one minute to go, but could not keep his opponent down. The remaining moments mirrored the rest of the round, as Natal cruised his way to a unanimous decision win.
Official Decision: Natal def. Bradley via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Mike Brown vs. Nam Phan
Phan did well to avoid the takedown from former WEC champion Brown early in the first round, but when he finally did get taken down, it was a long time before he got back up. Brown got ahold of his opponent, dragged him to the ground, and took his back. While Phan defended his legs from Brown’s hooks, his opponent locked down one arm, making it difficult to block punches. Brown pounded away for the majority of the rest of the round, easily winning the frame.
Brown looked for a takedown early in the second, while Phan desperately attempted to avoid the ground game. Phan began to open up on the feet and, except for a brief takedown, he certainly took the second round with his superior boxing. Brown looked to change that in the third, however, continously looking for takedowns. He scored one early, but failed to keep his opponent down. Meanwhile, Phan continued to find success in his boxing, though the former WEC champ did well to compete on the feet in a close third round featuring a lot of grinding between the two featherweights.
Official Decision: Brown def. Phan via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Johny Hendricks vs. Mike Pierce
For two experienced wrestlers, Pierce and Hendricks came out more than willing to exchange on the feet. The early first round featured a very loose Pierce land the better shots, while Hendricks opened up later, landing more shots and better shots. The second round was a bit different, however, as the two spent the majority of the time grindind and utilizing their wrestling, opting against the striking game for the most part. That is, until the two minute mark, when both fighters began throwing once again for well over a minute.
In the final round, Pierce came out looking for a takedown, but couldn’t get it, allowing Hendricks to utilize his knees and combinations. Pierce continued to attempt to lock down his opponent and did a good job of it, though Hendricks remained standing for the first half of the round. But a takedown just after the 2:30 mark left Pierce in a very favorable position. An illegal upkick triggered a break in the action, though only for a moment. Back on the feet, Hendricks looked to earn a takedown of his own with 30 seconds to go, but Pierce avoided the ground as the round came to a close.
Official Decision: Hendricks def. Pierce via split-decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Nick Pace vs. Ivan Menjivar
Longtime veteran Menjivar began the fight extremely loose and fast, doing a good job in the striking game. But a takedown halfway through the round, allowed Pace to completely turn things around. A few transitions led the 7-fight veteran to his opponent’s back, where he looked for a choke. Menjivar escaped the round, but he did not win it.
While Pace found success in the first, he found little to none in the first four minutes of the second. Menjivar simply dominated the striking game, landing big shots every now and then, while continuously landing nice, crisp combinations. But with one minute remaining, Pace earned a big takedown and landed several shots as the round came to a close.
In the final round, Menjivar once again found success striking early, clearly the better standup fighter. However, after several minutes of success, one knee from Pace damaged Menjivar. Pace began hunting his opponent down, while Menjivar continued to evade until the round came to a close.
Official Decision: Menjivar def. Pace via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Chad Mendes vs. Rani Yahya
Round 1 – Not much action early, as both fighters failing to land flush. Yahya shoots, but can’t score the takedown. Brief pause in the action after Mendes lands below the belt. Action resumes, and Mendes lands a leg kick. Both fighters trading, but nothing landing square. Mendes lands a nice hook, followed by a leg kick. Long takedown attempt by Yahya and he fails to earn it. Mendes scoring plenty of punches and kicks .Yahya looks to clinch, but gets thrown aside. Another shot misses for Yahya, followed by another, and Mendes throws him down. Flying knee lands for Mendes. Heavy.com scores the round 10-9 for Mendes.
Round 2 – Mendes slams Yahya to the ground to begin the second round, but they are quickly back up. Spinning back kick misses for Yahya. Another takedown. He stands up and calls his opponent back up. Yahya shoots from a long distance again, but Mendes slips out to avoid yet another takedown. Mendes lands two big shots, while his opponent barely misses with one of his own. Mendes avoids yet another takedown. They clinch, but push away quickly. Mendes dodges a combo and lands a leg kick as the second round comes to a close. Heavy.com scores the round 10-9 for Mendes.
Round 3: Mendes begins the third like the second, scoring a takedown. Yahya looking for the submission, but Mendes is staying calm on top. Not much action going on here, though Yahya is attempting to find a submission opening. Nice elbow lands for Mendes, who is finally finding a home for those. Yahya looking to isolate an arm, but Mendes escapes. They are back to the feet, but only briefly, as Mendes scores another takedown. Yahya escapes back to the feet and lands a nice shot that appears to stagger Mendes. Yahya is hunting Mendes down, but the Team Alpha Male fighter earns the takedown. 10 seconds left and Mendes flips over Yahya to take the back. Heavy.com scores the round 10-9 for Mendes.
Official Decision: Mendes def. Yahya via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Alexander Gustafsson vs. Matt Hamill
Round 1 – Hamill pressing forward early, but not scoring anything. Not much going on here. Nothing really at all, except for small shots from Hamill as Gustafsson circles away. Jab scores for Hamill. Gustafsson lands an uppercut, but misses with a superman punch. Leg kick lands for him, but Gustafsson presses forward, landing a combo. Hamill lands a jab. Gustafsson lands another nice combination. Hamill seems to be uncertain of what he wants to do here. He lunges with several shots, but falls short. Hamill lands a right, but eats a left hook in the process. Gustafsson bleeding from the side of his face. Leg kick misses for Hamill, and Gustafsson misses a combo to end the round. Heavy.com scores the round 10-9 for Gustafsson.
Round 2 – Hamill looks to close the distance early, but can’t keep the fight close. Gustafsson misses with a head kick, and now there is a brief pause in the action. Hamill clinches and is looking for the takedown, but once again he can’t get it. Gustafsson staying loose as he slams a vicious combination into the body and head of Hamill. He lands another combination, followed by a head kick. Superman punch comes up short, however. Hamill looks for another jab, but Gustafsson rushes forward with a vicious combo. An uppercut floors Hamill, and Gustafsson follows up with several more punches to stop the fight. Big victory for Gustafsson.
Official Decision: Gustafsson def. Hamill via technical knockout at 3:41 of Round 2
MAIN CARD RESULTS
Rory MacDonald vs. Mike Pyle
Round 1 – Touch of gloves to start this contest. Pyle looks to close in, but MacDonald throws him aside. MacDonald catches a kick and punches Pyle to the ground. Pyle is back up and looks for a takedown, and he gets it. MacDonald looks for the guillotine, but he lets it go. He works his way back up, but Pyle presses him against the cage. Pyle gets another takedown, but MacDonald is back up again. MacDonald scores another nice shot, followed by a guillotine attempt, but Pyle escapes. MacDonald landing kicks to the thigh of his downed opponent. He reenters guard with 1:45 remaining in the round. A big shot lands for him, and Pyle rolls away. MacDonald with several more big shots. Pyle is in big trouble. A few more punches and the referee stops the fight.
Official Decision: MacDonald def. Pyle via technical knockout at 3:54 of Round 1
Constantinos Philippou vs. Jorge Rivera
Round 1 – Touch of gloves to begin the second fight of the main card. Leg kick lands for Rivera, and then the two clinch. Philippou with the takedown. Rivera looking to stand up and he does so, but not without eating some big shots. They clinch against the cage, but the referee separates them. Philippou uses another combination to work towards the clinch. Rivera turns it around and is looking for a trip, but his opponent separates. Rivera lands a nice right hand and presses Philippou against the cage. Rivera with a left hook, but he eats a vicious uppercut. Philippou presses Rivera against the cage in the clinch as the round comes to a close. Heavy.com scores the round 10-9 for Philippou.
Round 2 – Rivera and Philippou begin the second exchanging, but nothing significant has landed yet. Philippou scores a big shot and follows his damaged opponent to the ground. He is pounding away, and the referee is warning Rivera. Rivera somehow recovers and transitions to the top. Up against the cage and Rivera is looking for the choke. He lets it go. Philippou pressing Rivera against the cage, but they separate. Philippou clinches again with his opponent against the cage. Not much action going on here. Rivera trips his opponent, but Philippou locks on an omoplata. He could get it if he postures up here. Instead he rolls to top position as the round comes to an end. Heavy.com scores the round 10-9 for Philippou.
Round 3 – Philippou lands a nice uppercut, but eats a knee. Rivera slips on a head kick attempt, but is back up to his feet. Right hand scores for Rivera, and they clinch against the cage. Left hook lands for Philippou, but Rivera lands a shot of his own. Philippou with a takedown. Rivera looking for a triangle, but it gets shaken off. Rivera is back to the feet and takes a knee to the stomach. They are up against the cage, but referee Mario Yamasaki separates them. Rivera looking for a choke here, but lets it go. Two minutes to go. Rivera trying to get Philippou all the way down, but can’t seem to do it. They are separated with 20 seconds remaining. Right hand lands for Rivera, who looks for the takedown, but ends up on bottom. Heavy.com scores the round 10-9 for Rivera.
Official Decision: Philippou def. Rivera via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Brian Ebersole vs. Dennis Hallman
Round 1 – Hallman immediately moves to Ebersole’s back and is looking for the hooks. It should be noted, Hallman is wearing a ridiculously intense speedo. Yes, a speedo. He has both hooks in now. Ebersole turns around and is on top, but Hallman has a guillotine choke. He lets it go. Ebersole drops a big elbow down on his opponent. Another elbow scores. Hammerfists land for Ebersole, who is landing a lot of shots. Elbows now, and Hallman is in trouble. Big shots from the top. Another right hand lands, and the fight has been stopped.
Official Decision: Ebersole def. Hallman via technical knockout at 4:28 of Round 1
Vitor Belfort vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama
Round 1 – They touch glvoes and the co-main event is underway. Leg kick checked by Belfort. Head kick glances off Akiyama’s head, and there is a brief pause in the action. Inside leg kick lands for Akiyama. Belfort looks for another head kick, and Akiyama slips. Both fighters looking a bit hesitant. Front kick comes up short for Belfort. Head kick misses for Akiyama. Belfort nails Akiyama with a shot, and the damaged fighter falls to the floor. More punches from Belfort. Akiyama is face down and one more punch lands for Belfort to put him out cold. Incredible knockout for Belfort.
Official Decision: Belfort def. Akiyama via knockout at 1:52 of Round 1
Rashad Evans vs. Tito Ortiz
Round 1 – Evans looks loose to start this fight, as Ortiz misses with a body kick. Ortiz comes up short with a right hand, but scores his next shot. Evans lands a left hook. Another right hand lands for Ortiz, but Evans lands a right of his own. He is looking for a takedown. Brief exchange, and Ortiz is very confident. Ortiz shoots in for a takedown and he gets Evans down. Evans is working his way back up, but Ortiz is all over him. Evans is back up and looking to score. He is landing nice shots, but Ortiz scores with a knee. Evans throwing punch after punch and landing. Elbow from Evans, followed by a knee from Ortiz. Evans picks Ortiz up and slams him down to the ground. He is pounding away, but Ortiz is defending nicely. Side control for Evans, but he is running out of time. Ortiz rolls, looking to survive the round and he does. Heavy.com scores the round 10-9 for Evans.
Round 2 – Ortiz misses with a leg kick at the start of the second. Evans is bouncing around. Both guys seem a bit hesitant. Evans pushes forward looking for a takedown. Ortiz locks on a guillotine choke and it is deep. Evans slips his head out, but it was a close call. Evans on top and is in side control. Evans landing shot after shot, and Ortiz is trying to roll. Mounted crucifix for Evans. This is bad for Ortiz, who wisely finds a way to escape. Ortiz is rolling over, but can’t seem to get out from the bottom. Ortiz rolls for a leg lock, but Evans avoids the submission attempt. He is back in side control. Ortiz rolls again and is on his knees now. Evans lands a knee to the bottom, and Ortiz is in deep trouble. Evans lands several more punches to cause the stoppage with moments remaining in the round.
Official Decision: Evans def. Ortiz via technical knockout at 4:48 of Round 2
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UFC 133: Evans Dismantles Ortiz, Belfort KO’s Akiyama