UFC 133: Evans vs. Ortiz II

[INDYjon22]

[YOUTUBE]PE753AMQgsc[/YOUTUBE]​

Main Card

• Light Heavyweight bout: Rashad Evans vs. Tito Ortiz
• Middleweight bout: Vitor Belfort vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama
• Welterweight bout: Dennis Hallman vs. Brian Ebersole
• Middleweight bout: Jorge Rivera vs. Costantinos Philippou
• Welterweight bout: Rory MacDonald vs. Mike Pyle

Preliminary Card (Spike)

• Light Heavyweight bout: Matt Hamill vs. Alexander Gustafsson
• Featherweight bout: Chad Mendes vs. Rani Yahya

Preliminary Card (Facebook)

• Bantamweight bout: Ivan Menjivar vs. Nick Pace
• Welterweight bout: Johny Hendricks vs. Mike Pierce
• Featherweight bout: Mike Brown vs. Nam Phan
• Middleweight bout: Rafael Natal vs. Paul Bradley

The rematch years in the making will finally go down this Saturday. Tito vs. Evans I ended in a draw because of silly penalties Ortiz allowed to happen. Tito was the better fighter that night, will he still be the better fighter now? We will find out. Also, an important fight between Akiyama and Belfort will take place and possibly mark the losers end in the UFC. Both guys have good striking and it will be interesting to see if Vitor can use his speed to win or if Akiyama will finally utilize his superior judo skills.

In addition to these two big fights the rest of the main card is fairly solid as well. Hallman vs. Ebersole is a clash of MMA journeymen. Both guys have had long and successful careers and are having some somewhat shocking success in their current UFC runs. It will be interesting to see where the winner goes from here.

Jorge Rivera makes his return and will look to knock out his opponent and get back on his winning ways. His career resurgence had a set back at the hands of Michael Bisping and Philippou is no push over. The loser could be out of a job, but I kind of doubt the UFC will drop Rivera unless he looks awful.

The maincard is rounded out with a fight between Pyle and MacDonald. Pyle is a cagey veteran, whereas MacDonald is a blue chip prospect. Will the old lion be able to prevail once again or will the red hot rookie make his case for a bump up in competition. MacDonald is good but Pyle wins fights he shouldn't.

The undercard will feature interesting fights between Hamill and Gustafsson, which will put either guy in a position for a fight with someone near the top and a big Featherweight bout between Yahya and Mendes that will likely put the winner in title contention. Mendes has more to lose since he passed up a title shot for this fight instead of waiting on Aldo to heal. And an epic encounter between Nam Phan and Mike Brown could be the most exciting fight on the entire card. Hopefully Phan doesn't get screwed this go around.

UFC 133 isn't the sexiest card in UFC history, unless you are accounting for Sexyama, but it certainly has some intriguing fights to watch. Lets hope Tito can continue gaining steam and shut Rashad up once and for all.

 

[JWGunslinger]

I love that a while ago I was ready to just skip this card because I didn't want to pay for a main event like Evans vs Davis.Now it's a rematch between Tito & Rashad, and I am more excited for this card than I was for 131!(Which is saying alot, because Carwin and Cerrone were on that card). So lets get to it.

I'm really hoping Paul Bradley can pull of a win over Natal, I remember him having to leave TUF and it crushed him, so i'm hoping that him finally making it to the UFC was not for nothing. Paul Bradley by TKO

Brown needs this win, he has looked like crap recently for a former WEC champion. Nam is a good fighter but I think he's a tad overrated and i'm gonna go with Brown by Decision

Hendricks vs Peirce, the battle of badass wrestlers. I'm gonna go with Hendricks by Decision

Menjivar is coming off that sick standing elbow KO and Pace has been doing quite well as of late, Ivan will use his size and good ground game to his advantage and i'm gonna say Menjivar by Submission.

Yahya by submission, Mendes is a beast but I don't see him dealing with Yahya's grappling well.

Pulling for Gustaffson but I see Hamill by Decision.

Mike Pyle is my boy, i've been a fan of his since day 1 so I have to go with Pyle by Submission.

Rivera by TKO because this other guy has done nothing to impress me.

Hallman vs Ebersole may very well be fight of the night, it'll be a great battle between two MMA journeymen who are much more talented than they get credit for. I like both guys but I see Hallman with the upset, Hallman by Decision.

Vitor vs Akiyama will be an amazing fight, I expect a slugfest that will end with Akiyama getting KO'd by Vitor. Belfort by KO

Ahhh my dream rematch, now Tito can solidify his spot in the LHW title mix and gain a win against a guy he technically beat. I love Tito, I hate Rashad and I am praying Tito will shut his ass up. Ortiz by Decision.

Overall should be some great fights, and I can't wait for the weekend.

 

[Fizzy]

Light Heavyweight bout: Rashad Evans vs. Tito Ortiz

As much as I have shit on Rashad throughout this year and as much as I dislike him, it sucks he got passed over so many times whether it was his fault or not, it sucks. That said it'll happen again once Tito finishes what he started and beats him. Tito proved in the first fight that he was the better fighter and that was a hurt Tito. Rashad hasn't improved enough to beat a healthy Tito. He won't be able to hold Tito against the fence and while he is very fast, he isn't good enough to put Tito down. Tito wins via better wrestling.

Middleweight bout: Vitor Belfort vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama

Sexyama continues his climb to a title shot through losing. The guy just gets stiffer competition every time he loses and it sucks considering he is such a valuable commodity to the UFC. He's a superstar over in Japan and he is essential to their move overseas. That said, I see Vitor beating him unless Sexy uses his fantastic Judo for once and takes Vitor down. Should be a war though.

Welterweight bout: Rory MacDonald vs. Mike Pyle

So excited to see Rory fight again. This kid is one of the most exciting fighters in an otherwise bleak division and has some real promise. He absolutely manhandled Nate Diaz who is no pushover and I see the same happening to Pyle. Pyle is very underrated and has beaten Jon Fitch in the past which is an accomplishment no matter how long ago is happened. I just don't see him being a problem for Rory.

Light Heavyweight bout: Matt Hamill vs. Alexander Gustafsson

Big fight for Gustafsson to show us where he is really at. If he destroys Hammil who has been on the brink of contendership, he will prove he is the real deal. I'm hoping he beats Hammil, but it will be a great fight.

The rest of the fights are good, but I don't feel like going over them. Hendricks/Pierce should be a fantastic fight as should Mendes/Yahya which I hope ends in Mendes getting beaten.

 

[RAUl Mf. L0wk0]

Light Heavyweight bout: Rashad Evans vs. Tito Ortiz
This is a great fight and I can't honestly choose who to root for in this one. I really want to see Evans win this fight so he can back up his words and fight and hopefully defeat Jon Jones. But then again I really want to see Tito win this fight after seeing his rebirth as a fighter at UFC 132. And the only disadvantage I see coming in to this fight for Evans is that he's been out for a very long time now and Tito is still hot after his sub win over Bader. For some reason I see an upset by Tito!

Middleweight bout: Vitor Belfort vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama
Dangerous fight for Sexyama as Vitor's hands are vicious and Sexyama's style is more of a brawling/stand and bang. This is a guaranteed war and I see Vitor taking this fight by some sort of finish. And I don't see Akiyama's judo giving Vitor any problems. His ground game is rarely seen as of late, but its good. But not to worry about Akiyama, he will be kept because as of late they need him when UFC hits Japan.

Welterweight bout: Dennis Hallman vs. Brian Ebersole
I expect a great fight from both of this vets, Hallman by decision!

Middleweight bout: Jorge Rivera vs. Costantinos Philippou
I don't think I've ever seen Philippou fight or at least remember. But Rivera should take this by TKO.

Welterweight bout: Rory MacDonald vs. Mike Pyle
This is a fight I really can't wait to see! This is gonna be a great fight and I'm really hoping for my boy MacDonald to win. He needs to start racking up them wins!

Light Heavyweight bout: Matt Hamill vs. Alexander Gustafsson
Gustafsson has been impressive as of late, but imma Hamill fan :/ I say Hamill takes this to a decision.

Featherweight bout: Chad Mendes vs. Rani Yahya
Mendes wins! And will get a number one contendership after this fight.

Welterweight bout: Johny Hendricks vs. Mike Pierce
I can't wait for this fight either! Its gonna be a war! I'm pulling for Hendricks!

This card has been really hit hard by injuries and it may not be a stacked card, but I still think its going to be a great night of fights.

 

[JW'sGirl]

Rashad Evan vs. Tito Ortiz

I definitely want to give this one to Tito. While I'm not a huge fan of Tito's, I can't stand Rashad and I think Tito is a much better fighter. In their last fight, Tito was definitely showing he was a better fighter. My only hesitation is that up until 132 he'd been on a losing streak and honestly his win over Bader could have just been a fluke. I'm still gonna say Tito though, by decision.

Vitor Belfort vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama

After loses to Leben and Bisping, I don't see Akiyama really standing a chance against Belfort. I say Belfort by KO.

Rory MacDonald vs. Mike Pyle

I honestly don't know a lot about Rory MacDonald and I've never seen him fight. But going off of fight records, MacDonald only has one loss and he's finished all of his fights (accept the one against Nate Diaz which went to a decision). IMO that's someone who wants to win. I feel like he's going to push the pace and he's going to win. I say MacDonald via submission (I'm kind of feeling a rear naked choke).

Dennis Hellman vs. Brian Ebersole

I think this is gonna be a really good fight. Hallman by decision.

Jorge Rivera vs. Costantinos Philippou

I like Rivera, I think he's a fun fighter to watch and I'm looking forward to this fight. I had never heard of Philippou so I looked him on youtube and, I could be wrong, but he seems to like to go out and really fight and push the pace. I think this will be a good fight and I think Rivera will take it by TKO.

 

[jmt225]

Kind of a shitty card. I'm only interested in 3 fights.

One of them is of course the main event between Tito Ortiz and Rashad Evans. I had zero interest in an Evans/Phil Davis fight, but when Davis got hurt and was replaced by Tito Ortiz, my interest level definitely went up.

I've wanted a rematch between Ortiz and Evans for years. I thought Tito won the first fight, and I thought for sure he would win a rematch between the two, but each time it was come to be made, Tito got put against someone like Machida or Forrest, while Evans continued to elevate himself as a top Light Heavyweight.

But, the fight is finally happening, and the real shocker is that people are actually giving Tito Ortiz a chance to win this fight. I think though that's more because a lot of fans underestimate Rashad (something I've been guilty of in the past) rather than actually believe Ortiz is once again a top contender in the Light Heavyweight Division.

So, what do I believe? I WANT to believe that Ortiz can still compete with the best of the best and actually win big fights like this one against Evans, but... unfortunately, I don't believe it. I think Ortiz can compete against any big name in the Light Heavyweight division, but there are very few he can actually defeat, and Rashad Evans isn't one of them. Ortiz won't be able to catch Rashad on the feet with a big shot like he did against Bader, and he won't be able to submit someone like Rashad, either. We didn't get to see Ortiz's wrestling in his last fight, but it looked horrible against Matt Hamill and I just don't have a reason to believe it'll look any different against Rashad in this fight.

Rashad won't be able to finish Tito, but I do think he'll have a dominant performance regardless with a unanimous decision victory.

The 2nd fight I'm interested in is of course the co-main event between Akiyama and Vitor Belfort.

This should be one hell of a fight. It's going to go one of two ways... either Akiyama will pick his shots on the feet and take Vitor down and dominant, or Akiyama will stand with Belfort and get knocked the fuck out. Which happens? Your guess is as good as mine, but I'm hoping Sexyama refers back to his roots in Judo, takes Belfort's ass down, and beats the pulp out of him on the ground. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against Belfort, but I'm a huge fan of Akiyama and I'm really hoping he can get himself back in the win column with this fight here.

And the 3rd and final fight I'm looking forward to is Rory MacDonald vs. Mike Pyle.

Rory MacDonald impressed the fuck out of me against Nate Diaz. The guy's stand-up is pretty remarkable, as is his takedowns and slams. I think he has a very bright future ahead of him.

Mike Pyle though is the perfect opponent to see if MacDonald is ready for the big names in the division. Pyle has been on an upset tear lately, looking better than ever, and there's no doubt he'll bring the fight to MacDonald. It'll be interesting to see what will go down when that happens. Should be a great fight.

 

[JWGunslinger]

Well that card had it's ups and downs for me.
Ups- Vitor scoring another beautiful KO over Akiyama,it was somewhat reminisent of the Franklin knockout. And Vitor said what I have said since 126, if he had come out like that and that kick hadn't landed then that's what would have happened to Anderson. Gustaffson scoring a TKO over Hammil impressed me alot, aside from the Jon jones illegal elbow and the Rich Franklin liver kick this was his first real TKO in the UFC. Major props to that guy, I loved him since his debut and he reminds me a bit of a more talented Semmy Schilt.

Downs- my boys Tito and Mike Losing
Tito losing we all kind of expected but were really hoping wouldn't happen. I think the man put on a hell of a show for us and fought his heart out, and even though he came up short he deserves all the respect in the world. I gotta admit, when he went for the Guillotine I was thinkin, "could he really...holy crap!". I honestly thought he was going to finish that fight right there, but props to that douche for getting out.
Mike Pyle, I had a bad feeling as soon as the fight started. I don't know if anyone else saw this but Mike looked very out of it, like almost like he was already rocked when he came to the octagon . But i'm happy for Rory, I do like him just couldn't go against Pyle. He'd better use this momentum to do good things.

Brian Ebersole's chest hair arrow bothered me, then Dennis Hallman came out looking like Mr. Anderson in frickin panties and so started the strangest fight ever...Good fight though, was pulling for Hallman but I like Ebersole and I'm glad he's racked up another win.

Weird- Brian Ebersole's arrow of chesthair vs Dennis Hallman and his very small speedo.

 

[INDYjon22]

I loved last nights main broadcast, the undercard not so much.

Tito vs. Evans was a great fight from my point of view, but it did show that Tito was over matched. Evans was just to young and fast for Tito to keep up with. I was yelling so hard when Tito locked in that guillotine choke and my heart broke when Rashad's head slipped out. I seriously thought Tito was going to catch lightning in a bottle twice, but it wasn't meant to be. Rashad looked the best I have ever seen him and he was somewhat humble in victory. He didn't act like a prick and for that I gained a small measure of respect for him. Can't wait to see him fight the winner of Jones/Rampage.

I love Akiyama but I knew he was going to get knocked out by Vitor. Had Akiyama actually used his judo I could have seen him working his way to a decision, but it is just plain stupid for anyone not named Anderson Silva to stand and trade with Belfort. He is just to fast and to accurate. I really hope Dana and Zuffa gives Akiyama the chance to cut to 170 and get one more fight instead of cutting him, but his release could be eminent. Vitor looked really good and I would love to see him fight the Leben/Munoz winner or Brian Stann.

Rivera vs. Philippou was a solid scrap. Very close fight, but I think the right decision was made. Philippou had more takedowns and submission attempts. I hope Rivera gets one more shot because I genuinely like the guy and he seems like a really chill dude, but that could have been his final UFC appearance.

Ebersole vs. Hallman was hilarious. Between the chest hair arrow and the speedo both guys were clowning their asses off for this one. Ebersole is quickly making a name for himself. First he knocks off Chris Lytle and now Denis Hallman. I wouldn't go as far as saying he's championship material but he sure as fuck can give anyone a tough fight.

And MacDonald looked fantastic. He just keeps getting better and better with each and every fight. The kid has a very bright future ahead of him as long as he stays hungry and focused. It was also nice to see him knock Pyle out, never been a fan of the guy.

Overall the maincard was a huge success in my eyes. Every fight was exciting and produced great finishes, even the one fight that went to decision between Jorge and Constantine. Hopefully, Vitor, Tito, and Evans will all return sooner rather then later and produce some more exciting fights.

 

[Ryman]

The maincard+Spike fights was fun, Chad Mendes shut Yahya down and dominated the fight. It was not the most entertaining fight but Chad proved that he should fight against the winner of Aldo-Florian.

Gustafsson is awesome, stopping Hamill is very impressive. Alexander is going to become a top 5 guy soon and i think he should fight Thiago Silva in his next fight.

I dont need to say much about Rory Macdonald, he is the real deal. Maybe give him a wrestler next time, Johny Hendricks?

Rivera-Philippou was okey but i thought Philippou won pretty easy, its probably time for Rivera to think about his future.

Hairrow vs Speedo was really fun, i tought Ebersole was done when Hallman had his back but he reversed it and landed some of the best ground and pound i have ever seen. Ebersole is actually good and he said that he wanted to fight Matt Serra next.

Vitor is back!! For the fourth time. Everyone knows Vitors ability, dont stand infront of him or this happens. Akiyama needs to drop to 170, he looked so small next to Vitor.

Rashad looked great, he has put on some muscle and it showed. I actually screamed when Tito had the guillotine, not that i am a big fan but i would have been cool if he would have won. Rashad gets a titleshot and Tito can fight Franklin.

Overall a good card.