UFC on Fox 4 Recap: Shogun, Machida win in Los Angeles, California
Posted on August 4, 2012, 11:39 PM by Mike Drahota
UFC on Fox 4 from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, is in the books and it has presented one of the most exciting cards in UFC history. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua fought Brandon Vera in another all-out war, extending his great legacy against an opponent who left every ounce of his being in the Octagon tonight. Rua utilized some good wrestling and top control, but his bread and butter came through in the striking department, as he landed many significant strikes with punches, kicks, elbows and knees. Vera wouldn't give an inch however, using his own very effective brand of Muay Thai to strike back with tons of back-and-forth combinations. In the end, fans were treated to a highly entertaining war, another in a long list from Shogun Rua, who scored the awesome knockout towards the end of the fourth round. Brandon Vera should show no shame in defeat as he appears to be back as one of the best strikers amongst Light Heavyweights.
In the co-main event, Lyoto Machida made his case for the the title shot against the winner of Jon Jones vs. Dan Henderson. He largely controlled the majority of the first round with his elusive striking techniques. In the second, he blocked a Bader right and threw back an absolutely vicious straight to knock his opponent out. With the win, Machida has apparently earned the next title shot at Light Heavyweight. A great, great showing by "The Dragon.”
In other main card action, Mike “Quick” Swick returned to the UFC for his first bout in nearly two years to show he is still relevant with a great knockout by grabbing DeMarques Johnson's kick and flooring him with a right hand. Also, Joe Lauzon and Jamie Varner fought to another absolute war, striking with efficiency back-and-forth, with Varner showing great takedowns as Lauzon looked to his trademark BJJ. Lauzon won the fight off of a takedown with a great Triangle Choke.
UFC on Fox 4 brought us an amazing night of fights that the UFC desperately needed after some lackluster cards. Although Machida will face the winner of the main event at UFC 151, I thought that Vera brought a lot more to the table tonight in terms of skill and heart than Bader. In my eyes, Machida looked great, but Shogun just edged him with one his best all-time performances in a gritty win. And that is saying a ton. Who do you think deserves to face the winner of Jones vs. Henderson?
UFC on Fox 4 Full Results:
Main Card:
Mauricio Rua def. Brandon Vera via R4 TKO (strikes)
Lyoto Machida def. Ryan Bader via R2 KO (punch)
Joe Lauzon def. Jamie Varner via R3 submission (Triangle Choke)
Mike Swick def. DeMarques Johnson via R2 TKO (punch)
Preliminary Card:
Nam Phan def. Cole Miller via split decision
Wagner Prado vs. Phil Davis ends in a no-contest due R1 to accidental eye poke
Rani Yahya def. Josh Grispi via R1 submission (North-South choke)
Philip De Fries def. Oli Thompson via R2 submission (Rear-Naked Choke)
Manny Gamburyan def. Michihiro Omigawa via unanimous decision
John Moraga def. Ulysses Gomez via R1 KO (strikes)
LowKick.com Awards:
Performance of the Night:
In a night of great performances, Shogun Rua earns the nod here with his neverending skills of destruction. He never quit against a very, very determined Brandon Vera and delivered an incredible striking win.
Finish of Night:
Again, in a card featuring so many finishes, Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida gets the award for his incredibly powerful punch that knocked out the always-tough Ryan Bader. He gets the next crack at the 205 lb. Title with the impressive victory.
Upset of the Night:
There wasn't too many upsets worthy of notices in these awards, so I would have to go with the gutsy, gritty performance of Brandon Vera in defeat. While he may not have won, he showed incredible heart in one of, if not the best fights this year versus Shogun Rua.
Comments
The Dragon is back!
Im so Happy that Lyoto won . He is my favorite fighter after Mighty FEDOR.
I hope he will do better this time against Jones
Am i the only one who thinks performance of the night should go to Lyoto and not Shogun?
Shogun didnt look good at all IMO, his gas tank has been bad as of late. He got a fantastic finish but it was a night were he was supposed to make his case as number 1 contender and win with ease, but he didnt do that machida did
how often do you will tell us that you love fedor?
if they had a baby we could call him Fedida.
its his thing, we have all come to except him
except for me... i still hate m1 and his god awful name/opinons
loloolol
you cant give anyone with bad stamina trt! to get a higher endurance, you have to train for it and not taking any pills...or however this trt works.
One of the best main cards I have seen.
Swick vs. DaMarques - Swick came back after a 2 year absence against an opponent who was a fair matchup for his return (but not an 'emerging force' as he was described). DaMarques put it on Swick who was obviously feeling ring rust and got busted up in the first. Quick came back with a Machida-esque KO and while Johnson looked good up until then there wasn't much he could do to avoid that finish.
Lauzon vs. Varner - Amazing back and for fight with both guys showing their skills in all areas. Varner the late replacement eventually got caught in a sick submission but he looked very good in defeat, while Lauzon also looked good in victory and came back strong after a loss - Joe keeping his 100% finishing rate.
Bader vs. Machida - Machida made Bader look amateur. Barely a strike landed from Ryan and when he charged in Machida easily stepped out at an angle and avoided, until Bader's last charge where Machida put him to sleep with a sniper straight right.
Shogun vs. Vera - A brilliant fight but mainly because Shogun fought to Vera's level. Both guys out on a show and showcased some sick striking but at the end of the war Shogun left Vera out cold but didn't look brilliant in victory
The thing with this 205 division, it's always gonna be the same 3-4 guys at the top of the heap (Shogun, Machida, Rashad, Henderson), So if Jones keeps winning, and the other 4 keep winning their fights, we're gonna be seeing alot of rematches, unless someone new comes out of nowhere and starts crushing everyone. If Chael moves up tho, things will get interesting
I'd love to see Shogun fight young Alexander Gustuffson. Alot of people were already calling for him to fight Jones, therefore a step up in competition is imminent, why not give him Shogun or even Vera right now would be interesting they're both long fighters, Gustuffson quicker Vera more powerful, it would be a fun fight to watch and if he wins then there you go give him a Shogun or Rashad and if he wins clearly we can see him and Jones fight. I have Jones in a landslide vs any1 other then Sir Luckypunch and honestly I give Machida a CHANCE
wow I would definitely give Gus a power edge, he smashed Hamill, something Rampage couldn't do even though he beat on him for 3 rounds and he dropped Thiago Silva with a short uppercut
That new guy could be Gustaffson
What a card!!!
Swick is sick!
Lauzon and Varner was the fight of the night for me. Varner had some powerful and explosive standup and Lauzon has such a killer sub game.
Machida looked great as usual, made Bader look like an amateur and IMO fully earned the title shot.
Vera looked pretty good considering. Both of them looked like they needed better cardio and whats with Shogun wrestling? Not at all the way to go about trying to get he most impressive win.
And Im pretty pumped to see Edgar / Henderson next week!
Vera may have won if he showed up in better shape. He looked a little soft and run outa gas. The Dragon looked pretty good but will need his A+ game to have a chance of beating Bones Jones. The Spider himself might be the only one out there that could give him a go. Now that would be a super fight.
performance of the night shogun? he looked so sloppy last night and gassed out in the 2nd round yet again. He constantly says he will improve his cardio but it never happens. His body has taken to much over the years and it might be time to call it quits before it completely fails on him.
the best ufc on fox card to date! Great fights
Shogun vs Gustaffson next!
Everybody is matching Jon Jones up..... he might just get knocked out!!