UFC 97 Results: UFC 97 Results & Fight Recaps

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On Saturday, April 18 UFC fans saw a fight card that had unlimited potential fail to deliver on the fireworks that it promised. Although very unentertaining, Anderson “The Spider” Silva grinded out a victory over Thales Leites and defended the organization’s 185 pound belt for the 5th time since he won it in October 2006. The Co-Main event also had fans and fighters alike dazed and confused when Mauricio “Shogun” Rua looked very impressive in knocking out “The Iceman,” Chuck Liddell.

The Montreal, Canada crowd also witnessed their fellow Canadians earn a solid 5-2 mark in the octagon Saturday night. TJ Grant, Mark Bocek, Denis Kang, Krzysztof Soszynski and Sam Stout all were on the winning side of things. The only Canadian competitors that couldn’t call themselves victorious at UFC 97 were David “The Crow” Loiseau and Jason MacDonald.

Many of the fights that were chorused with “Boos” from the live Bell Centre crowd also were uneventful for the Pay-Per-View watchers as well. The action saw 7 of the 12 fights carry to a decision with only 5 of the fights being finished with a submission (2 fights) or KO/TKO (3 fights). Click or scroll to the bottom of the page for all of the official UFC 97 fight results.

The summaries of the televised fights are listed below:

Sam “Hands of Stone” Stout vs. Matt “Handsome” Wiman

This fight started as a bout deep in the preliminary card but found its way to the main card as a time filler between the co-main event and the main event. Matt Wiman (10-5 overall) and Sam Stout (14-5-1 overall) battled back and forth in a surprising lightweight bout. Stout demonstrated just a little bit more vigor to earn a much needed unanimous decision win.

The two fighters engaged, traded and grappled for the entire match as the momentum seemed to switch from fighter to fighter continuously. Wiman started out as the early favorite by scoring points for taking down Stout with ease. Stout battled back in an entertaining way with his accurate striking that did some damage to his opponent. The first two rounds saw almost a dead even fight play out to sudden death 3 rd round in which Stout showed a little bit more aggressiveness to earn the triumph.

Stout, with the win, snaps his 2 fight losing streak in the organization and assures himself at least one more fight. Wiman however drops his 2 nd in a row after winning 4 straight fights. His future with the UFC is not as certain. He may need to fight for some smaller shows and work his way back into the UFC.

Luis “Banha” Cane vs. Steve “Robot” Cantwell

The main card opening fight included two very dangerous sluggers who did not disappoint. Cane (10-1 overall) and Cantwell (7-2 overall) both came into the fight with fairly long win streaks. The fight had the feeling of two desperate fighters trying to jump up the ladder in the Light Heavyweight division.

Both fighters were impressive in trading punches for the majority of the bout. Cantwell mixed his punches with some high kicks to the head of his opponent. Cane, on the other hand, mixed his punches with some sharp knees. The action was consistent and ran very smoothly through the first two rounds of an even fight.

The difference didn’t happen until the 3rd round when both fighters began to show how busy they were early in the fight. The final round saw a very tired Steve Cantwell lose some power and didn’t have the snap on his high kicks or even punches. Cane, however, found a way to connect through his opponent’s defense and land a flurry of strikes late in the round to earn some points.

The judges agreed and awarded the busier “Banha” Cane the unanimous decision victory (29-28, 30-27, 30-27). With the win, Luis Cane (3-1 UFC) wins his third in a row and will allow him the chance to step up in competition. The loss puts an end to Steve Cantwell’s (1-1 UFC) streak of 4 wins and more importantly his progression to the top of the 205 lbs. division.

Cheick Kongo vs. Antoni Hardonk

This Heavyweight bout matched up two strikers that are both heavy hitters. The Frenchman was able to thwart any offense that his Dutch opponent could muster and earn himself an important win. His chances of getting a Heavyweight title shot have increased immensely with his TKO win Saturday night.

The fight was expected to be fairly even as both fighters are accomplished strikers. It turned out to be lopsided as Cheick Kongo (14-4-1 overall) began the fight by dropping Antoni Hardonk (8-5) to the mat with a well timed right hand. Hardonk could not inflict much damage to his opponent with his punches or even his specialty, his kicks.

The second round was much of the same as Hardonk hit the deck again almost halfway through the second round. As Kongo dropped Hardonk the second time he immediately jumped into his guard and gained dominant position. At this point Kongo began to drop punch after punch as well as razor sharp elbow after elbow. Hardonk, now cut, bloody and unable to defend himself was saved by the referee at 2:29 of the 2nd round.

Kongo (7-2 UFC) now has a legitimate chance at facing the winner of the UFC 100 Lesnar vs. Mir bout that is set to take place in Las Vegas in July. He continues his impressive 3-fight win streak in the UFC, all by way of TKO. Hardonk (4-3 UFC) has his first loss in 4 fights and will need to improve on his ground game to compete with the elite UFC Heavies.

Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Brian “All-American” Stann

This 205 lbs. bout showcased two fighters that are on their way to stardom with the UFC. Soszynski (17-8-1 overall), fighting in his 2nd fight since his appearance on “The Ultimate Fighter 8” showed his world class ground game when he submitted Brian Stann (6-2 overall) less than 4 minutes into the fight.

Stann, who was the last man to hold the WEC LHW belt, looked good early on when he delivered some early low leg kicks to his opponent. Krzysztof didn’t fool around much longer with Stann’s stand-up, as he grabbed a double leg takedown and forced the former U.S. Marine to the ground. When on the ground, Stann was able to shake off an early submission attempt from Soszynski in a battle for position. As the 1st round continued, Soszynski gradually transitioned to a better position and secured a kimura on Stann. The “All-American” almost immediately submitted at 3:53 of the 1st round.

The loss destroys Brian Stann’s UFC debut and makes him unsuccessful in his last two fights. He was also unproductive as the WEC LHW champ in defending his belt against Steve Cantwell in August of 2008. The adopted Canadian, Soszynski (2-0 UFC), is now a winner in both of his UFC fights and calling out a top 10 fighter in the process. I’m not sure he is ready for that caliber of fighter but has developed into a dangerous submission artist who has submitted his last 3 opponents.

Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell vs. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua

It looked like the end of an era as Mauricio “Shogun” Rua clipped Chuck Liddell with a left hand midway through the 1st round to beat “The Iceman” in what just might be his last fight in the octagon. Rua looked like the PRIDE FC veteran that is featured in numerous highlights and replays knocking opponents out. It just may be the start of one UFC legacy and the end of another.

Liddell began the fight as the “Chuck of old” by demonstrating solid takedown defense, counter-attacks and technical wrestling. “The Iceman” came out on top many times with the early exchanges in the stand up connecting Rua on numerous occasions. Rua showed improved resilience as he took many of Liddell’s strikes to the face early in the 1st round.

It was a quick takedown that had Rua thinking he had Liddell where he wanted him. However, it was vintage Liddell when he overpowered his opponent and quickly returned to his feet with Rua trying to hold him down. Shortly after getting back to the standing position, Liddell was crushed with a left hand sending him lying on the canvas. Rua continued to seal the deal with several unanswered hammer fists before the referee saved him with 32 seconds remaining.

“Shogun” (2-1 UFC) now has his signature UFC KO to go along with his lackluster win over Mark Coleman 3 months ago. He will now take his skills to the very top of the LHW division for competition against other UFC elites. While nobody knows for sure what the future holds for Liddell, it looked and sounded like this may be his last fight in the octagon. “The Iceman”, has lost 4 out of his last 5 fights in the cage, as well as admitting that “it didn’t feel right” in the octagon. Look for Liddell to work alongside his friend, Dana White in another capacity for the UFC in the very near future.

Anderson “The Spider” Silva vs. Thales Leites

The Spider was successful in defending his Middleweight title for the fifth consecutive fight against a tentative Thales Leites. Silva (24-4 overall), didn’t bring much in the way of fireworks to the fight but it was enough for the win. Leites’ strategy was questionable at best, as he never really threatened the champ throughout the 5 round marathon.

The 1st round began slowly as neither fighter was eager to engage. While this is not an uncommon practice for the champion, it seemed to take a little longer for action to develop. The only real damage to occur in this initial round was the continuous kicks that Silva landed to the lead leg of the challenger buckling him more than once.

The second round was Leites’ best round as far as scoring points for the decision. He managed to take Silva down with a beautiful takedown. Leites couldn’t maintain the position for long against the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt. Silva was able to get back to his feet but didn’t engage very much when returning to a stand up position.

The remaining three rounds were very ordinary other than an accidental eye poke from Silva that went unnoticed by the referee. Leites blinked and rubbed his eye for a good portion of the 3 rd round. He did regain the visibility back but continued to do very little. The only action that was significant was the beating that Leites’ front leg took. As he continued to try and bait Silva to bring the fight to the mat he was growing very weary and tired. Silva continued to allow Leites to stand up and keep the fight on their feet.

Leites lasted the entire fight but lacked the aggressiveness that he showed in his previous 5 fights. Silva was able to show enough to the judges to award him the unanimous decision win (49-46, 48-47, 50-46). The Spider now holds the record for the most consecutive UFC wins with 9. He now has cleared out the 185 lbs. division with ease and will probably look to either move up again in weight to find some competition or agree to a super-fight with one of the many UFC superstars currently on the roster.

By Nick Russell
ProFighting-fans.com Staff Writer

Main UFC 97 Bouts:

• Anderson Silva (c) defeated Thales Leites by Unanimous Decision (49-46, 48-47, 50-46) - Silva retains UFC Middleweight Championship belt
• Mauricio Shogun Rua defeated Chuck Liddell via TKO (Strikes) - Round 1 @ 4:28
• Luis Cane defeated Steve Cantwell by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
• Cheick Kongo defeated Antoni Hardonk via TKO (Strikes) — Round 2 @ 2:29
• Kryzstof Soszynski defeated Brian Stann via Submission (Kimura) - Round 1 @ 3:53
• Sam Stout defeated Matt Wiman via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Preliminary UFC 97 Bouts:

• Eliot Marshall defeated Vinicius Magalhaes by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
• Denis Kang defeated Xavier Foupa-Pokam by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Nate Quarry defeated Jason MacDonald via TKO (Strikes) - Round 1 @ 2:27
• Ed Herman defeated David Loiseau by Unanimous Decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
• Mark Bocek defeated David Bielkheden via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) - Round 1 @ 4:57
• TJ Grant defeated Ryo Chonan by Split Decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)

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