Antonio Rogerio Nogueira returned after a very long absence and his only KO loss in MMA. Meanwhile back in Vegas his brother had hope for the best as his twin made a debut in Canada against a home bred Todd Gouwenberg one night before UFC 81 in which Minotauro, Rodrigo fights for the Interim Heavyweight Title. Well if these twins are as connected as most, Minotauro must be feeling pretty good after his brother forced a corner towel to fly in and save the battered Canadian. With the shaved head and look of a killer, Minotoro tested his striking with knees included and finished his first fight of 2008 after sitting out 23 days short of one year.
Meanwhile veteran David Louiseau trying to redeclare his place in the MMA landscape lost a controversial split decision to a Jason Day that was bombarded with persiflage to a fight that seemingly could have gone the other way.
Another controversial decision was brought on by the referee who stopped the Cyborg – Mousasi contest, as the Brazilian immediately protested. Gegard had Cyborg in a precarious position on the ground, but the Brazilian seemed to be preventing any real damage and seemed very conscious of what was going on. This is especially insulting to Santos since he allowed Mousasi to compete at a higher catch weight after failing to make the contract weight due to “ignorance.”
In the only championship bout of the night Thomas Schulte defended well and made short work of challenger Garett Davis finishing with a Mata Leon after wounding his prey.
Hardcore Championship Fighting “Destiny”
Friday, February 1, 2008
At The Stampede Corral
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Winner: R2 4:34 Antonio Rogerio Nogueira by TKO (Towel Thrown by Corner)
Winner: R3 5:00 Jason Day by Decision (Split)
Gegard Mousasi (194.5) vs. Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos (188.5)
Winner: R2 3:42 Gegard Mousasi by TKO (Ground n Pound)
Winner: R1 1:15 Thomas Schulte by TKO (Ground n Pound)
Winner: R2 4:34 Derrick Noble KO (Right Hook)
Winner: R2 1:24 Mike Pyle by Submission (Kimura)
Winner: R2 3:19 Andrew Buckland by Submission (Kimura)
Winner: R2 1:08 Ariel Sexton by Submission (Mata Leon)
Winner: R3 5:00 Miodrag Petkovic by Decision (Split)
Winner: R3 5:00 Nabil Khatib by Decision (Unanimous)
Winner: R1 2:20 Juan Barrantes by Submission (Arm Bar – Tap)
