By: William Holmes

The UFC comes to Pittsburgh, PA with their fourth card being shown on Versus. Nate Marqaurdt was recently denied clearance by the Pennsylvania Athletic Control Board for unknown medical reasons, and was soon after cut by the UFC. Charlie Brenneman steps in at the last minute as a replacement to take on Rick Story, and the Pat Barry vs. Chieck Kongo gets bumped to main event status.

Preliminary Card Quick Results:

Michael Johnson (9-5) vs. Edward Faaloloto (5-1); Lightweight

Michael Johnson wins by TKO in Round 1.

Ricardo Lamas (9-2) vs. Matt Grice (14-3); Lightweight

Ricardo Lamas wins by TKO in Round 1.

Nik Lentz (23-3-2) vs. Charles Oliveira (14-1); Lightweight

Charles Oliveira wins by 2nd round rear naked choke, but an illegal knee earlier in the round badly hurt Nik Lentz. Fight result will likely get overturned by the Athletic Commission. Kudos to the Pittsburgh crowd for booing the result of the fight and the illegal knee, always nice to see a knowledgeable live MMA crowd.

Daniel Roberts (12-2) vs. Rich Attonito (9-4); Welterweight

Rich Attonito wins by unanimous decision.

Joe Lauzon (19-6) vs. Curt Warburton (7-2); Lightweight

Joe Lauzon by 1st round kimura submission.

Joe Stevenson (36-13) vs. Javier Vazquez (15-5); Featherweight

Javier Vazquez defeats Joe Stevenson by unanimous decision which may be Stevenson’s last fight in the UFC.

Tyson Griffin (14-5) vs. Manny Gamburyan (13-6); Featherweight

Tyson Griffin defeats Manny Gamburyan by unanimous decision.

Main Card Results:

Matt Mitrione (4-0) vs. Christian Morecraft (7-1); Heavyweight

Round 1: Fight starts off with Morecraft pawing his jab at the face of Mitrione. Mitrione lands a a few leg kicks. Morecraft and Mitrione exchange leg kicks, and Mitrione lands a straight left that knocks Morecraft down! Mitrione lets Morecraft get back up and they continue to exchange standing up. Mitrione getting the better of the exchanges and looks a lot more comfortable on his feet. Morecraft lands a nice left hook right cross combination, and Mitrione answers with a hard straight left hand. Morecraft comes over the top with an overhand right. Morecraft tried to ask the referee for a break in an apparent punch to the neck but the referee tells him to fight on. This is a very active round for a heavyweight bout. Mitrione lands a hard left that hurts Morecraft badly, Morecraft falls to the ground and Mitrione follows in, but Morecraft instinctively follows with a double leg. Both fighters pressed against the cage in a body lock position to end the round. 10-8 round for Mitrione due to the two knockdowns.

Round 2: Morecraft comes out for round 2 looking a little shaky. Mitrione comes out andlands a decent body shot leg kick and follows with a right left combination to the head. Mitrione lands a nice inside leg kick, and Morecraft answers with a lunging knee to the body. Mitrione goes for a head kick that sails over the head of Morecraft. A straight left snaps the head of Morecraft back. Another left rocks Morecraft’s head back. Morecraft shoots in on a takedown and drives Mitrione to the fence and completes the takedown. Mitrione attempts to get back to his feet and does. Morecraft presses Mitrione against the cage and drags Mitrione down. Morecraft in Mitrione’s full guard landing some body shots. Referee stands the fighters up and Mitrione comes in with a hard straight left hand and left leg kick. Another straight left hand rocks Moorecraft, and Moorecraft shoots in on a lazy shot. Mitrione again lands a hard left hand. A beautiful right hook, left cross, right hook combination by Mitrione knocks Morecraft down and Mitrione walks away knowing Morecraft is finished. Referee stops the fight and Mitrione had no reason to follow up with additional punishment when Morecraft fell to the ground. Mitrione wins by 2nd round KO.

Matt Brown (13-10) vs. John Howard (14-6); Welterweight

Round 1: Howard starts off the round landing a thudding leg kick to Matt Brown’s left leg, and follows it up with another one. Howard appears to be attacking Matt Brown’s legs early on. Brown answers one of Howards leg kicks with a hook to the body. Fight gets dragged to the ground but Howard quicky pops back up. Howard lands a nice overhand left, and follows it with another hard leg kick. Brown hits Howard with a nice hook and follows with a knee, which Howard catches and presses Brown against the fence. Howard momentarily brings Brown down but Brown pops right back up, and Howard is eating some shots to the head while holding onto the single. Brown lands a nice high leg kick and a knee to the head of Howard. Fight goes back to the ground and Matt Brown attempts a Darce choke but is unable to hold onto it. Howard with a hard takedown on Matt Brown and lands in side control. Howard back to his feet with Howard maintain a body lock against the fence. Matt Brown sneeks in a wizard and attempts to sneek his other arm through and Howard Lateral drops Brown. Fighters exchange against the fence and Matt Brown peppers Howard with some decent shots. 10-9 round for Matt Brown.

Round 2: Howard with a hard leg kick again that noticeably effects Matt Brown. Howard again in on a single leg against the fence but is unable to take Matt Brown down. Matt Brown shoots in and Howard sprawls out. Fighters pressed against the cage and Howard in on a single leg. Matt Brown going for a standing guillotine choke, and Howard is unable to complete the takedown. Fighters separate and both connect while standing. Matt Brown executes a nice standing trip and goes into Howard’s half guard. Matt Brown rains some ground and pound on Howard. Howard is going for a kimura, and spins for a leg lock that he uses to sweep. Matt Brown is now going for a omaplata/shoulderlock, and the round ends. 10-9 round for Matt Brown.

Round 3: Howard starts off round 3 landing two hard leg kicks, and throws a high head kick. Matt Brown answers with a head kick of his own. A hard jab by Howard lands flush and Brown is backing away. Matt Brown shoots in on a double leg and takes Howard down. Howard back to his feet and is looking for a choke on Matt Brown. He spins around and takes Matt Brown’s back. Matt Brown again back to his feet and is pressed against the cage. Howard is expending a lot of energy in attempting to take Matt Brown down. Howard backs off and gets hit while backing away. Matt Brown is pumping the jab in the face of Howard. Howard finally gets a takedown on Matt Brown, but he probably needs a stoppage to win this fight. Howard ends the round going for a kimura. 10-9 round for Howard.

Official scores are 29-28 by all three judges for Matt Brown.

Charlie Brenneman (13-2) vs. Rick Story (13-3); Welterweight

Round 1: Brenneman comes in with a body clinch and Ricky Story tosses him down. Both fighters back to their feet and Story comes in with a knee. Brenneman pushes Story against the fence and Story changles levels and goes in for a double leg. Fighters exchange against the cage and Brenneman connects with a hard right hand. Brenneman is able to take Story down with a single leg and takes Story’s bcack. Story is able to power his way out of it and both fighters are back on their feet. Brenneman lands a nice right hand and follows it with a takedown. Brenneman in half guard and is attempting to pass and gets into side control. Story fights back into full guard, and Brenneman lands some hard body shots from within full guard. Brenneman is staying active, and using his body weight to smash Story’s body against the mat. 10-9 Brenneman.

Round 2: Brenneman again with a nice takedown on Rick Story. Story attempting a guillotine choke but Brenneman is able to escape out and get into north/south position. Both fighters back on their feet and Brenneman lands a nice overhand right. Story throws a knee against Brenneman against the fence. Both fighters locked againt the fence and Brenneman again takes down Story. Brenneman in half guard, but Story is able to squirm back into full guard. Not much action going on in full guard right now, wouldn’t be surprised to see a stand up. Brenneman is able to improve his position to half guard, and Story has a weak attempt at a guillotine choke in. Brenneman now in side control with a step over pass.

Round 3: Story needs a finish to win this fight. Story throws some hard strikes against the cage, but Brenneman again shoots in on a single leg. Story maintains a good position though while Brenneman is in on Story’s leg, and Story is going for an armbar or a kimura. Referee stands them up, but that was a horrible stand up. Rick Story lands a hard straight right on their feet. Brenneman again shoots in on Story, and Story gets a very interesting triangle from the top. Story is attempting to luck his foot underneath his knee to lock up the triangle, but is unabe to do so. Story now on top of Brenneman, and he has one minute and a half to finish the fight. Story now in full mount on Brenneman. He needs the finish to win this fight. Story is slamming Brenneman head against the mat, and Brenneman is able to roll out and get back into top position. Great display of ground fighting by both fighters, fight of the night so far. 10-9 Story, but Brenneman should win the fight overall.

Official scorecards are 29-28 by all three judges for Charlie Brenneman.

Cheick Kongo (25-6-2) vs. Pat Barry (6-2); Heayweight

Round 1: Kongo and Barry exchange leg kicks, and Pat Barry surprisingly goes in for a takedown. Kongo shrugs it off, and lands a leg kick. Barry again lands a snapping leg kick, and Kongo answers right back. Kongo lands a hard right leg kick. This fight is looking like a K-1 fight rather than a MMA fight so far. Kongo lands a decent 1-2 combination, and Kongo looks to becoming more confident with his standup ability against Barry. Pat Barry lands a very hard overhand right on Kongo and knocks him down, Kongo looked out, but is able to somehow survive. Kongo struggles back to his feet but Barry knocks him back down again. Barry rushing in to finish an apparent dazed Kongo, and Kongo lands a hard right that knocks Barry out. Great fight, and great job by the referee to not stop the fight too early. Kongo wins by KO.

Stars of the Night:

Charlie Brenneman: Hometown fighters, gets a last minute call to fight the very tough Rick Story, and comes out with a hard fought upset victory. Not many people knew who Charlie Brenneman was before tonight, now he is well known.
Matt Mitrione: Mitrione looked impressive tonight, and the UFC is always looking for tough knockout artists in the heavyweight division. It’s time for Mitrione to take a serious step up in competition.
Kongo: Kongo got rocked, badly, twice…and was somehow able to pull out the knock out victory. Great job by the referee in not stopping that fight because a lot would have. Dan Miragliotta is one of the best referees in MMA, he rarely stops a fight early and understands when fighters are going for submissions on the ground and to not stand them up too early.

Leave a Comment