This Weekend in Fights! (June 23rd, 2012) featured two UFC events, Bellator kicking off their Light Heavyweight tournament, XFC 18, ONE FC 4, Gladiator Challenge, and the retirement bout of “The Last Emperor” Fedor Emenlianenko.

Fedor kicked off the weekend on Thursday night for M-1 Global at the Ice Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia. Emelianenko squared off against Pride, Affliction veteran and former UFC Heavyweight title contender Pedro Rizzo. In classic Fedor fashion the bout ended in 84-seconds. Missing his chance to end it early with a flurry of strikes, Emelianenko connected with some leg kicks that were followed up by a combination that ultimately put Rizzo to sleep. Arguably the greatest Heavyweight of all-time, Emelianenko ends his glorious career on a three fight win streak with a total MMA record of 34-4.

The M-1 Global Heavyweight title was unified on the card, as Interim champion Kenny Garner took on champion Guram Gugenishvili. Garner battled Gugenishvili to the point of exhaustion over three rounds. With a rear-naked choke attempt in the first and defensive leg kick combinations Gugenishvili controlled most of the first two frames. In the third Garner connected with a combination of an uppercut and multiple hooks to rock Gugenishvili, who was saved by the bell. With the extensive damage to his face and completely exhausted, Gugenishvili was unable to continue, snapping is 11-fight win streak and title reign. With the victory Garner unifies the titles and continues to ride a six fight win streak.

Former UFC title contender Jeff Monson was also featured on the card, much like Fedor in the main event ending his fight is classic fashion, Monson did the same. Monson used his signature north-south choke to submit Denis Komkin in under two minutes. Scoring his eighth north-south choke submission victory of his carrer, the highly decorated grappler shot in quickly, avoided a guillotine choke attempt from Komkin, only to place himself in position to squeeze in his choke for the force tap. (Full M-1 Global – Fedor vs. Rizzo event results below.)

UFC on FX 4 took place at the Revel Atlantic City in Atlantic City, New Jersey on Friday night. Top 10 Ranked Lightweights Clay Guida (#7) and Gray Maynard (#3) met in the five round main event. The two very strong wrestlers had a striking war, that saw Maynard find his range in the later rounds on a very energetic Guida. Guida mostly bounced around the cage throwing various combinations, but once Maynard was able to close the distance he was able to connect. After the full five rounds the two judges saw the bout for Maynard and one for Guida, handing Maynard the split decision victory.

With one a piece Spencer Fisher and Sam Stout had their trilogy bout in the co-main event. In his UFC debut at UFC 58 in 2006, Stout won their first meeting with a split decision. The two would meet again 14-months later at UFC Fight Night 10, where Fisher got the judges nod. Five years later they would conclude their trilogy in yet another decision bout, with Stout finalizing it unanimously. In what Fisher was claiming could possibly be his final fight, he was out classed in a three rounds with the much improved wrestling game of Stout who won each round 10-9.

Ricardo Lamas played spoiler to potential title contender Hatsu Hioki with a unanimous decision. Lamas spent the majority of the bout on his back, holding Hioki in a head lock attempting to sink in a guillotine choke. Hioki was in the mount position and was never in an considerable danger, yet was not active enough while on top to get the judges nod and now loses his opportunity at the Featherweight Champion.

Also on UFC on FX 4 Cub Swanson picked up an impressive TKO victory over British Slugger Ross Pearson. Pearson controlled Swanson with wrestling, but got caught with his unorthodox striking ability. Swanson connected with a front kick, followed by two straight rights to drop Pearson who was met with a left hook across the chin to end the bout. The Immortal Matt Brown picked up his third straight victory in 2012 with a second round TKO over Luis Ramos. Brown used his superior Muay Thai skills to dismember Ramos forcing the referee to stop the bout while they were both standing. Finally in his first drop to Welterweight a struggling Dam Miller went toe-to-toe with a very desperate Ricardo Funch. In a very evenly matched up bout that could have gone either way, Miller force Funch to tap out in the third not allowing it to go to the judges. Funch suffered his fourth UFC loss, while Miller bounced back from a two fight losing skid. (Full UFC on FX 4 event results below.)

Airing on MTV2 and Spike.com Bellator 71 took place at the Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack and Resort in Chester, West Virginia. Bellator began their Summer Series with the opening round of the Light Heavyweight tournament.Travis Wiuff, Attila Vegh, Emanuel Newton and Tim Carpenter all advanced in the the semifinals by all finishing their fights. Wiuff was the only man to TKO his opponent, as he put Chris Davis away with a little more than 45-seconds in the first round. Meanwhile, the other tournament bouts ended via submission with Vegh submitting Zelg Galesic a rear-naked choke, as did Emanuel Newton over Roy Boughton. Tim Carpenter stepped in for Richard Hale as he and Carpenter’s original opponent John Hawk were inexplicably not present. Carpenter submitted Beau Tribolet with a second round  armbar to wrap up the tournament quarterfinals. The Bellator Summer Series Light Heavyweight Tournament will continue on July 20th from The University of South Florida as Travis Wiuff will battle Tim Carpenter while Attila Vegh will take on Emanuel Newton for an eventual shot at current Bellator Light Heavyweight champion Christian M’Pumbu.

Brett Rogers made his Bellator debut on the card defeating Kevin Asplund in two rounds. After taking a vicious assault, Asplund was unable to continue into the third round, giving Rogers the TKO doctor’s stoppage victory. (Full Bellator 71 event results below.)

Also on Friday night, UFC and STRIKEFORCE veteran John Salter headlined XFC 18: Music City Mayhem at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. Salter’s claim to fame came at the hands of Jason MacDonald at UFC 113 in Montreal. During a takedown attempt MacDonald’s ankle snapped in a gruesome manner while sprawling, ultimately giving Salter the TKO victory; his lone victory in the promotion.  Salter’s opponent was Reggie Pena (9-5) came to fight improving his win streak to two with a second round guillotine choke, snapping Salter’s three fight win streak. (Full XFC 18: Music City Mayhem event results below.)

Pulling double duty with a card on FX, the UFC returned on Saturday night with UFC 147: Silva vs. Franklin II from the Estadio Jornalista Felipe Drumond in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Originally the main event was to be the coaches of Ultimate Fighter Brazil  facing off against each other, but due to injury Vitor Belfort was replaced by Rich Franklin to face Wanderlei Silva in a rematch from UFC 99 back in June of 2009; where Franklin picked up a controversial decision. Franklin would do it again, this time over five rounds. Franklin defeated Silva 49-46 on all three judges score cards.

The event was the third visit to Brazil for the UFC since being under the Zuffa banner, and was also the conclusion of the first international version of The Ultimate Fighter. The UFC crown the first two “TUF: Brazil” champions in the Middleweight and Featherweight division. For the Middleweight Cezar “Mutante” Ferreira decisioned his replacement fighter Sergio “Serginho” Moraes over three rounds to be the first “TUF: Brazil” Middleweight tournament winner. While Rony “Jason” Mariano Bezerra defeated Godofredo “Pepey” de Oliveira, also with a unanimous decision for the “TUF: Brazil” Featherweight tournament honors.

Fabricio Werdum picked up his second win in the UFC since returning fro STRIKEFORCE. Werdum made short work of Mike Russow with a first round TKO, handing Russow his second ever loss and snapping his 10-fight win streak. In the TV show grudge match the much more serious Rodrigo Damm defeated the show’s clown Anistavio “Gasparzinho” Medeiros very quickly with a rear-naked choke submission  midway through the first round. (Full UFC 147: Silva vs. Franklin II event results below.)

One FC held their fourth event Destiny of Warriors at Stadium Negara in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Saturday. UFC, Bellator and STRIKEFORCE veterans Renato “Babalu” Sobral and Roger Huerta were featured on the card. Sobral who was slated to fight for Instinct MMA this month until Steve Bosse injured himself, returned to the cage for the first time after losing to Dan Henderson in December of 2010 for STRIKEFORCE. Sobral’s comeback was very impressive as he picked up 31-second armbar submission over Tatsuya Mizuno. Huerta saw his losing skid expand when Zorobabel Moreira connected with a second round soccer kick to the face rendering him unconscious. (Full One FC 4: Destiny of Warriors event results below.)

UFC & STRIKEFORCE veteran Scott Smith returned “home” to Gladiator Challenge, the promotion he fought 6 of his first 8 bouts with. In an attempt to snap his 4-fight losing streak, Smith took 9-18-1 fighter Marcus Gaines on Saturday night at Gladiator Challenge’s 142nd event at the Thunder Valley Casino Resort, Lincoln, California. Gaines was  riding a 3-fight win streak after a staggering 10-fight losing skid, but improved that streak to four handing Smith his fifth loss in a row. Smith was not even a challenge for Gaines who scored a first round TKO. (Gladiator Challenge event results below.)

———————————————————————————————-

Thursday Night Fights –

———————————————————————————————-

M-1 Global – Fedor vs. Rizzo results:

Fedor Emelianenko def. Pedro Rizzo via TKO (Punches) – 1:24 – Round 1

Kenny Garner def. Guram Gugenishvili via TKO (Abandonment) -5:00 – Round 3

Musa Khamanaev def. Daniel Weichel via Submission (Heel Hook) – 1:48 – Round 1

Jeff Monson def. Denis Komkin via Submission (North-South Choke) 1:58 – Round 1

Marat Gafurov def. Mairbek Taisumov via Split Decision

Mikhail Malyutin def. Renat Gasanov via TKO (Punches) – 3:16 – Round 1

Ramazan Emeev def. Alberta Duraeva via KO (Punches) – 1:36 – Round 1

Vugar Bakhshiev def. Jerome Bouisson via Submission (Heel Hook) – 2:48 – Round 1

Pavel Vitruk def. Radoslaw Piechnik via Unanimous Decision

Akhmed Sultanov def. Denis Goltsov via Submission (Heel Hook) – 1:28 – Round 1

Abdulmazhid Magomedov def. Davreka Isakova via TKO (Punches) – 3:25 Round 1

———————————————————————————————-

Friday Night Fights –

———————————————————————————————-

UFC on FX 4 results:

Gray Maynard def. Clay Guida via split decision (48-47, 47-48, 48-47)

Sam Stout def. Spencer Fisher via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Brian Ebersole def. T.J. Waldburger via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Cub Swanson def. Ross Pearson via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 4:14

FUEL TV prelims:

Ricardo Lamas def. Hatsu Hioki via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Ramsey Nijem def. C.J. Keith via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 2:29

Rick Story def. Brock Jardine via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Steven Siler def. Joey Gambino via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 2:47

Chris Camozzi def. Nick Catone via TKO (doctor’s stoppage) – Round 3, 1:51

Matt Brown def. Luis Ramos via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 4:20

Facebook prelims:

Dan Miller def. Ricardo Funch via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 3, 3:12

Ken Stone def. Dustin Pague via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

———————————————————————————————-

Bellator 71 results:

Travis Wiuff def. Chris Davis via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 4:12 (light-heavyweight-tourney opening round)

Attila Vegh def. Zelg Galesic via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 1:00 (light-heavyweight-tourney opening round)

Emanuel Newton def. Roy Boughton via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 0:49 (light-heavyweight-tourney opening round)

Tim Carpenter def. Beau Tribolet via submission (armbar) – Round 2, 4:51 (light-heavyweight-tourney opening round)

Brett Rogers def. Kevin Asplund via TKO (doctor’s stoppage) – Round 2, 5:00

Spike.com prelims:

Kevin Zalac def. Chris Goldbaugh via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Josh Stansbury def. Dan Spohn via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 2:30

Jason Butcher def. Duane Bastress via submission (triangle choke) – Round 1, 1:03

Neil Johnson def. Brylan Van Artsdalen via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 4:29

———————————————————————————————-

XFC 18: Music City Mayhem results:

Reggie Pena def. John Salter via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 2, 0:36

Scott Barrett def. Gabriel Salinas-Jones via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 30-27)

Heather Clark def. Avery Vilche via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 1:03

Luke Sanders def. Zachary Sanders via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 4:53

Donny Wallace def. Jason Blackford via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 4:38

Scott Holtzman def. Matt Metts via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 4:13

Joe Ray def. Dustin West via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 2, 1:04

———————————————————————————————-

Saturday Night Fights –

———————————————————————————————-

UFC 147: Silva vs. Franklin II results:

Rich Franklin def. Wanderlei Silva via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46)

Cezar “Mutante” Ferreira def. Sergio “Serginho” Moraes via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27) – to win “TUF: Brazil” middleweight tourney

Rony “Jason” Mariano Bezerra def. Godofredo “Pepey” de Oliveira via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) – to win “TUF: Brazil” featherweight tourney

Fabricio Werdum def. Mike Russow via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 2:28

Hacran Dias def. Yuri Alcantara via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)

FX prelims:

Rodrigo Damm def. Anistavio “Gasparzinho” Medeiros via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 2:12

Francisco “Massaranduba” Drinaldo def. Delson “Pe de Chumbo” Heleno via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:21

Hugo “Wolverine” Viana def. John “Macapa” Teixeira via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Thiago “Bodao” Perpetuo def. Leonarda “Macarrao” Mafra via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 0:41

Facebook prelims:

Marcos “Vina” Vinicius def. Wagner “Galeto” Campos via TKO (strikes) – Round 3, 1:04

Felipe Arantes and Milton Vieira fight to a split draw (29-28, 28-29, 28-28)

———————————————————————————————-

One FC 4 – Destiny of Warriors results:

Renato Sobral def. Tatsuya Mizuno via Submission (Armbar) – 0:31 – Round 1

Zorobabel Moreira def. Roger Huerta via KO (Soccer Kick) – 3:53 – Round 2

Leandro Issa def. Masakazu Imanari via Unanimous Decision

Adam Shahir Kayoom def. Grego Gracie via Unanimous Decision

Eric Kelly def. Bae Kwon via Unanimous Decision

Arnaud Lepont def. Brain Choi via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) – 1:38 – Round 1

Mitch Chilson def. A.J. Vaa via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) – 1:39 – Round 1

Marcos Escobar def. Rodrigo Praxedes via Submission (Brabo Choke) – 1:05 – Round 3

Pete Davis def. Kim Hock Quek via TKO (Knees & Punches) – 0:55 – Round 1

———————————————————————————————-

Gladiator Challenge results:

Marcus Gaines def. Scott Smith via TKO (Punches) – 4:30 – Round 1

—No other results for this fight cards found—