Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Reaction to UFC 135

UFC 135 went down on Saturday night headlined by the much-anticipated main event of Jon Jones vs Rampage Jackson. Jones defended his light heavyweight title in convincing fashion submitting Jackson by rear naked choke in the 4th round. Jackson showed grit during the fight but Jones was on another level then the former champ. Jones was in control from the opening bell and never once looked in danger. The champion took Jackson down multiple times and peppered him with a variety of strikes including leg kicks that took a toll on Jackson, as well as a punishing elbow that cut Jackson under the eye.

After the fight Jackson said he was humbled by Jones and was in the best shape of his life but was still soundly beaten and went as far as to say Jones is "The real deal." After the post fight interviews number one contender Rashad Evans entered the ring and engaged in a stare down with Jones which heightened the tension for their title fight.

Also on the card Josh Koscheck returned to action with a first round TKO of Matt Hughes. Hughes looked strong in the opening minutes of the fight using a strong jab to keep TUF alumni Koscheck at bay. Koscheck began to find his range as the round wore on though eventually landing a powerful hook followed by a flurry of strikes that dropped Hughes. Koscheck would then batter the fallen Hughes with punches finishing the fight.

In another dominant performance Nate Diaz was back at home in the lightweight division with a first round submission of Takanori Gomi. Diaz controlled the entire fight with technical and powerful striking that utilized his healthy reach advantage over Gomi. Gomi in an effort to avoid further punishment took Diaz down. Upon being taken down Diaz worked his magic on the ground easily submitting the legendary Gomi.

Monday, September 26, 2011

Back to .500

It wasn't pretty but they'll take it. The Irish got back to .500 today with a 15-12 win in Pittsburgh. Notre Dame did not play its best game but did enough to squeak by the Panthers on the strength of a late touchdown drive. Irish Quarterback Tommy Rees struggled most of the afternoon but was a perfect 8-8 passing on the go ahead drive. Tyler Eifert caught five passes on the drive including the touchdown and two point conversion.


Notre Dame struggled on offence all day as Pitt took away star wideout Michael Floyd. Rees struggled to find other recievers until the final drive in which he found Theo Riddick on three occasions as well as Eifert five times. The Irish were held in check most of the game and were void of big plays with the exception of a Jonas Gray 79 yard TD run in the 2nd quarter.


The Irish defence continued its strong play this season. Notre Dame's defence held Pittsburgh to 268 yards of total offence. The Irish also managed to limit the Panthers vaunted rushing attack to 2.7 yards per carry and sack Pitt quarterback Tino Sonseri on five occasions. Pittsburgh only scored one TD on the Irish defence which came on a drive prolonged by a roughing the kicker penalty and aided by a pass interference penalty against Gary Gray.


Notre Dame was lucky to escape Hienz Field with a win on Saturday. The Irish turned the ball over two times against Pitt which brings their season total to a FBS worst 15 and also commited eight penalties for 85 yards. Notre Dame can't afford to shoot themselves in the foot down the road against teams like Stanford and USC.


Next up for the Irish a battle at in state rival Purdue in primetime.