UFC 109 blog: Couture tops Coleman

UFC 109 was in Las Vegas on Saturday. Inside Fights' Mitch Ciccarelli blogged about the main card action.

Main card

Randy Couture vs. Mark Coleman

Round 1

Couture starts the action with a stiff jab. Couture lands a solid right hand. Couture lands a good uppercut and Coleman counters with a big uppercut of his own. Coleman lands a good jab but seems very stiff and uncomfortable with his footwork. Couture lands some powerful shots and a big knee that rocks Coleman. Now Couture has Coleman pressed up against the fence and is testing Coleman's cardio. Couture is working his vintage dirty boxing on Coleman and controlling his 45-year old fellow Hall of Famer. Couture lands solid uppercuts from the wrestlers' clinch while keeping Coleman up against the cage. Couture is really doing damage with these uppercuts. A great start for Couture as he takes the first round decisively.

Round 2

Couture is picking Coleman apart standing. Couture takes Coleman down and is now pummeling away from the top. Couture takes Coleman's back and chokes him out with a rear-naked choke.

• Couture wins by second-round submission.

Nate Marquardt vs. Chael Sonnen

Round 1

Sonnen immediately tries to take Marquardt down. Sonnen has Marquart up against the fence but Marquardt gets back to the center. Sonnen gets the takedown but Marquardt locks in a guillotine. Sonnen escapes and is now working from the top position. Sonnen is landing some good strikes from the top including some vicious elbows. Maruqardt is surprisingly being controlled early on by Sonnen and is having difficulty from the bottom. Marquardt gets back to his feet and lands a flying knee, Sonnen takes the knee and gets the takedown once again. Sonnen is landing elbows and dominating Marquardt on the ground with his overwhelming wrestling base. Marquardt is showing a good defensive guard but is not able to be offensive from his back and is getting beat on by Sonnen's ground and pound. Sonnen dominates the first round.

Round 2

Sonnen takes Marquardt to the ground the instant the round starts and is landing powerful strikes from the top. Marquardt looks for a kimura but Sonnen fights out of it. This should surprise a lot of people as Sonnen is imposing his will on the man ranked second overall in the middleweight division. Marquardt lands an elbow from the bottom and cuts Sonnen wide open; blood is gushing out. Sonnen is bleeding badly but is still able to control the action. Sonnen appears to have won the second round.

Round 3

Sonnen gets the takedown again early in the round. He is overwhelming Marquardt with his powerful wrestling base and vicious ground and pound. Sonnen grabs hold of Marquardt's back, lands a few knees before taking him down yet again. Sonnen is absolutely manhandling Marquardt and seems to be well on his way to earning a shot at the UFC middleweight championship. Marquardt does not have an answer for Sonnen's top control. Marquardt gets back to his feet, Sonnen takes him down again and gets caught in a tight guillotine choke. Marquardt comes very close to finishing but Sonnen escapes. Marquardt rolls Sonnen over and is now on top for the first time in this fight. Marquardt is picking things up toward the very end of the fight but it won't be enough.

• Sonnen wins by unanimous decision (30-27, 20-27, 30-27).

Mike Swick vs. Paulo Thiago

Round 1

Swick comes out and misses an inside leg kick. Thiago keeping a tight defense with his hands held high. Thiago lands a head kick and Swick lands a counter punch. Swick tries a 1-3 followed by a 1-2-3 combination. Not much action as the welterweights are trying to find their range on the feet. Swick connects with a good right hand but it doesn't seem to hurt Thiago. Swick lands an inside leg kick. Thiago comes forward and lands a very powerful leg kick. Crowd is booing, not much is going on in this round. Thiago misses a head kick attempt and the two continue feeling each other out. Swick surprisingly takes Thiago down and is working from the top position. Swick likely steals the round with the takedown at the end.

Round 2

Thiago lands a good outside leg kick early on. Thiago rocks Swick with a powerful right hook, Swick goes down. Thiago follows him to the ground and locks in a tight darce choke to finish Swick.

• Thiago wins by submission.

Demian Maia vs. Dan Miller

Round 1

Miller comes out and throws a 1-2 but misses. The two grapplers are feeling each other out in the standup. Miller counters Maia with a good uppercut. Maia shoots for a double leg, Miller defending up against the fence. Maia still looking for the takedown, pushing Miller up against the cage. Miller lands a knee and separates, and the two are back in the middle. Maia takes Miller down but Miller scrambles and gets back to his feet. Maia lands some good strikes and an accidental knee to the groin. The action is stalled. After a few moments of feeling each other out on the feet, Maia pushes Miller up against the cage getting the takedown once again but again Miller gets back to his feet. Close round, could have went either way.

Round 2

Maia's striking looks much improved in this fight. Rather than the grappling chess match most expected, the two black belts are standing and trading blows. Maia seems to be landing the crisper shots this round. Miller lands a hard inside leg kick and then moments later follows up with an outside leg kick. Maia looking to land his big left hand and has Miller backpedaling. Maia continues pressing forward and is outstriking Miller. Not much is going on but it is clear that Maia has the advantage standing up.

Round 3

After a few moments standing and trading, Maia pushes Miller up against the cage looking for a takedown but it is stuffed by Miller. Miller clipped Mia, but Maia is back up and finally gets Miller to the ground. Miller is looking to wall walk but Maia controls from the top position. Miller gets back up to his feet, but not for long as Maia takes him down yet again. Miller is being controlled by Maia on the ground. Maia is softening Miller up with strikes as Miller looks to elevate Maia and get the fight back to the feet but to no avail. Miller is attempting a submission with thirty seconds left  but Maia escapes. It was a close fight but Maia controlled all three rounds.

• Maia wins by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

Matt Serra vs. Frank Trigg

Round 1

Serra comes out and lands a body shot. Both fighters feeling each other out on their feet. Trigg lands a combination that doesn't faze Serra. Serra is looking for body strikes but not landing. Serra throws a head kick but doesn't land flush. Serra continues throwing body strikes and is landing some of them, doing a good job controlling the action on the feet. Serra lands an inside leg kick. Serra lands a thunderous overhand right and follows up with power punches knocking Trigg out cold.

• Serra wins by first-round KO.

Undercard results

• Joey Beltran def Rolles Gracie via TKO (punches), Round 2.
• Chris Tuchscherer def. Tim Hague via majority decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-28).
• Phil Davis def. Brian Stann via unanimous decision (no scores given).
• Robert Emerson def. Phillipe Nover via unanimous decision (no scores given).
• Melvin Guillard def Ronys Torres via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Mac Danzig def Justin Buccholz via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)