UFC 133: Rashad Evans in prime form stops Tito Ortiz

So much on the line. Tito Ortiz carried the US flag. Rashad Evans the weight of fourteen months sidelined and the removal of his title shot, and his departure from Greg Jackson’s training camp. Ortiz had the momentum, soaked up the support. It was a cagey opening. Evans landed a couple of punches. Ortiz went for the takedown. Both men got up and traded blows against the cage. Evans flailed away, Ortiz returned with knees. Evans then picked Ortiz up and slammed him down; it changed the support in the arena. The first round ended with Ortiz shielding his head with those hulk-like arms. Great round. Evans 10-9. Referee John McCarthy had to do not a jot. Round 2. They trade and miss. Guillotine choke for Ortiz without the guard, and Evans pops out. The crowd in Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center began to lose their minds. Midway through the second and Evans has dominant position and is pounding away, and takes side control. Ortiz twists and fights for survival. He’s game. But then Evans gets him onto his knees and pounds away and delivering a knee to the solar plexus. McCarthy looks closely as Evans pounds away. TKO for Evans with 15 seconds left of the second. Good fight.

Horrible finish. Two iconic protagonists, one result. Vitor Belfort KO’d Yoshihiro Akiyama in a brutal attack in the opening round, but the three winging left hooks to the back of Akiyama’s head, when the Japanese fighter was already in trouble, were not pretty. Sure, Belfort has the killer instinct when he scents the opponent in danger, but the nature of the punches lacks perspicacity. Akiyama should fight at welterweight in the UFC.

Credentials enhanced. Rory MacDonald has the look of a hungry animal when he enters the Octagon. The Canadian welterweight is quietly spoken outside it. He took to veteran Mike Pyle defeating him by TKO 3 minutes 54 seconds into the first round. He marches on. And although they are in the same camps, MacDonald is stalking UFC welterweight champion George St Pierre from the shadows.

Brian Ebersole – makings of an everyman legend. Ebersole has had over 70 MMA fights. Not all are on record. He added Denis Hallman to his record with a brutal TKO finish on the ground. It has taken seven years for the American – who lives in Australia – to become an overnight sensation. Ebersole escaped Hallman’s submission attempts early in the first round like Houdini, and then just took over. The shaved hairpiece was back – pointing again at his chin. Ebersole can go far in the welterweight division.

UFC 133: Rashad Evans versus Tito Ortiz – Live blog

UFC 133 – Live blog…updating…

RESULTS BELOW

Preliminary fights:

In the opening contest, Rafael Natal defeated Paul Bradley via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28).

RAFAEL NATAL

“I am really, really happy about this fight! I feel like I needed it, I worked really hard for it. It was a tough fight and I’m glad I came through winning. Thank you God and thank you UFC.”

PAUL BRADLEY

“I feel like it was my fault, I could have taken him down in the second round. I didn’t, so it’s my fault. It was a close fight, and I am disappointed by the result. Like Dana always says, never leave it to the judges.”

Mike Brown was looking to get his mojo back against Nam Phan. He did, winning by unanimous decision, judge Kao scoring the first round 10-8, after the former WEC featherweight champion dominated Phan on the ground. Brown looked a little static in the pocket, but will be pleased overall with the performance.

MIKE BROWN

“At the beginning my back was haunting me so that’s why I was a little conservative, but I’m glad I got the job done. There was a lot of repetitive trauma there for over four minutes so even though I didn’t knock him out, I know that I was breaking him down. It wasn’t the most perfect fight, but I’m happy I got the victory.”

NAM PHAN

“It was a really tough bout so I did what I could do. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough, but I believe it was as fair as it could be”.

As expected Johny Hendricks and Mike Pierce fought like to bulldozers. Neither wanted to budge an inch. Two immoveable objects. It was a close fight which could have gone either way. I had it 29-28 for Pierce, giving him the third and a very close second round. Two of the judges saw it the other way. Pierce gets a defeat bit it was an excellent fight. Two winners in there tonight.

JOHNY HENDRICKS

“It was a very tough fight. Its always hard with other wrestlers, and he changed levels often making it even harder. I feel that the take downs were even, in fact, I don’t think he took me down at all. I feel awesome, my ground game is good, my knees are great and I am really happy with my improvement.”

MIKE PIERCE

“I’m obviously disappointed. I had a really good camp, went through really good training and I feel disappointed after all the hard work I put in. It was a fair fight, both of us were trying to finish what we started, and unfortunately it went the way it did.”

Ivan Menjivar v Nick Pace came alive in the last minute. Menjivar looked like he had the fight until a knee caught him with a minute to go. Pace ran after Menjivar trying to finish him. Menjivar took it 29-28, unanimous. Boos, but the right decision.

Preliminary card (Facebook)

Middleweight bout: Brazil Rafael Natal vs. United States Paul Bradley

Natal defeated Bradley via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28).

Featherweight bout: United States Mike Brown vs. United States Nam Phan

Brown defeated Phan via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-28, 29-28).

Welterweight bout: United States Johny Hendricks vs. United States Mike Pierce

Hendricks wins by split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29)

Catchweight (138lb) bout: Canada Ivan Menjivar vs. United States Nick Pace

Preliminary card (televised)

Featherweight bout: United States Chad Mendes vs. Brazil Rani Yahya

Light Heavyweight bout: United States Matt Hamill vs. Sweden Alexander Gustafsson

Main card

Welterweight bout: United States Mike Pyle vs. Canada Rory MacDonald

Middleweight bout: United States Jorge Rivera vs. Cyprus Costantinos Philippou

Welterweight bout: United States Brian Ebersole vs. United States Dennis Hallman

Middleweight bout: Brazil Vitor Belfort vs. Japan Yoshihiro Akiyama

Light Heavyweight bout: United States Rashad Evans vs. United States Tito Ortiz

Angels: Jered Weaver to drop appeal of six-game suspension

One night after saying he planned to go through with an appeal of his six-game suspension for throwing over the head of Detroit Tigers catcher Alex Avila last Sunday, Angels ace Jered Weaver has changed his mind. 

Weaver will drop his appeal, begin serving the suspension Saturday, and he's scheduled to pitch Aug. 13 at Toronto. 

Weaver is 14-5 with a major league-leading 1.78 earned-run average. He struck out eight and walked one in nine scoreless innings Friday during the Angels 1-0 win against Seattle. 

With Weaver out, the Angels still need to figure out who will start Wednesday's game at New York.

"We'll have a starter," Angels Manager Mike Scioscia said before Saturday's game. "We just don't have a name yet. We have an idea of which way we're going. We certainly want to come through this series now and let things move a little further along and then we'll have an announcement."

One possible candidate to start Wednesday is reliever Hisanori Takahashi, who is 3-2 with a 3.35 ERA in 43 games this season.

MORE:

Angels languish in West Coast hitting doldrums

Hisinora Takahashi in line to join starting rotation

Vernon Wells finishes what Jered Weaver starts against Mariners

-- Baxter Holmes

Photo: Jered Weaver worked nine shutout innings against the Seattle Mariners on Friday night at Angel Stadium. Credit: Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times

UFC 133: Main eventers Tito Ortiz and Rashad Evans in great shape – Chandella not just a pretty face

NOTES FROM PHILLY:

Tito Ortiz turned up in great shape for this contest. Rashad Evans even better at the weigh-in.

Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson told The Telegraph that Evans has benefited from a great training camp. “My team-mate Rashad is fighting and I’ve just come to show my support and give whatever help he needs. I’ve never seen him in this great shape and as mentally focused. Training with him has been great. It’s been great getting moves and knowledge from him in this camp, and helping him out with whatever he has wanted from me. It has been a fun ride with him.”

Johnson also told The Telegraph: “Rashad has been off for 14 months and he’s really hungry right now. Tito’s hungry too – he just got a big win over Ryan Bader. I didn’t think he’d beat Ryan Bader. I honestly picked Bader – younger stronger faster the whole package. Tito shocked the world – and I think it’s going to be a straight battle.”

“For Rashad, of course it is great to see him back. Things happen for a reason, and sometimes it is a blessing in disguise. This was just Rashad’s chance from God to go after a second title reign…and I think he’ll do it.”

Matt Hamill’s team are convinced he is in a “great frame of mind” for his contest with Alex Gustaffson tonight. They reckon Hamill just couldn’t “flick the switch” when he fought Rampage Jackson last time out…

Brad Pickett, whose great mentor and training partner Mike Brown comes back on the card against Nam Phan, hopes this will be a rejuvenation fight for his career. Brown has admitted he is ambivalent about whether his fighting days are over.

“I love him like a brother, a father figure even, because he has done so much for me and my career. He’s been an inspiration,” Pickett told me. He is cornering for Brown tonight. Pickett, of course, faces Renan Barao in Birmingham at UFC 138 on November 5. The winner will get a title shot.

Chandella – not just a pretty face

Chandella is not just a pretty face around the Octagon – she has some sporting skills. The 30-year-old revealed to The Telegraph that she was progressing as a semi-professional tennis player until she had to make the choice between being a tennis player and a theatrical dancer when she headed to college. But she revealed that while playing tennis, she missed out on an opportunity. “I was playing in a semi-pro tournament one day, and as I was preparing to go out and compete [she was a doubles player] I turned around and was face to face with Mr Williams, father of the Williams Sisters, Venus and Serena.” They talked a while, and Mr Williams complimented Chandella on her play. “I’ve kicked myself ever since, because I should have asked him straight out then if he would coach me…” Chandella studied physical fitness and psychology at college. But she could have been a Wimbledon contender…

Joey Logano earns pole position for NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Pocono

It won’t be Denny Hamlin or Jeff Gordon out front early at the Good Sam RV Insurance 500 on Sunday -- not Jimmie Johnson or Tony Stewart either.

Leading the way as the race begins will be Joey Logano, a young driver whose lap time of 52.309 seconds in qualifying on Saturday earned him the pole position for the NASCAR Sprint Cup event at Pocono Raceway today.

"Obviously starting up front with clean air is worth a million bucks here," said Logano, who became the youngest pole-winner in the history of Pocono Raceway at 21 years, 2 months and 13 days. "Being able to start up front and getting a good pit stall -- all of that stuff is going to help us out a lot for Sunday. I’m pretty pumped up about that."

Logano, who posted an average speed of 172.055 mph in his pole-winning lap, currently sits in 19th place in the Sprint Cup standings and is still looking for a win in 2011.

He gave a level of credit for his lap to the presence of Hamlin, a four-time winner at Pocono and his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate.

"He’s proven to be pretty good here," Logano said with a laugh, "so it definitely helps to talk to him and just pick his brain [about] what he works on here, what he does with the race car, how he drives it — all of that stuff definitely helps out a lot."

Kasey Kahne will start next to Logano in second. Kahne is the driver whom Logano supplanted as the youngest pole-winner at Pocono.

Although he lost that distinction, Kahne can still boast of having the fastest qualifying time in Pocono history -- his 2004 record-setting lap time of 52.1639 seconds is still the standard.

"It’s definitely good to start up front here," Kahne said. "I think it helps a little bit. This race is so long … being up front early on isn’t everything, but it’s definitely not a bad thing."

UFC 133 live results, Evans vs. Ortiz

UFC 133 takes place in Philadelphia Saturday night. The card is headlined by a light heavyweight bout between former light heavyweight champions Rashad Evans and Tito Ortiz. Evans with a win will compete for the championship in his next bout, while Ortiz looks to continue an improbable comeback story following an upset win over Ryan Bader. Stay tuned for results throughout the evening.

--Todd Martin

Mason Chooses Jets Over Titans and Ravens

The Jets completed the dramatic refashioning of their receiving corps Saturday, signing Derrick Mason to be their third receiver with Santonio Holmes and Plaxico Burress.

Mason chose the Jets over the Tennessee Titans, where he played for the first eight seasons of his career (he still lives in Nashville), and the Baltimore Ravens, where he played the last six seasons. He is familiar with Jets Coach Rex Ryan, linebacker Bart Scott, safety Jim Leonhard and defensive lineman Trevor Pryce, from their shared days with the Ravens.

“Going from one young gun to another,” Mason wrote on his Twitter feed, referring to jumping from playing with quarterback Joe Flacco in Baltimore to Mark Sanchez with the Jets.

At 37, Mason is no longer the primary receiving threat he used to be, when he had eight 1,000-yard seasons. As recently as 2007, he caught 103 passes. But he remains consistently productive. Last season, he caught 61 passes, his lowest total since 2000. But he scored seven touchdowns, and he averaged 13.1 yards per reception.

With the departures of Jerricho Cotchery, who asked to be released, and Braylon Edwards and Brad Smith to free agency, signing Mason became imperative for the Jets. The talent in the available wide receiver pool drops off considerably with him off the market. Because of the uncertainty surrounding Burress’s return to football after more than two years out of the game and in prison, the Jets were in need an experienced receiver who could pair with Holmes if necessary. If all three are on the field together, Mason will probably play in the slot, where he still excels at running routes in traffic.

Mason’s choice came as a bit of a surprise after Ryan indicated on Friday that Mason would likely have to take less money to join the Jets and it became clear the Ravens wanted Mason to return, after cutting him in a salary-cap move last week. Mason attended the Jets’ practice on Thursday, but left without making a decision – usually a sign that the player will land elsewhere. The terms of Mason’s Jets contract were not disclosed, although it is believed to be a one-year deal.

“I would like to thank my family for supporting this difficult decision I made today!” Mason wrote on Twitter. “For 14 yrs they have been by my side and they chose to do it yet again even though this time it was hard for them!! Also I would like to thank all of Baltimore for supporting me for the last 6 Years!! U guys and gals have been my football family and I will forever appreciate that support and love!”