Instant Reaction: UFC Krakow

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Related » UFC Krakow Play-by-Play

5:07 p.m. ET Mike Sloan: as crazy as it sounds, I wouldn't be shocked to see Cro Cop fighting for the UFC heavyweight title with another win or two. Considering the paltry state of the division, it wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility.

5:06 p.m. ET Jordan Breen: The official time of the stoppage is 3:30 even of the third round. It might be Mirko Filipovic's last great MMA moment. Then again, you never know in heavyweight MMA. Cro Cop looked half asleep and uninterested for 10 minutes of getting beat up in this, and suddenly sprang to life when he found Gonzaga's chin.

5:06 p.m. ET Jordan Breen: And after being completely dominated in the second round and looking like he would take any exit provided, Cro Cop roars to life halfway through the second round, hits Gonzaga's legendarily faulty chin and starts unloading.

The Brazilian made it to his back and sucked the former K-1 and Pride star into full guard, but couldn't stop a torrent of absolutely beautiful ground-and-pound elbows. Who knew Mirko had Joe Riggs-type ground-and-pound?

Also, that means Mirko Cro Cop is still undefeated in rematches, now at 6-0. I'm not sure what the best matchup for him is if the UFC want to use him again, but at least he gaves nostalgic fans a surprising, rousing moment of vintage Cro Cop. And boy oh boy, Gonzaga looks like someone took a gemstar razor to his face.

4:51 p.m. ET Jordan Breen: Gonzaga gets a takedown, clinically takes mount with 90 seconds to go, Cro Cop somehow escapes ... and goes for a leglock? What am I even watching? I think Filipovic has thrown a punch. As in, singular.

4:39 p.m. ET Jordan Breen: I'll be overwhelmingly satisfied with this bout if both men fight with some semblance of legitimate aggression. If this turns into Gonzaga's debut against Kevin Jordan (prior to the Superman punch, obviously) or Cro Cop's fight with Mir (prior to the knee deathblow, obviously), I'll contemplate swan diving out the window.

How long before Cro Cop gets hit in the groin in this one?

4:34 p.m. ET Jordan Breen: At least that one didn't actually happen when it was supposed to. It's more like a mulligan than a rematch. And that totally makes it more permissable. Especially when one guy is a 50-year-old man.

4:33 p.m. ET Mike Sloan: Good point, Jordan, but it could be worse. We could have been given the announcement of a rematch between Kimbo Slice and Ken Shamrock. Could you imagine if that ever happened? Oh, wait ...

4:29 p.m. ET Jordan Breen: And yes, nearly eight years in the making, it's main event time. How fitting on a night headlined by a pointless rematch, we also had the announcement of “Jacare”-Camozzi 2.

4:27 p.m. ET Jordan Breen: A pretty dreadful fight that was mostly a pedestrian sparring matchup. Manuwa was constantly advancing and landed more clean, hard strikes, with a greater diversity to his repertoire. My score is 30-27 Manuwa, and the official scorecards are 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 for “The Posterboy.”

Obviously, the Polish crowd is not particularly pumped and most of them will probably hit the exit now before Mirko Cro Cop and Gabriel Gonzaga try to torture for them for 25 minutes.

Manuwa tells Dan Hardy after the bout he had an unspecified injury in training, almost pulled out and soldiered through it. Gritty stuff, but man, that was tough to watch, even if it wasn't really Manuwa's fault so much.

3:58 p.m. ET Jordan Breen: And Yoel Romero Palacio's replacement against Ronaldo Souza? Chris Camozzi. Yes, the very same Chris Camozzi who lost four fights in a row in the UFC before being released, including getting choked unconscious in the first round by “Jacare” himself two years ago.

You just can't make this insanity up.

3:57 p.m. ET Jordan Breen: In October, Jimi Manuwa lost the chance to destroy Mauricio Rua's face because he broke his foot. Instead, that honor went to Ovince St. Preux. Now, Manuwa is healthy and trying to get back on track at 205. He gets stern opposition in the form of one of Poland's most decorated fighters, Jan Blachowicz.

This fight's entertainment value could range from “sucky” to “surprisingly dope” but regardless of where it falls on the spectrum, at least they are top-15 light heavyweights. At least we're watching fighters who matter.

I need these affirmations sometimes, so I don't lose my mind.

3:51 p.m. ET Jordan Breen: With that, Pawlak takes the 29-28 sweep across the board. Now get him out of here! What about the Brazilian alligator man?

3:49 p.m. ET Jordan Breen: Pawlak hit a crucially-timed uchimata in the third round and spent a large chunk of it on top, sealing the 29-28 scorecard from me in what was mostly a tactical clinch battle. The real drama was outside the cage, though, as first, Maryna Moroz was brought to the backstage area but didn't have a translator available so no one could talk to her, then it was announced that the UFC are announcing a new opponent for Ronaldo Souza for UFC on Fox 15. A mixed bag to say the least.

3:25 p.m. ET Jordan Breen: Sean Shelby is no idiot. I imagine they'll look at putting Claudia Gadelha into the next title challenger role and let Moroz blossom a bit. Let the Jedrzejczyk-Moroz feud simmer until an epic UFC Fight Night showdown somewhere in central or eastern Europe.

3:22 p.m. ET Mike Sloan: So, Calderwood didn't exactly look like a million bucks. She seemed shocked by the punching of Moroz and then was unable to pull her arm out of the armbar. Either way, she was a huge favorite who got subbed in 90 seconds. Impressive win by Maryna, though I'm not sure it's quite intelligent to call out the champ so quickly.

3:18 p.m. ET Jordan Breen: Well, damn, I was half right. Moroz was nasty enough to leap into guard, get an armbar on Calderwood in 90 seconds flat and force her to tap. But! The real impressive part of the performance is that Moroz, who has looked completely out of sorts striking in her young career, came out guns blazing, landing punches with both hands.

“The Iron Lady” is out here. She still developing and hopefully can get a bit more seasoning before she gets tossed into a title fight. However, the gains she's made over her last two fights, beating two very quality women in Karine Silva and Joanne Calderwood, is damn impressive. Moroz is pure offense, like a young, even more dynamic Marloes Coenen.

And of course, Joanna Jedrzejczyk is already calling her out from cageside and telling her to bring it on and to come get in her face. Jedrzejczyk is so rugged it's unbelieveable. This woman.

3:06 p.m. ET Jordan Breen: Military vehicles aside, we're bound for the 115-pound division once again, as charismatic Scottish striker Joanne Calderwood returns to action against fellow unbeaten Maryna Moroz of Ukraine.

Moroz is the biggest underdog on the card, around +500 and over +600 in some places, and with good reason, as she's incredibly green. Her striking is lightyears behind “Bad Mofo JoJo” and she'll probably get shredded on the feet at all ranges. However, Moroz is a lithe, nimble grappler who just knows how to put people in danger on the mat. If Calderwood plays around on the floor, she could end up in a bit of trouble.

That said, Calderwood is probably gonna look like a million bucks here and with no Claudia Gadelha on the card, can probably get her own strawweight title shot campaign wagon rolling here with an impressive victory

3:03 p.m. ET Jordan Breen: Time for main card action from Tauron Arena in Krakow, Poland. Let's celebrate the occasion by remembering the greatest moment in the history of Polish MMA. No, not Joanna Jedrzejczyk winning the UFC strawweight title. I'm talking about Krzysztof Kulak's entrance from KSW 13, complete with a tank. No Limit Records in the house, wodie.



2:46 p.m. ET Jordan Breen: Most importantly, all those fights were dragging ass and had the show running behind schedule. The preliminary broadcast would've run over its allotted time if that went to round three. Leon Edwards is here to save your broadcast.

2:44 p.m. ET Jordan Breen: Grant Waterman stops the bout at eight seconds. Eight! That's not as fast as Todd Duffee trucking Tim Hague in seven seconds, but darn close. Also, we all know Duane Ludwig did Jonathan Goulet dirty in four seconds, but got ripped off and they somehow clocked it at an unfathomable 11 seconds.

2:41 p.m. ET Mike Sloan: It's funny how just eight explosive seconds can completely eradicate 15 minutes of puke

2:41 p.m. ET Jordan Breen: Aaaand that's what I was talking about with Baczynski's chin. Edwards needed less than 10 seconds to land a clean left cross counter, then two more left hands on the ground. Game over. One of the fastest knockouts in UFC history, ladies and gentlemen.

Also, Leon Edwards, you are a beautiful man.

2:41 p.m. ET Jordan Breen: Dan Hardy coined “plastic paddy” for the pseudo-Irish sensibilities of Marcus Davis, and now, we get a “plastic Pole” as welterweight Seth Baczynski comes to Poland for the first time to take on slick-boxing Brit Leon Edwards. This is actually a lovely little style match-up. Baczynski will try to swarm and impose with his massive frame, and Edwards will try to capitalize on Baczynski's porous defense and exploitable chin. This could give us a spark and get the entertainment value of the card back up.

2:39 p.m. ET Jordan Breen: Well, that's finally over. It's 30-27 Fabinski for me, after the Polish grinder did a homeless man's Gleison Tibau routine for 15 minutes. Clinch, grind, lock hands, elevate slam, opponent stands back up, rinse, repeat. The highlight of the fight was referee Marc Goddard cussing at McLellan's corner for not wiping him off after round two.

The official scores? A clean sweep, 30-27, for Bartosz Fabinski. “The Butcher” becomes the first Polish fighter to win a UFC bout in Poland.

Poor Goddard. He had to deal with the Hamilton-Omielanczuk fight and that fight. Someone get this man a Xanax bar to go with his tea. If someone grabs the fence in his next assignment, he might tweak out.

2:18 p.m. ET Jordan Breen: Up next, Polish welterweight Bartosz Fabinski tries to put Poland in the win column against South African rugby convert Garreth McLellan. Let's hope that things go better in the Octagon for McLellan than his fellow EFC Africa champion Ruan Potts.

2:16 p.m. ET Jordan Breen: Moraes gets Lebout down and dominates him on top for three-and-a-half minutes, getting the back and nearly choking him out. It's 29-28 Lebout on my card. However, the most decisive round of the contest was the final round for Moraes, and given the haphazard sparring-type striking in the first 10 minutes, the judges could reward Moraes. The first round was fairly competitive.

And here's your answer: all three judges score the bout 29-28 for the winner by unanimous decision, Sergio Moraes. All credit to the zhoo-zhitz, of course.

2:09 p.m. ET Jordan Breen: Well, maybe we're not gonna see any elite-level grappling here, as Sergio Moraes has been unable to get Mickael Lebout on the ground and has taken to throwing wild punches with him. I've got Lebout up 20-18, but this could be 19-19 depending on how you saw the opening frame. Moraes needs to get this on the ground to maximize his chances of winning here.

1:57 p.m. ET Jordan Breen: Time now to see some true world-class grappling, as BJJ world champion Sergio Moraes takes on Mickael Lebout. Of France. Please disregard when I called his teammate Taylor Lapilus the only Frenchman on UFC roster. I'm a moron.

1:56 p.m. ET Mike Sloan: Very close fight in my opinion. I thought Stasiak won it (barely) but I am fine with them giving Meza the nod. Rounds one and two were very close. Round three? not so much. As Kimbo would say, "It's all good!"

1:53 p.m. ET Jordan Breen: Fun little grappling match with Yaotzin Meza and Damian Stasiak, but Meza's superior wrestling led him to top control and back control frequently over the last 10 minutes. The official scores are 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28 for the winner by unanimous decision, Yaotzin Meza. The Arizonian stays employed, MMA Lab gets a win, Poland falls to 0-4 on the night. It's a cold world in Krakow.

1:31 p.m. ET Jordan Breen: Up next at 135 pounds, Yaotzin Meza tries to stay gainfully employed against Damien Stasiak in a fight that was quickly cobbled together. Meza is well-rounded and experienced, but very much in the way that respectable journeymen are, not in the way that Demetrious Johnson is. Stasiak hasn't fought much notable competition, but is a slick grappler. Poland is 0-3 so far, so perhaps he can at least get his country on the board.

Bonus points for Stasiak if he wins with the dreaded heart punch, though.

1:27 p.m. ET Mike Sloan: Most of the time, heavyweight fights stink worse than month-old cabbage. But both men put on a good show. Hamilton deserved the nod.