Instant Reaction: UFC Rio

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1:10 a.m. ET Jordan Breen: The fight ends in ugly fashion with a point deduction for Demian Maia as he starts stalling and the wheels come off late. However, for 20 minutes he was flawless and exacting on the ground with brilliant guard passing and legitimate submission threats. Still, not a particular pleasing fight.

Demian Maia takes the unanimous verdict, with 48-46 scores all around. This event was surprisingly delightful up until the main event. You know, except for when Eduardo Herdy robbed Drew Dober and authored the worst stoppage in UFC history. Never forget.

12:55 a.m. ET Jordan Breen: Through 15 minutes, it's all Demian Maia. LaFlare isn't hapless here, but he's massively outmatched on the ground and can't stop Maia from either taking him down or sweeping him. That old crafty playboy.

12:24 a.m. ET Jordan Breen: Main event time. LaFlare the slight favorite at -120 and the more well-rounded man, with a workmanlike and technical sprawl-and-brawl style. But, Maia's craftier than he gets credit for and is truly a master on the mat, technically speaking. And like I said, he somehow dragged a good 25-minute fight out of Jake Shields, which is something to behold.

12:12 a.m. ET Jordan Breen: And there it is. Koscheck gets rocked with an overhand left, then a left hook to the body and ensnared in a guillotine the minute he shoots in desperation. Koscheck taps at 4:21 of the first round and that should be the end of Josh Koscheck as an active UFC fighter.

Koscheck joins Steve Cantwell and Leonard Garcia as the only two fighters to lose five consecutive bouts during a single UFC stint. However, that was Koscheck's 24th welterweight bout in the UFC, an all-time record. And that will probably be Silva's seventh bonus in his last eight fights, to boot.

12:02 a.m. ET Jordan Breen: The stakes get raised as we reach our co-feature at 170 pounds, with Erick Silva meeting Josh Koscheck. As mentioned off the top, Koscheck is 0-4 in his last four outings and is winless in over three years. He's 37 years old, his chin is dented and he's a submission liability too. Worse, he's not in peak athletic form any more, evident in how quickly he depreciated three weeks ago against Ellenberger.

If Silva hits him hard and early, this could be a quick and dirty hatchet job. It's a shame to think Koscheck's UFC run, which was rock solid if seldom spectacular, would end with an 0-5 losing streak and several devastating stoppage losses.

11:47 p.m. ET Jordan Breen: And at the 2:29 mark of the second round, Santos locks up a rear-naked choke on Martin, who seems more and more like an athletically gifted frontrunner with each UFC fight. The 35-year-old Santos has lost just once in the last seven-plus years.









11:22 p.m. ET Jordan Breen: Up next, Nova Uniao standout and “Ultimate Fighter: Brazil” winner Leo Santos takes on American wrassler Tony Martin. Martin is a -155 favorite, I'd imagine largely due to him hitting a nifty kimura on BJJ black belt Fabricio Camoes at UFC 179 in October. Martin is a fantastic athlete, but still a green work-in-progress, learning MMA skills while fighting in the best division in the sport in the UFC.

Incidentally, Santos made his MMA debut back in 2002 with no real MMA training, against then-Shooto world champion Takanori Gomi. This sport is cruel and tries to kill and eat its young.

11:16 p.m. ET Tristen Critchfield: Interesting lady and and an important figure in women's MMA, but a shopworn Shayna Baszler is who Bethe Correia beat to get a bantamweight title shot. Remember that when Ronda armbars her in 60 seconds or less.

11:13 p.m. ET Jordan Breen: And after batting her around with punches, Amanda Nunes hacks into Baszler's left knee with a low kick and she goes down injured. The official time is 1:56 of the first round. I'm not saying that Nunes would beat Ronda Rousey -- she would not beat Ronda Rousey. However, she is a better and more dangerous fighter than Bethe Correia who is going to get lit up in her native country come UFC 190.

11:05 p.m. ET TJ De Santis: As a midwesterner and a hardcore MMA fan, it's been bittersweet seeing Shayna Baszler inside the UFC. The first time I saw her fight was on VHS tape where she faced my then teammate Kelly Kobold in a bar somewhere near Sioux Falls, S.D. Having seen nearly every one of her fights, it's clear that the sun is setting soon for "The Queen of Spades." This fight would go a long way in delaying the end her UFC tenure.

11:01 p.m. ET Jordan Breen: Women's bantamweight showdown between Amanda Nunes and Shayna Baszler. Baszler, in spite of her tuff woman efforts recently in the pro-wrestling world for Ring of Honor, isn't the most damage-resistant woman out there. Meanwhile, Nunes is a real punisher and I think she'll be able to get a stoppage here. But, will it be a clean finish or will Baszler keep her heat? You can never say in Brazil.

Sidenote, most Brazilians call pro-wrestling “telecatch” which frankly, I think is adorable.

10:51 p.m. ET Jordan Breen: I have no idea what the hell was wrong with Gilbert Burns for the first 10 minutes, but in the third round, he responded with appropriate urgency, dominated Alex Oliveira, then finished him off with a beautiful armbar with 45 seconds left on the clock.

Again, I'm most interested in why Burns looked so particularly awful and out-of-step for the first two rounds. Nonetheless impressive that he turned it on late and executed to get the W.

10:45 p.m. ET TJ De Santis: Brazil is the new PRIDE. Crazy ass officiating and no logic when it comes to favorites doing well.

10:39 p.m. ET Jordan Breen: Don't look now, but Alex Oliveira had a bossy opening round, getting up from a Burns takedown and looking the -700 favorite look like a sitting duck on the feet. A potential upset in the making and the blemishing of an unbeaten prospect? Stay tuned, we could have a new “Cowboy” at 155.

10:28 p.m. ET Jordan Breen: Now, at 155 pounds, BJJ ace and Vitor Belfort comrade Gilbert Burns takes on late replacement Alex Oliveira, a good ol' fashioned Brazilian cowboy. Oliveira replaces Josh Thomson, who got hurt in training a month ago. Surprise surprise. Some MMA traditions never die. They need to rebuild Josh Thomson as a cyborg.

10:24 p.m. ET Jeff Sherwood: I don't want to jinx anything, Jordan, but you are correct: this card is turning out to be rather pleasant.

10:20 p.m. ET Jordan Breen: The official time is 3:14. Godofredo Pepey, getting in the “Submission of the Year” race with a flying triangle. Don't forget the “flying.”

10:17 p.m. ET Jordan Breen: Wow, that was friggin' awesome. I don't even care if it took him two-plus minutes of cinching and scheming to finish it, Godofredo Pepey just flying triangled Andre Fili. That rocked. It was deep almost immediately and would've finished many folks right off the bat.

If nothing else, this card has been damn memorable so far, for better an for worse. Pepey stole my haircut, though, this swaggerjacker.

10:11 p.m. ET Jordan Breen: And, for some unearthly reason, referee Eduardo Herdy is the third man in the cage for this one. How has someone not thrown a bag over his head and put him in a trunk yet? I can only shake my head in disbelief. Also, definitely go for that half guard arm-in guillotine on the wrong side.

10:06 p.m. ET Jordan Breen: It's main card time in Brazil and we get started with a potential banger, as Team Alpha Male's Andre Fili meets TUF Brazil 1 alum Godofredo Castro. Two lengthy, rangy featherweights with very little regard for defense, who gun for offense in every position. Fili's offensive firepower and wrestling should be enough to carry him, but he's almost assured to eat some firepower from “Pepey” unless it ends in 60 seconds.

Of course, if you're a champion of the “Touchy” one, now is the time to get your pizza out of the oven and get ready to eat a slice for Fili. If you're backing the Brazilian, it never hurts to have a slice of pizza anyhow. 9:57 p.m. ET Jordan Breen: And that's a wrap for the prelims. It was easy work for Trinaldo, who simply had too much in the wrestling and athleticism department for the competent-but-basic Arreola. Arreola couldn't keep Trinaldo off of him standing, and on the ground, his guard game was too basic to seriously threaten “Massaranduba,” who plowed through him with punches and elbows. The official scores are a clean 30-27 sweep for Trinaldo, moving his UFC mark to 6-3.

9:30 p.m. ET Jeff Sherwood: Good thing Silva wasn't able to sink a choke on him: he would have tapped Trinaldo for sure with his Spock-like powers.

9:27 p.m. ET Jordan Breen: Our preliminary main event for the evening is rugged Brazilian lightweight Francisco Trinaldo takes on Mexican MMA pioneer Akbarh Arreola. In Arreola's last outing this past November, he retired longtime lightweight standout Yves Edwards, rocking him and tapping him in under two minutes. Trinaldo earned himself a victory in his last bout in September, besting Leandro Silva.

Yes, the very same Leandro Silva who just benefitted from the worst stoppage in UFC history. Yeehaw.

9:17 p.m. ET Jordan Breen: The victorious Kevin Souza tells Jon Anik that Brazil's political situation is dire and the country needs to invest in education. No, seriously.

9:14 p.m. ET Jordan Breen: Hey guys, just disregard everything I ever say. Kevin Souza does the damn thing in mere moments, shooting a beautiful, explosive right cross down the middle on an attacking Kikuno and flatlining him onto his face. Sometimes, your lack of a ground game doesn't matter when you've got juicy mitts like that. The official end comes just 91 seconds into the first round.

I'm suspicious Souza ever emerges as an elite featherweight, but if he can get enough of a ground game to one day tangle with folks like Chan Sung Jung and Max Holloway in some high-octane violent encounters, that's fantastic. The combination of his otherworldly frame and exceptional boxing is sweet.

9:06 p.m. ET Jordan Breen: Well, the MMA universe is still reeling from what appears to be, at the very least, the worst refereeing call in UFC history by Eduardo Herdy. However, we still have fights to tend to, hopefully none of which feature Eduardo Herdy. I suspect they will not.

Up next, a very fun style clash at 145 pounds, with Michael Jackson-loving karateka and former Deep champ Katsunori Kikuno taking on Brazilian boxing badass Edmilson Souza. Kikuno is an insane +220 and above, which I just don't get. Even if solid boxing can thwart Kikuno, not only could he get to Souza with his brutal kicks, he can take him down and put him on the mat, where he is vastly superior. This is the underdog special, if anything. We might even get a nifty crescent kick to the liver from Kikuno, or a 12-punch combo from Kevin.

8:55 p.m. ET Jordan Breen: An arm-in guillotine on the wrong side of half guard somehow gets Leandro Silva the technical submission at 2:45 of the second round. Again, there was no tap.

This isn't a title fight or anything. It's a Brazilian undercard fight and the stakes are low. But, in nearly 16 years of watching MMA, that is among the very worst and most incompetent things I've ever seen a referee do, at any level of MMA. Eduardo Herdy should be ashamed and to ever see him preside over a UFC fight in the near future (this was his sixth) would be an affront to the sport.

8:52 p.m. ET Jeff Sherwood: How many times do you see a ref stop a fight too early then let the next fighter almost get killed? We just witnessed it but with chokes instead. I just hope Leandro Silva wins submission of the night.

8:52 p.m. ET Jordan Breen: And here we go again with railing against CABMMA and the farce of “regulation” of MMA in Brazil. Referee Eduardo Herdy, who let Christos Giagos choke Jorge Blade extra long earlier, just completely robbed Drew Dober. With Dober on top in half guard, “Buscape” went for head control. Somehow thinking it was a legitimate guillotine, with no choke happening whatesoever, Herdy stopped the bout.

This is an idiotic travesty. The UFC pull the puppet strings on CABMMA, so they need to force the issue on this fight being a No Contest. Drew Dober was just robbed blind in a fight he was soundly winning. I can't even comprehend the level of basic incompetence at play here.

8:40 p.m. ET Jordan Breen: And just because it's the best division in MMA, we stay at lightweight for another bout, as Drew Dober tries to even his UFC mark at 2-2 against Leandro Silva. Dober, of course, got his first UFC win this past December by choking out Jamie Varner after Varner smacked his head off of the canvas and was knocked loopy.

The loss forced Varner into retirement, which has the beneficial upside of the oft-maligned Arizonan speaking real, telling fighters to spar more sparingly and sensibly in preparation for a fight and looking to take a role internally with the UFC, working towards reducing head injuries and promoting awareness of head trauma in the sport. Shoutouts to Jamie Varner.

8:30 p.m. ET Jeff Sherwood: I'm wondering if its harder to take a loss like that with a crazy haircut? Mafra was very impressive and dominated most of the fight; looks like Carrizosa probably will have another opportunity to win in the big show after that he could be in trouble.

8:25 p.m. ET Jordan Breen: All one-way traffic between Mafra and Carrizosa. Carrizosa rocked Mafra right out of the gate and nearly got his back, but after that, it was all “Macarrao.” Mafra crushed Carrizosa on the feet with punch rushes and knees, ragdolled him in the wrestling department despite not having much of a grappling background and even mounted and pounded him in the third.

Not only did Carrizosa have absolutely nothing for him, the actual physical disparity between the two was noteworthy. Carrizosa is three years older than Mafra and yet it still looked like a man beating a teenager for most of the contest, and not just because of Carrizosa's mohawk.

It's 30-26 on my scorecard with a 10-8 for Mafra in the final frame. The judges turn in one 30-26 card and two 30-26's for the Brazilian, who wins his UFC lightweight debut.

8:04 p.m. ET Jordan Breen: Also, as we get started with this portion of the prelims, the final section of the NCAA Division 1 wrestling championships are getting started as well. Shoutouts to long-time MMA talent factory THE Ohio State University on capturing their first-ever team title and going for three individual national titles this evening, including Logan Stieber going for four straight titles. You're doing Mark Coleman, Kevin Randleman and hell, even Sean Salmon proud.

8:02 p.m. ET Jordan Breen: Speaking of bounce-back fights for fighters coming off of inhospitable fights, we stay at 155 pounds as the preliminary card shifts to Fox Sports 2, as Cain Carrizosa takes on Leonardo Mafra Teixeira. Last August at UFC 177, Carrizosa tasted defeat for the first time as a pro when Chris Wade choked him out cold with a rugged guillotine in just 72 seconds. Meanwhile, “Macarrao” came in on short notice last July to face Rick Story at 170 pounds in his return to the UFC after a previous cup of coffee. Assuredly, someone will have a better peformance here in a pairing of hyper-aggressive offensive fighters.

7:43 p.m. ET Jordan Breen: And just as if he was reading this very article, Giagos easily gets “Blade” on the ground, gets to full mount instantaneously, beats on him til the Brazilian shows his back and chokes him out.

The official time of the stoppage is 3:12 of the first round and well well well, we can now say that a guy who was tapped by Poppies Martinez has a first-round submission win in the UFC. I understand that Giagos was green and much improved since then, but it still somehow feels like a modern incarnation of Pete Spratt armbarring Zach Light.

7:31 p.m. ET Jordan Breen: We adventure up to 155 pounds with a nifty style matchup between Brazilian Jorge Antonio Cezaro de Oliveira, known to his pals as “Blade,” taking on California's Christos Giagos. Both got raw deals in their UFC debuts stylistically, as Dhiego Lima was able to exploit Oliveira's lack of a ground game, while Giagos was tapped by BJJ stud Gilbert Burns.

Here, they can be free-swinging lunatics on the feet if they so choose. Or, if Giagos chooses, as he has the real option and threat of takedowns on the wrestling-challenged Oliveira.

7:25 p.m. ET Jordan Breen: Hot damn, there's the sort of genetic horsepower that made Serrano a world-class athlete. The first two rounds, while not particularly exciting, were evenly matched and I thought showed both fighters to be further ahead with skill development than you'd expect for such novice fighters.

However, just 94 seconds into round three, Serrano lands a crushing right uppercut that instantly put him among the year's finest “Knockout of the Year” candidates. Syler was positively exploded. Serrano's still got a way to go in terms of setting up his takedowns and developing a consistent offensive attack, but the raw physical tools are here. A guy with real upside and one to keep a cautious eye on at 125.

7:15 p.m. ET Jeff Sherwood: I certainly hope this card is an overachiever because lets be honest: the cards that take place in Brazil are usually not the type of lineup that people say "I have to see this card." But some of my favorite events have been cards that I wasn't really excited about. Including some regional bills.

7:07 p.m. ET Jordan Breen: Our evening starts with a non-Brazilian flavor, with two “Ultimate Fighter: Latin America” bantamweight competitors dropping to 125 pounds. Bolivia's Bentley Syler is well-rounded and has the name of a porn star. Colombia's Freddy Serrano is a Pan American games bronze medalist in freestyle wrestling and competed for his country at the 2008 Olympic Games. Neither fighter is particularly well-developed as a prospect, but this could actually be a bit of fun. Or, Serrano could conservatively wrestle Syler to death, knock on wood.

7:05 p.m. ET Jordan Breen: In your co-feature, longtime veteran and former UFC welterweight title challenger Josh Koscheck returns just three weeks after Jake Ellenberger choked him so hard he foamed at the mouth, fulfilling the last fight on his UFC contract in a late-notice bid against Brazilian dynamo Erick Silva.

It could be the end of Josh Koscheck, and it could be a quick end. Silva has had multiple UFC fights where he obliterates a foe literally without getting hit. Koscheck's lost four in a row and hasn't won a fight in over three years. However, Silva's defensive and cardio liabilities could let Koscheck grind this one out. It's not set in stone, but this very well could be Josh Koscheck's last bout in the UFC or MMA.

7:02 p.m. ET Jordan Breen: It's another UFC fight night, y'all, live from Maracanazinho in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The UFC's recent crop of events has surprised and delighted for the most part, producing several engrossing and exciting events in the last few weeks. However, this offering will probably have some trouble filling the shoes of those recent cards.

Indicative of that, your headliner for the evening is 37-year-old BJJ ace Demian Maia, 4-2 in his welterweight run, taking on 11-0 technician Ryan LaFlare. Is it a bad fight? Not in the slightest. In fact, it's rather appropriate. Is it an enticing main event, even by Brazilian fight night standards? Suspect. However, despite losing in his last headlining effort, Maia did have a shockingly exciting fight with Jake Shields in October 2013, so maybe this card will be the latest overachieving Zuffa effort.

6:55 a.m. ET Mike Fridley: Check this space tonight at approximately 7 p.m. ET for live UFC Fight Night “Maia vs. LaFlare” reaction.