UFC 109 'Relentless' Report
By Dean Parr

In the main event of UFC 109, two legends and hall of famers of mixed martial arts fought in a match arguably 12 years overdue, as Randy Couture battled against Mark 'The Hammer' Coleman.

In the first, Coleman's rigidity was making him suffer, while Couture moved well and utilised his dirty boxing. Right straights and right uppercuts were the best punches for 'Captain America' here. Round two, and it was evident 'The Hammer' didn't have that much left. Randy went in for the kill, taking his foe down and ground and pounding until the rear naked choke became available. From here, Coleman had no choice but to tap, and after 1:09 of the second, the fight was over.

Randy's win, which takes him to 18-10, puts him straight into title contention against the winner of Rua vs. Machida 2. As for Coleman, now 16-10, it is hard to see where he goes from here.

Chael Sonnen (185lbs) looked superb in restricting Nate Marquardt's (186lbs) offence and playing to his own strengths in their bout which was co-main event of the card. Sonnen's wrestling ability was too much for Marquardt, although he did have to endure two super tight guillotine chokes and a few knees to walk away with the "W". All three judges gave

it to the Republican by the margin of 30-27, marking a superb win for the man who moves to 26-10-1. Marquardt, who's good run has now ended decreases to 32-9-2 despite a spirited performance.

A mistake cost Mike Swick's (171lbs) dearly against Paulo Thiago as he was submitted by Paulo Thiago (170lbs) in the second round of their contest. The first was fairly even, with Thiago's leg kicks standing out as potent weapons. 'Quick' Swick hurt his opponent in the second with a right straight, but walked directly onto a counter left hook which floored him. Paulo then secured the D'Arce choke, sending Swick to sleep after 1:54 of the session and taking his record to 13-1. Swick's second loss in a row takes him to 14-4 though.

Demian Maia (186lbs) was made to work for his unanimous decision victory over Dan Miller, (185lbs) but ultimately, the Brazilian's control on the ground was too much for his foe. What was evident throughout this was Maia's improved stand-up, and how much more comfortable he looked on his feet than in his fight previously, when he was blasted by Nate Marquardt. Scores of 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28 changed Maia's record to 12-1, while Miller, who put in a very respectable performance, negating the ground game of the BJJ specialist decreased to 11-3 1NC.

Matt Serra (169lbs) proved he is still a force at Welterweight by using his power to stop Frank Trigg (171lbs) in the first round. Trigg started by using his reach well and flicking out the jab and keeping his punches long and straight. However, it wasn't long before Serra connected with a huge right hook and followed up with two punches to his floored opponent that forced the referee to stop the bout after just 2:23 of action. Serra's record now looks like 17-6, while 'Twinkle Toes' is 19-8 after this loss.

Melvin Guillard (155lbs) looked good in his first fight since moving to Greg Jackson's camp by defeating Ronnys Torres (156lbs) via unanimous decision. All three judges scored the bout 29-28 to the now 42-9-3 1NC veteran, who looked composed, explosive and improved on the ground. Torres dropped to 18-2.

Justin Buchholz (156lbs) was forced to go the distance for the first time in his career when Mac Danzig (156lbs) beat him by unanimous decision on the prelims. Danzig was sharper, and finished the third with good combinations and a couple of great submission attempts to take the fight 29-28 on all the judges' scorecards. The TUF 6 winner improves to 20-7-1, whereas Buchholz, who seems to be in line to be cut from the UFC moves to 9-5.

Phil Davis (205lbs) toyed with Brian Stann (205lbs) en route to a dominating unanimous decision win. Stann couldn't stop 'Mr. Wonderful' bullying him with his wrestling and ground control, making for a massively one sided fight. Davis remains undefeated at 5-0, while Stann's defeat takes him to 8-3.

Rolles Graie (247lbs) surprised many by running out of gas against Joey Beltran (238lbs) and consequently getting stopped in the second round. The Brazilian had nothing left by the time 'The Mexicutioner' unleashed ground and pound, leaving Herb Dean no choice but to rescue the now 3-1 fighter. Beltran's record now stands at 11-3.

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