MMA Nation - UFC On Fox 2 Post-Fight Press Conference, News And Updates

Early Estimates Indicate High Ratings For UFC On Fox 2

2012-01-30T18:43:32Z

Saturday night's UFC on Fox 2 broadcast drew a 2.7/5 household overnight rating, according to figures collected by MMA Nation.

The weekend rating was 42-perecent greater than Fox's Saturday night primetime average over the prior four weeks (a 1.9/4 clip). Early estimates have the figures easily claiming the Adults 18-49 demographic, and "may beat ABC, CBS and NBC combined in the Adults 18-34 demographic when national figures are issued tomorrow."

Somewhat surprisingly, ratings flourished as the telecast ventured into deeper waters, despite the generally unappealing nature of the fights. The night's opening bout, Demian Maia vs. Chris Weidman, drew a 2.3/4 household overnight rating, which grew to a 2.9/5 for the co-main event, Chael Sonnen vs. Michael Bisping.

Ratings peaked for the night's main event, posting a 3.4/6 mark as Rashad Evans dominated Phil Davis for 25 minutes to earn the next shot at UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones.

Notably, the broadcast drew a 4.1/8 in Las Vegas, 4.1/7 in Louisville, 3.9/7 in Indianapolis, and 3.9/6 in Greenville, Tulsa and Knoxville.

In addition, the two-hour event collected an estimated overnight rating of 4.37 million viewers, according to reports from TVBytheNumbers.com. Though, it should be noted that those numbers are expected to grow as reports are finalized.

The UFC's debut on Fox, November's UFC on Fox: Velaquez vs. Dos Santos, initially averaged an overnight rating of 4.64 million viewers, but ultimately reports shot the final number closer to 5.7 million.

MMA Nation will continue to update these figures as information is made available.

Dana White: I Scored It Bisping Over Sonnen, Two Rounds To One

2012-01-30T17:56:11Z

In the aftermath of UFC on Fox 2's neck-and-neck co-main event, Chael Sonnen vs. Michael Bisping, MMA Fighting's Ariel Helwani took the opportunity to ask UFC President Dana White how he scored the action. As always, White was upfront with his opinion.

Said White:

"Actually, I did score that fight. I had Bisping two rounds to one. I was actually the guy saying before this fight, this isn't a five to one underdog. Bisping wrestled with Rashad (Evans). Bisping wrestled with (Matt) Hamill. There's debate as to who won the Hamill fight, but he was in there with Hamill. Bisping has great wrestling, good stand up and great submissions, too."

White was not alone in his sentiment, as public opinion largely seemed to be split 50-50 down the middle on Saturday night. That being said, it should be noted the fine folks over at CompuStrike sided with the judges on this one, with Sonnen claiming the advantage in every striking facet outside of head shots.

HT: Caged Insider. Photo by Esther Lin for MMAFighting.com.

VIDEO: Lavar Johnson Uppercuts His Way Into 'Knockout Of The Night' At UFC On Fox 2

2012-01-30T16:30:01Z

Taking a page out of Bellator's book, UFC officials have begun posting clips of the most noteworthy finishes from their Fox broadcasts, and what better way to kick things off than Lavar Johnson's bonus-winning knockout of Joey Beltran at UFC on Fox 2?

Video of the violence can be seen after the jump.

Our man Luke Thomas brought the play-by-play for "Big's" stunning Octagon debut:

ROUND 1 - Both fighters open orthodox with Beltran being stalked. Johnson nails Beltran with a body shot and drops him, but Beltran stands. The two fighters clinch against the fence. They briefly separate, but Beltran forces the clinch again. Now they're backing to squaring off and Beltran eats a huge outside leg kick plus a series of jabs. Another leg kick from Johnson. Beltran eats a hard body shots and now he's beginning to land at will. Beltran fires back with a body shot or two of his own, but he's being controlled here. Beltran is now doing the stalking and charging forward with punches. Johnson lands a monster uppercut and that's the beginning of the end. A few more hard uppercuts and right hands from Johnson and Beltran crumbles face first.

Official results: Lavar Johnson defeats Joey Beltran by KO (strikes, referee stoppage) at 4:24 of round 1.

Photo by Esther Lin via MMAFighting.com.

UFC On Fox 2 Results: Chael Sonnen Underwhelms Against Michael Bisping, Overtalks

2012-01-29T13:00:28Z

Chael Sonnen clearly planned his post-fight speech in advance because even the utterly shameless Sonnen would not have had the gall to talk himself up after barely slipping past Michael Bisping at UFC on Fox 2. He won a unanimous decision but announcer Joe Rogan scored the fight for Bisping and 2 out of 3 judges gave Bisping a single round.

UFC on Fox 2 Results: Chael Sonnen defeats Michael Bisping by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28).

Nevertheless, Sonnen went on the microphone after the fight and declared that Joe Rogan should be answering questions about how exciting it must be to be standing next to the great Chael Sonnen. He also said that in the future one-sided beatdowns would be referred to as "Chael Sonnens."

UFC On Fox 2 Results And Play-By-Play

Fans tuning in to the UFC for the first time must have been non-plussed by the incongruity between Sonnen's underwhelming performance in the cage and his overacting after the bout. UFC president Dana White went into tonight's fights with big hopes for setting up a mega-fight between Sonnen and Anderson Silva this summer in a Brazilian stadium.

That fight is still likely to go off, but it remains to be seen how many new fans Sonnen convinced to consider buying a $55 pay-per-view to see more of him.

UFC On Fox 2: Chael Sonnen Vs. Michael Bisping Fight Video Highlights

2012-01-29T05:23:33Z

It may not have been pretty, but Chael Sonnen earned his rematch with Anderson Silva after all.

Sonnen edged Michael Bisping in the co-main event of UFC on Fox 2 on Saturday night, narrowly taking the judge's decision after a surprisingly even 15-minute affair. Next up for the polarizing middleweight: a title shot against Silva, likely to held in a Brazilian soccer stadium this summer. Full video highlights of Sonnen's triumph can be seen below.

For more, catch the play-by-play by MMA Nation's own Luke Thomas.

ROUND 1 - Sonnen charges out and gets a knee tap right away. Bisping stands and presses Sonnen into the fence. Sonnen is southpaw and stalking. Double leg from Sonnen is stuffed and they separate. Outside trip for Sonnen and he's trying to land points as Bisping tries to stand. Bisping eats a few punches as Bisping stands. Bisping drops down for a takedown and can't get it. Bisping keeps his hips close to Sonnen's as they clinch along the fence. Sonnen again drops for the double and it's stuffed. Right hand lands for Sonnen and he's still stalking, but eats a right from Bisping.

MMA Nation scores this round 10-9 Sonnen.

ROUND 2 - Right hand lands form Bisping to open the round. Sonnen clinches and pushes Bisping against the fence, but Bisping turns him around. Referee McCarthy restarts them. Fighters exchanging before Sonnen lands the double. Hard right hand from Bisping, but the Brit stands and fires a hard right hand of his own. Sonnen stuffs a single leg attempt from Bisping and again they're clinched along the fence. Hard elbow from Bisping in the clinch. Fighters throw sloppy punches to close the round.

MMA Nation scores this round 10-9 Bisping.

ROUND 3 - Sonnen starts with a big left hand, ducks under a punch and puts Bisping on his back. Sonnen stands up out of the guard, but doesn't land anything significant. Bisping gets to his knees, but Sonnen has double unders standing behind him. Sonnen has both hooks in and moves to mount. Bisping hip escapes and recaptures half guard. Bisping stands with less than a minute to go and is standing against the fence. Bisping gets a takedown of his own just before the round ended.

MMA Nation scores this round 10-9 Sonnen and the fight 29-28 Sonnen.

UFC on Fox 2 results: Chael Sonnen defeats Michael Bisping by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

UFC On Fox 2: Rashad Evans Vs. Phil Davis Fight Video Highlights

2012-01-29T05:08:33Z

It took nearly three years, but the UFC light heavyweight strap is finally within Rashad Evans' grasp.

"Suga" dominated previously unbeaten prospect Phil Davis for five rounds in the main event of UFC on Fox 2 on Saturday night, earning a unanimous decision victory to solidify his claim as the division's number-one contender. Evans is now slated to fight his fiercest rival, UFC champion Jon Jones, at UFC 145 on April 21st, 2012 in Atlanta, Georgia. Full video highlights of Evan's victory can be seen below.

For more, catch the play-by-play by MMA Nation's own Luke Thomas.

ROUND 1 - Both fighters open orthodox. Davis with a body kick that misses. Hard outside leg kick from Davis and he's basically stalking. And another outside leg kick. Davis slips and they clinch against the fence. Davis tries to duck under a punch, but it's easily stuffed by Evans. Short right hand as Davis stands. Davis shoots again and is stuffed. Evans stand in the pocket and just misses. Superman punch to takedown from Davis misses. Evans catches a kick and trips Davis to the mat. Evans passes to side and now EVans has mounted crucifix. Bucking left and right Davis escapes, but he's still in side control.

MMA Nation scores this round 10-9 Evans.

ROUND 2 -The fighters clinch to start and Davis lands an inside leg kick. Both fighters jabbing but not landing anything of consequence. Davis appears to be breathing heavy already. Evans charges in for a takedown, but can't get it. They clinch briefly, but separate. Davis lands a hard knee to the body, but Evans still doing all the stalking. Evans rips shots to the body and Davis seems a little confused. A little less action this round, but the former champion seems to be in control. Evans catches another kick and moves into side control.

MMA Nation scores this round 10-9 Evans.

ROUND 3 - Davis attempts a single and it's stuffed. Davis trying to secure a takedown against the fence, but it's not doing and Evans is able to stand and puts Davis down. Evans, however, is able to secure a takedown of his late, but Davis continues to press to score points. Most of the damage and action was done by Evans, but he's now breathing hard and Davis was able to score.

MMA Nation scores this round 10-9 Evans.

ROUND 4 - Front kick from Davis to open the frame, but it misses wildly. Body kick from Davis, but Evans is still stalking. Good jabs also from Evans and Davis shooting way from the outside. Davis finding his range with the jab. Pairs up the straight punches. Davis answers with a powerful kick to the body. Neither fighter finds their rangs. Rashad shoots in, gets top position. Davis turtles to his knees, Rashad on his back. Good scramble. Davis gets back to his feet. Evans controlling the cage. Good sprawl by Evans. Rashad lands a hard right.

MMA Nation scores this round 10-9 Evans.

ROUND 5 - Rashad catches Davis' kick and lands several hard punches before Davis falls and now Rashad is on top. Evans passes to side control and into the mounted crucifix. Davis gets out and gives up his back. Davis stands up. Big right by Rashad. Big right hand by Rashad and Davis' legs almost give out. Very hard leg kick by Evans now. Righ hand by Davis. Rashad just misses with a big uppercut and a wild right hand. Right hand by Rashad. 10-9 Rashad, clean sweep.

UFC on Fox 2 results: Rashad Evans def. Phil Davis via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45)

PHOTO: Mark Munoz Watches Chael Sonnen Defeat Michael Bisping At UFC On Fox 2

2012-01-29T04:44:32Z

Mark Munoz was undoubtably the odd man out on Saturday night.

While Michael Bisping slugged it out with Chael Sonnen to determine the next challenger to Anderson Silva's middleweight throne, Munoz was stuck watching the action inside a California sports bar and wondering what could have been. Hit the jump to see the injured contender trying to make the best of an unlucky situation.

mark_munoz Mark Muñoz

Obrigado! Thx4coming out! RT @GuedesGroup: a healing @mark_munoz watching @sonnench take the decision. http://t.co/tvmLL9hK

Jan 29 Favorite Retweet Reply

in reply to @mark_munoz↑

@GuedesGroup
Ana Claudia Guedes a healing @mark_munoz watching @sonnench take the decision. http://pic.twitter.com/iyeTj5sQ

Jan 29 via Twitter for iPhone Favorite Retweet Reply

UFC On Fox 2 Live Gate And Attendance: 17,425 Fill Sold-Out United Center

2012-01-29T04:06:02Z

Saturday night's UFC on Fox 2: Evans vs. Davis event drew an audience of 17,425 to the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, capturing live gate of $1.2 million. UFC President Dana White confirmed the figures during the UFC on Fox 2 post-fight press conference.

Fans in attendance witnessed a back-and-forth card featuring five decisions, three of which highlighted the sophomore Fox broadcast. In the night's main event, former light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans outclassed previously unbeaten prospect Phil Davis to claim a five-round unanimous decision.

UFC on Fox 2 Results | Weigh-In Results | Full Coverage

"I felt like I wanted to put him away, and I just didn't get the chance to land those big punches," Evans said afterward. "I'm kind of disappointed about it. When you're fighting a guy as tough as Phil Davis, sometimes things like that happen."

The UFC's previous trip to Illinois, UFC 90, drew a total gate of $2.85 million and attendance figure of 15,359, headlined by a middleweight tilt between UFC champion Anderson Silva and Patrick Cote.

For complete UFC on Fox 2 post-fight coverage, visit MMA Nation's post-fight press conference stream.