The annual year end UFC event went off with a bang. UFC 155 brought fans many great bouts and an immeasurable amount of action. The flyweights started off the action as John Moraga defeated Chris Cariaso via guillotine choke.
Hawaiian featherweight Max Holloway won a split decision over the always game Leonard Garcia. Holloway is also the youngest fighter on the UFC roster at age 21. Heavyweight Todd Duffee made a triumphant return to the Octagon, as he won by knocking out English fighter, Phil De Fries.
Myles Jury kept his perfect record intact by defeating the highly touted Michael Johnson by unanimous decision. Former WEC (World Extreme Cagefighting) champion, Jamie Varner, proved he belongs in the UFC be defeating Melvin Guillard by split decision.
Rounding out the preliminary card, flyweight Erick Perez knocked out Byron Bloodworth in the first round, and hard hitting bantamweight Eddie Wineland defeated the tough Brad Pickett by split decision.
The main card started off with Strikeforce veteran, Derek Brunson taking on long-time UFC fighter, Chris Leben. Leben was returning from a suspension and Brunson, despite taking the fight on short notice, was able to defeat him. Both fighters gassed out badly, and as a result the opening bout of the pay-per-view was incredibly lacklustre.
Next up were middleweight contenders Yushin Okami and Alan Belcher. Belcher came into this contest riding a four fight winning streak. It didn’t do him any good, as he was out-wrestled by the larger Okami on the way to a unanimous decision victory.
The next fight brought perennial middleweight contender Tim Boetsch against injury replacement Costa Philippou. Not many people gave Philippou a chance in this fight, but he proved them wrong. The former boxer was able to use his lethal hands to finish the resilient Boetsch in the third round of their fight. It was the second stoppage win of Philippou’s UFC career.
The co-main event of the evening featured two prominent lightweights who wanted to move up the ladder in their division. Jim Miller and Joe Lauzon put on the best fight of the night and possibly of the entire year. For three rounds they engaged in a back and forth slugfest with Miller eventually winning the unanimous decision. This fight is now up for an award for a potential fight of the year.
The main event of the night was a heavyweight title fight that would determine who the baddest man on the planet was. On this night, it happened to be Cain Velasquez. He battered, bruised and dominated the former champion en route to a unanimous decision win. Velasquez regained the title, which he had lost to dos Santos earlier in the year.
The UFC promised an epic show for their year-end event. They delivered, as fans were treated to a night of action and excitement. The UFC finished out 2012 on a high-note. Hopefully in 2013, the UFC will continue to bring us more great fights, finishes and thrills.
