UFC 133: Evans Stops Ortiz, Belfort Knocks Out Akiyama
UFC 133 took place at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on August 6, 2011. Rashad Evans stopped Tito Ortiz in their light heavyweight rematch, while Vitor Belfort knocked out Yoshihiro Akiyama in the co-main event. Phil Davis had withdrawn from the planned headliner through injury, so the actual main event was Evans–Ortiz II. The eleven-fight card included first-round finishes from Rory MacDonald and Brian Ebersole, plus six preliminary bouts.
Video: UFC 133 main-event buildup.
Evans beats Ortiz in a rematch four years later
Evans and Ortiz first fought to a draw in 2007. Their second encounter came together after Davis’s withdrawal, with Ortiz accepting the assignment shortly after submitting Ryan Bader at UFC 132. Evans was returning from a lengthy layoff after beating Quinton Jackson at UFC 114.
The former champions made the return competitive immediately. Ortiz scored an early takedown, but Evans worked back to his feet and began landing combinations at close range. His own emphatic takedown and ground offense gave him a strong ending to the opening round, forcing Ortiz to absorb a sustained attack before the bell.
Ortiz threatened with a guillotine in the second round, the same submission that had recently beaten Bader. Evans escaped and resumed his pressure from the top. A knee to the body hurt Ortiz late in the round, and the follow-up punches brought the stoppage at 4:48. The TKO gave Evans a decisive result in a rivalry whose first meeting had remained unresolved.
The win kept Evans prominent in the light heavyweight title picture. It did not itself award him the championship: Jon Jones still held the belt after his victory at UFC 128. Evans’s performance instead demonstrated that the long absence had not removed his ability to compete at the division’s highest level. Evans and Ortiz received Fight of the Night honors for the rematch.
Belfort rebounds with a fast finish
Vitor Belfort returned after losing his middleweight title challenge to Anderson Silva at UFC 126. Against Yoshihiro Akiyama, he found the opening for the fast punching combinations that had long defined his offensive threat. Once Akiyama was hurt, Belfort maintained the barrage and ended the fight at 1:52 of round one.
The knockout earned Belfort Knockout of the Night honors and gave his middleweight campaign a convincing restart. Akiyama’s durability could not keep him in the fight once the Brazilian established his finishing rhythm. For Belfort, the result was a direct response to the difficult ending of his previous appearance.
MacDonald and Ebersole finish; Philippou wins narrowly
Rory MacDonald stopped Mike Pyle with punches in the first round, adding a finish against an experienced welterweight to his decision over Nate Diaz at UFC 129. Pyle created early grappling exchanges, but MacDonald’s ground offense eventually forced the referee to intervene at 3:54.
Brian Ebersole also finished in round one, recovering from Dennis Hallman’s early positional and submission threats to win with ground strikes. Costas Philippou took a split decision over Jorge Rivera, earning his first UFC victory after a three-round middleweight contest. Four of the five main-card bouts ended before the final bell, with Philippou–Rivera supplying the lone decision.
Gustafsson leads a six-fight preliminary card
Alexander Gustafsson stopped Matt Hamill in the second round after a late opponent change. His movement and ability to deny Hamill’s wrestling helped him take command before punches and elbows produced the finish. Gustafsson had already submitted James Te Huna at UFC 127 earlier in the year; this was another important step in his light heavyweight development.
Chad Mendes kept his unbeaten record with a unanimous decision over Rani Yahya, taking every round on every card. The featherweight contender had also won at UFC 126, and his wrestling continued to be a reliable way to control strong grapplers without giving them the sustained opportunities they needed.
Ivan Menjivar beat Nick Pace by unanimous decision in a bout agreed at 138 pounds after Menjivar missed the bantamweight limit. Johny Hendricks edged Mike Pierce by split decision, former WEC champion Mike Brown outpointed Nam Phan, and Rafael Natal won a unanimous decision over Paul Bradley. None of UFC 133’s eleven bouts ended by submission, reflecting a night decided by striking finishes and scorecards.
Complete UFC 133 results
Main card
- Rashad Evans def. Tito Ortiz — TKO (knee to the body and punches); round 2, 4:48.
- Vitor Belfort def. Yoshihiro Akiyama — KO (punches); round 1, 1:52.
- Brian Ebersole def. Dennis Hallman — TKO (elbows); round 1, 4:28.
- Costas Philippou def. Jorge Rivera — split decision; round 3, 5:00.
- Rory MacDonald def. Mike Pyle — TKO (punches); round 1, 3:54.
Preliminary card
- Alexander Gustafsson def. Matt Hamill — TKO (punches and elbows); round 2, 3:41.
- Chad Mendes def. Rani Yahya — unanimous decision; round 3, 5:00.
- Ivan Menjivar def. Nick Pace — unanimous decision; round 3, 5:00 (138-pound catchweight).
- Johny Hendricks def. Mike Pierce — split decision; round 3, 5:00.
- Mike Brown def. Nam Phan — unanimous decision; round 3, 5:00.
- Rafael Natal def. Paul Bradley — unanimous decision; round 3, 5:00.
Sources
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UFC 133, UFC Results, MMA History, Evans Stops Ortiz, Belfort Knocks Out Akiyama
