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UFC 109 live blog: Randy Couture submits Mark Coleman in second round

Chael Sonnen delivers stunning upset over Nate Marquardt

UFC 109 - Relentless

Sam Morris

Randy Couture smiles after beating Mark Coleman in their light heavyweight bout at UFC 109 Saturday, Feb. 6, 2010. at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. Couture won the battle of UFC Hall of Fame fighters by submission in the second round.

Updated Saturday, Feb. 6, 2010 | 9:23 p.m.

UFC 109: Couture Submits Coleman

Light Heavyweight Randy Couture defies his age yet again with a second round submission of Mark Coleman at Saturday's UFC 109.

UFC 109 - Relentless

Randy Couture tags Mark Coleman with a right during their light heavyweight bout at UFC 109 Saturday, Feb. 6, 2010, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. Couture won the battle of UFC Hall of Fame fighters by submission in the second round. Launch slideshow »

Randy Couture has had many dominant wins in his storied mixed martial arts career.

The one he gave fans against Mark Coleman in the UFC 109 main event at Mandalay Bay Events Center Saturday will certainly go down as one of them.

Couture walked right through the fellow Hall-of-Famer in their light heavyweight bout, beating Coleman to every punch before taking him down and sinking in a rear-naked choke for the submission win in the second round.

“I’ve been working on chokes a bunch and I felt like if I got him to the ground I wanted to go head-hunting,” Couture said. “I had a chance to do it and sometimes it works out.”

Coleman, who had said numerous times before the fight he considered it the biggest of his career, had no answer for Couture’s offense. The best the 45-year-old fighter could muster was tie Couture up in a clinch to slow the blows.

Although Coleman acknowledged Couture dominated the fight, he said he wouldn’t let that be the last fight of his career.

“That guy is tough; that guy is really tough,” Coleman said. “I don’t know what happened. I’m disappointed.

“I think I can do better. I won’t quit. I’ll be back.”

It was Couture’s second straight win after defeating Brandon Vera at UFC 105. The 46-year-old has fought three fights in the span of seven months and said he’s never felt better.

“I’m having a blast, I feel like I’m improving every time,” Couture said. “It feels good.”

Randy Couture (18-10) vs. Mark Coleman (16-10)

Round One: Couture fires off a jab to get the action started here in the main event. Good straight right lands for Couture. Coleman gets in a good left hook followed by a right. few good straight punches land for Couture and he follows them up with a knee from the Muay Thai clinch. Fighters clinch against the fence and Couture doing all the damage. He lands an uppercut and then an elbow. Two big uppercuts land for Couture. Fight stays in the clinch rest of the way. First round dominated by Couture.

Round Two: Couture starts things off with a good left hook and Coleman has no answer. He clinches and Couture takes him down. Couture mounts and drops a string of good punches. Coleman gives up his back and Couture looks for the rear naked choke. Coleman refuses to tap and referee Steve Mazzagatti steps in to stop the action. Couture wins in dominating fashion.

Nate Marquardt (32-9-2) vs. Chael Sonnen (26-10-1)

Round One: Both fighters starting aggressively. Sonnen lands a few right hooks and Marquardt looks for the Muay Thai clinch. Sonnen goes for a takedown and Marquardt puts him immediately into the guillotine. Sonnen breaks free and goes to work in Marquardt's guard. Good elbows coming down from Sonnen as he's got Marquardt trapped up against the fence. Marquardt finally pushes Sonnen off with his legs and jumps to his feet. Marquardt looks to land a knee and it connects but Sonnen pushes forward and takes him down. Sonnen back in Marquardt's guard. He's landing some big elbows from there. Marquardt responds with an elbow from the bottom. Now Sonnen lands three good elbows in a row. Good right hand comes down from Sonnen. One minute left. Marquardt having a very tough time with Sonnen's wrestling. Lopsided first round ends.

Round Two: Marquardt looks to sink into another guillotine off a takedown but Sonnen breaks it quickly and he's back in top position to start the round. Marquardt grabs the left arm of Sonnen and was looking for a submission opportunity but Sonnen rips it free. Marquardt uses a burst of energy to try and sit up but Sonnen pushes his back again to the mat. Now Sonnen stands over Marquardt and lands a big left hand. He's looking to drop enough to finish the fight but Marquardt grabs his leg and rolls it over to buy some time. He's crouched on the mat though and Sonnen works to take his back. Marquardt fighting back with elbows from his knees and Sonnen is bleeding heavily from his face. The cut it on his forehead, just over the right eye. Marquardt is able to flip around and get back to his feet but Sonnen is right on him and takes him back down. Marquardt looks pretty worn out. Ten seconds left and Sonnen rains down more right hands to finish the round.

Round Three: Marquardt catches a kick from Sonnen and looks to capitalize on it but can't connect. Sonnen moves forward and takes him down again. The takedowns have come easy for Sonnen all night. More ground and pound from Sonnen and Marquardt just doesn't have an answer right now. Marquardt tries to shove him off and get back but Sonnen moves right to his back and wrestles him down again. Hard left hand comes down from Sonnen. Just over two minutes left in the fight. And Marquardt wins a small battle here and gets to his feet. Sonnen goes in for the takedown and Marquardt tries to land a knee. He reaches down and puts in the guillotine and it's close. Sonnen is grimacing and the choke is tight. Just when you thin he's going to tap Sonnen breaks free. Sonnen back to top position and Marquardt reverses it. He's in north-south position but can't do much as Sonnen is clinging to him and won't let him posture up. Twenty seconds left. Marquardt finally frees up and lands a few good shots to end the fight. Sonnen's face is cut up bad but Marquardt looks extremely frustrated. All three judges score the bout 30-27 for Sonnen.

Paulo Thiago (13-1) vs. Mike Swick (14-4)

Round One: Thiago lands the first big shot of the night, catching Swick with a head kick to his right side. Thiago with a good leg kick that got Swick off-balance. Thiago again with a strong leg kick that puts Swick off-balance. Swick tries to string together a few kicks and punches but few get past Thiago's defense. Swick gets his first break as he shoots in with Thiago throwing a punch and takes him down. Somewhat hard round to call due to a lot of inactivity, but it appeared Thiago held a small edge.

Round Two: Swick tries to let his hands go but Thiago is blocking away every one of them. Swick catches Thiago with a hard right that had him staggered but Thiago recovers and drops him with a huge left hook. Swick grabs on to Thiago to try and recover himself but Thiago locks in a D'Arce choke and Swick is out. End comes 1:54 into the second round.

Matt Serra (17-6) vs. Frank Trigg (19-8)

Round One: Serra and Trigg touch gloves and away we go. Serra throwing his big, looping punches and Trigg is making him pay with shorter, quicker ones early on. Serra looks to set up his right hand with the left jab. Good leg kick by Erra and now a big right hand drops Trigg and that's going to do it. Trigg got caught with his left hand down and Serra dropped him with a shot to his jaw. Trigg is trying to say it shouldn't have been called but Serra followed up the right hand with about three more when Trigg was on the ground. Official time of the TKO is 2:23 of first round.

Justin Buchholz (9-5) vs. Mac Danzig (20-7-1)

Round One: Danzig draws first blood, landing a nice leg kick and then a hook. Buchholz letting his hands go early, putting a lot of pressure on Danzig. Good superman punch lands for Buchholz. Danzig shows some dirty boxing, grabbing the back of Buchholz's head and delivering three or four shots that go unanswered. Buchholz comes forward again, throwing a ton of punches at a time. He drops Danzig with a right hook but it looked like Danzig slipped a bit and isn't too hurt. They're both having their moments here, as Buchholz gets Danzig up against the fence but then Danzig lands a good knee right under the chin before Buchholz can break away. Even first round ends.

Round Two: Danzig closes in on a clinch and looks for the first takedown of the night but Buchholz breaks away. Good jabs by Danzig crash through. Overhand right by Danzig lands. Now Danzig rushes in, puts Buchholz's back to the fence, gets low and body slams him to the ground. Danzig is in top position but Buchholz latches on to a kimora attempt. It doesn't look like Danzig is close to tapping and Buchholz looks over to get directions from his corner. Danzig breaks away, regains top position but is reversed when he goes for Buchholz's back. The two are rolling back and forth, trading top position and Danzig ends up in mount at the end of the round. Referee Herb Dean warns Danzig at the end of the round for throwing down direct blows with the tip of his elbow from the mount.

Round Three: Danzig comes out looking for the early takedown. Buchholz goes down for a second but uses the cage to work his way back up and breaks away. Good right hook lands for Buchholz. The fighters clinch and Buchholz ends up working Danzig to the ground. Not a lot of offense going on as Danzig puts him in his guard and Dean stands it up. Danzig puts together an aggressive combination that knocks Buchholz back with a couple unanswered punches. Buchholz looks worn out. He backs off and Danzig puts him on the ground and now takes his back. Thirty seconds to go and Danzig makes his case to win the fight. He moves from full mount to taking Buchholz's back and nearly sinking in the rear naked choke. Danzig gets the unanimous decision win.

Ronys Torres (18-2) vs. Melvin Guillard (42-9-3)

Round One: Torres doesn't waste any time in charging in and taking Guillard quickly to the ground. This is the last place Guillard wants to be and he's here early. Torres may have gotten too aggressive there, as he pulls Guillard away from the fence and goes for some strikes. Guillard uses it as a chance to create space and get to his feet. Torres rushes in and once again has no trouble getting Guillard to the ground. Torres looks to take Guillard's back but Guillard squirms out and the two get back to their feet. Guillard lands a leg kick that echoes through the place. Guillard put his hands down for a moment and Torres looked for a flying knee but Guillard ducks out of the way. Torres ducks down for a takedown right when Guillard throws a knee. Could have been a bad result but Torres seems alright and ends up in top position. Guillard stays patient on the bottom and waits for the right time to push Torres away and get back to his feet. He throws a haymaker at the end of the clinch but just misses to end the round.

Round Two: The second round has to be delayed when Torres's cornermen drop ice and water all over the mat as they leave. One of them is Jose Aldo. Guillard comes off the delay with a flying knee attempt and then lets his hands go. Torres ducks in for a takedown attempt and Guillard ends up on his shoulder. Torres stands and they look like prison convicts trying to get over the fence, as Guillard's hip is well above the top of the cage. Guillard slides off and its back to the standup game. Torres goes down for a takedown attempt and Guillard knees him again. He's picking up that movement well and making Torres pay for trying to get him to the ground. Guillard looks to be finding his groove now as he lands a leg kick then a straight punch. Torres tries again to get him to the ground but Guillard is having no problem defending it now. Torres rushes in, grabs Guillard from behind the back and Guillard tries to do a front roll out of the hold. It looked flashy but it ended up putting him on the ground. He does a nice job of transitioning into top position though and just needs to stay wary of any sub attempt from the bottom. Good round for Guillard ends.

Round Three: Good overhand right by Guillard lands. Torres looks for the takedown but there's definitely not as much on them as there was before. Guillard sprawls and breaks away. Guillard picking Torres apart on the standup. He's using quick jabs and ducking out of the way of big, desperate hooks from Torres. But not Torres shoots in and does get the takedown. He works to side control but Guillard is showing real good defense from the bottom. Once again he stays patient, creates space and gets back to his feet. Torres now lands a good straight right that knocks Guillard back. Torres looks for another takedown, puts Guillard against the cage in a sitting position and throws some punches to his body. Guillard mockingly yawns and shakes his head to the crowd. Explosive finish here as Torres picks up Guillard and body slams him but Guillard ends up on top and rains down a few punches before the fight ends. Both fighters walk away as if they've won the fight. All three judges end up scoring the fight 29-28 for Guillard.

Rob Emerson (11-8) vs. Phillipe Nover (6-3-1)

Round One: Nover throws a kick aimed towards Emerson's head and slips. Emerson tries to take advantage but Nover does a nice job of avoiding damage and getting back to his feet. Not for long though, as Emerson gets him to the ground off the clinch. Nover wiggles his way to the cage and uses it to get to his feet but Emerson drags him down again and is back in top position. Nover creates a little space, sinks in the guillotine and throws his weight back to lock it in. Emerson rolls over him and manages to break free of the hold. Emerson gets Nover to the ground again but he's unable to do much damage as Nover is keeping him in his guard and looking to work back to his feet. Pretty close round ends.

Round Two: Good leg kick lands for Emerson early. Emerson lands a straight punch when Nover looks for the body kick and now he puts Nover down and aggressively landing shots from the standing position. Nover survives but he definitely took some damage there. Emerson falls into side control but Nover works to put him back in his full guard. Nover gets a small victory here by working his way to the cage and getting to his feet, but Emerson is staying clinched in to him. Referee breaks it up and its back to standup with about 1:20 to go. Emerson goes fora superman punch, Nover tries to respond with a combination, Emerson clinches with him and takes him down. That's where the round ends.

Round Three: Nover lands an accidental groin shot in the opening seconds of the final round and Emerson needs a second to recover. The two trade a few strikes and Emerson looks for the double underhooks to get Nover to the ground again. Nover stays on his feet and it goes back to a clinch against the cage. Nover shows some signs of life finally, landing a few knees from the Muay Thai clinch before Emerson shrugs him off. Emerson gets the fight back to the ground where he wants it after ducking under a right hook from Nover. If Nover can't get back to his feet again it will probably be a wrestling match the rest of the way as Emerson has shown he's comfortable just working to stay on top. Nover uses the fence to get back to his feet and sinks in a guillotine. Emerson puts his back to the cage and goes to his butt and breaks the hold but Nover is in a good spot here. He lands a few punches and then a nice knee while Emerson works to his feet but Emerson isn't too fazed by it. Forty seconds left. Emerson looks for a final takedown and that pretty much ends it. Emerson takes the unanimous decision win.

Phil Davis (5-0) vs. Brian Stann (8-3)

Round One: Fighters feeling each other out here to start the fight. Davis ducks under a punch and charges for the takedown but Stann backs up and uses the cage to stay on his feet. DAvis really looking for the takedown but Stann stays on his feet and eventually breaks from the clinch and returns to the middle of the octagon. Strikes go back and forth with nothing major before Davis seizes an opportunity and gets the takedown with about two minutes to go. Davis puts him against the cage, Stann looking to get back to his feet but Davis drags him back down. Stann gives up his back, changes his mind and turns into Davis who gets into full mount. Stann survives a rough 60 seconds to finish the round.

Round Two: Stann lets his hands go to start the round but Davis backs up and comes out untouched. Davis shows some explosiveness, landing an overhand right and then a strong takedown to put Stann on his back. Davis moves to full mount again. Stann continues to switch between giving up his back and giving Davis the full mount. He's taking a lot of damage from both positions. Now Davis has him against the cage, holding Stann's left leg up and lands some great knees to the Stann's body. Great round for Davis ends.

Round Three: Round begins and Stann needs to do anything he can from getting put on his back again. Davis lands a good body kick. Stann comes forward with a combination and Davis ducks under, drives him to the cage and body slams him to the mat. Davis back to full mount and he's got lots of time to try and finish this fight. Davis just using his superior wrestling skills to completely keep Stann smothered under him. Stann doing a good job of protecting himself but thats' about it. He hasn't been close to being able to get up from the ground this entire fight. Davis rolls into an armbar attempt in the final seconds of the fight but can't quite finish it off. He earns the unanimous decision.

Tim Hague (10-3) vs. Chris Tuchscherer (18-2)

Round One: Tuchscherer makes the first move of the fight, coming in and putting Hague in a clinch against the fence. Tuchscherer having a hard time doing anything offensive out of the position and Hague finally breaks away and they're back to their feet. Hague letting his hands go a bit now, and Tuchscherer just avoids catching an uppercut. Now Tuchscherer comes back with a few straight punches and it goes back to the clinch. And now it looks like Hague catches him with a knee to the groin, action stops, but on the replay it looks like Hauge got Tuchscherer on the thigh. Either way, action resumes and Tuchscherer looks to dictate the pace. Tuchscherer lands a good uppercut that snaps Hague's head back. But Hague responds by landing a flurry off a clinch and now puts Tuchscherer into a guillotine. It looked like Tuchscherer was in trouble for a second but he lifts Hague up and breaks his neck free. A pretty even first round comes to an end.

Round Two: After a brief feeling out on the feet, Tuchscherer finally gets the takedown he couldn't get in the first round. Working out of half-guard, Tuchscherer looks to land a few elbows. He's got Hague's head pushed against the fence and it's a pretty bad spot for Hague, but somehow he's able to create just enough space to get back to his feet. Tuchscherer trying to keep coming forward, but it looks like the takedown attempts have taken a little out of his gas tank. Tuchscherer showing a bit of advantage in the standup though, landing the cleaner shots of the two. Hague looks for the big uppercut here and just misses. It seems like he's taking the approach of looking for the big shot instead of trying to break Tuchscherer down. They're both pretty gassed with just over a minute to go. Hague lands a good right hook that gets Tuchscherer to retreat a bit. It's not enough to get him in trouble but there's always the chance it may win him a round.

Round Three: Hague comes out very aggressive here. He's got Tuchscherer retreating and he strings together a nice flurry of hooks with Tuchscherer's back on the cage. Tuchscherer is clearly in trouble and looks for the takedown but Hague outmuscles him and puts him on his back. Hague works into north south, now side control. Tuchscherer gets him back in his guard but he's still landing good shots from there. Tuchscherer getting pounded no matter which way he turns but he's smart in constantly working to get Hague off him just enough to keep the referee from calling the fight. Twenty seconds left, Tuchscherer just trying to make it to the end. Tuchscherer does just enough to get the win in the eyes of the judges, taking a majority decision, 29-28, 29-28, 28-28.

Joey Beltran (11-3) vs. Rolles Gracie (3-1)

Round One: Beltran throws a right hook and Gracie ducks under and looks for the takedown. It's defended and the two move to a clinch against the cage. Beltran throws him away and now they move to the center. Gracie looking for the takedown again. Moves into clinch against the cage then trips Beltran and he's finally down. Gracie takes the back immediately, looks for the rear naked, Beltran rolls into him and Gracie moves to full mount. Impressive showing of strength here from Beltran as he reverses the position and gets in Gracie's full guard. He's got to be careful here though. Brandon Vera is cageside yelling for Beltran to get away and let Gracie stand up. That's what he does and the fight is back to the feet. Good straight right hand from Gracie stuns Beltran momentarily. Overhand right lands now for Beltran. Gracie looks for a takedown but can't get it, he falls to his back in the hopes Beltran will follow but Beltran refuses. Now the two slug it out for a bit, both landing a few hooks. Gracie goes for another takedown in the final 10 seconds and Beltran defends it well and lands a few good punches to finish the round.

Round Two: Second rounds starts same way first ended. Busted takedown attempt that Beltran sprawls over and lands some good shots while Gracie clings to his leg. Gracie is exhausted. He goes for just about the weakest takedown in UFC history. Crowd boos. Gracie goes again for the leg, Beltran sprawls and starts landing punches again. Gracie looks done. Not because he's hurt, he's very, very gassed. Herb Dean calls it. Huge upset to start the night as Beltran gets the TKO win.

Brett Okamoto can be reached at 948-7817 or [email protected]. Also follow him on twitter: LVSunFighting.

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