Fans flooded the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., on Saturday for the UFC’s first title fights of 2010 at UFC 111.

The main event between welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre and challenger Dan Hardy, built up by the return of UFC Primetime on Spike TV, was not as competitive as expected. St. Pierre performed to his strength, taking Hardy down with ease every chance he got, improving his position and landing ground-and-pound.

St. Pierre vs. Hardy

St. Pierre took away Hardy’s greatest chance of winning the fight by eliminating the stand up, and his gameplan worked effectively as Hardy was unable to do much damage over the five-round contest. St. Pierre was successful on all nine of his takedown attempts and attempted eight submissions throughout the fight according to compustrike.com, including a deep armbar and then a kimura, which were both close to ending the fight.

St. Pierre outstriked Hardy 130-22 and executed his gameplan to perfection. He retained his title via a unanimous decision victory: 50-45, 50-44, 50-43.

In the co-main event, undefeated heavyweight phenom Shane Carwin continued his domination of the UFC heavyweight roster by running through Frank Mir and earning the interim heavyweight championship. Carwin shot in on Mir and drove him to the fence, off of the opening exchange, where he landed strong knees and punches.

After a separation by the referee, Carwin pinned Mir back to the fence, where he landed a flurry of hooks and uppercuts, which dropped Mir. Carwin took his back and pounded him unconscious, ending the fight at 3:48 into the first round. Carwin outstriked Mir 68-3 in the contest and won “Knockout of the Night” honors.

New Jersey native and crowd favorite Kurt Pellegrino earned “Submission of the Night” honors by beating second-degree BJJ black belt Fabricio Camoes at his own game. Pellegrino defended the takedown successfully and outstriked the Brazilian 59-15 in the bout. He locked in a rear-naked choke and got the tap from Camoes at 4:20 into the second round.

Carwin vs. Mir

After a failed CT scan due to a brain irregularity, just 2 days prior to the event, Thiago Alves was forced out of a scheduled rematch with Jon Fitch. Ben Saunder’s match with Jake Ellenberger was scratched from the card and Saunders was rescheduled to face Fitch in the second main card fight.

Fitch wanted nothing to do with the standup of the muay thai expert, and rather worked to take down Saunders from the clinch through most of the fight. Fitch took Saunders down several times, controlled the fight, and landed some good ground-and-pound in the final two minutes. After three rounds, all three judges scored the bout 30-27 in favor of Fitch.

In the first match of the evening New Jersey native Jim Miller faced Mark Bocek in a back and forth battle. Bocek continuously went for the takedown and succeeded in getting the fight to the ground four times. However, Miller landed effective strikes from his back and attempted submissions, including a guillotine and then a kimura, which almost ended the fight in the first round.

Bocek controlled the second round and even mounted Miller. The fighters exchanged on the feet for most of the third round and Miller ended the fight by taking Bocek’s back. Miller outstriked Bocek 53-36 and won a close unanimous decision, with all three judges scoring the contest 29-28.

Miller vs. Bocek

A light-heavyweight bout between Rodney Wallace and Jared Hamman earned “Fight of the Night” honors. Hamman won the fight via unanimous decision and it was featured last on the pay-per-view broadcast. All fighters earning bonus honors received $65,000.

Rousimar Palhares received a disciplinary suspension of 90 days after winning a preliminary card fight against Tomasz Drwal. Palhares ended the fight 0:45 into the first round via heel hook, but failed to release the submission until being forced off of Drwal by the referee.

UFC 111 marked the first time that a UFC pay-per-view was aired live in HD on the big screen. The event was available in 300 select movie theaters across the country. Two preliminary fights were broadcast live on Spike and drew 1.2 million viewers, according to MMApayout.com

Overall, the Prudential Center had an attendance of 17,000 and a total gate of $4 million. The next UFC event, Ultimate Fight Night 21, will feature a main event between Kenny Florian and UFC newcomer Takanori Gomi. The event will be held at the Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, N.C., and will air live on Spike Wednesday, March 31, at 8 p.m. EST. The event will be followed by the premier of the eleventh season of “The Ultimate Fighter” on Spike at 10 p.m. EST.

UFC 111 – Spike TV Prelim Fights

UFC 111 PPV Pt. 1

UFC 111 PPV Pt. 2

A long career in mixed martial arts was about to pay off for welterweight Dan Hardy. After signing with the UFC in 2008, it didn’t take Hardy very long to become a contender for the UFC Welterweight Title. He would compete for this against reigning champion Georges St-Pierre at UFC 111 this past Saturday, March 27, 2010 at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

However, Hardy (23-7) couldn’t advance to the next milestone in his career, as St-Pierre came out on top, winning the match in five rounds. The decision was unanimous in St-Pierre’s favor, 50-43, 50-44, 50-45.

Hardy vs St-Pierre, Image Courtesy of the LA Times

It wasn’t an easy one for the English fighter, Hardy, also known as “The Outlaw.” At 6’0”, 170 pounds, Hardy shows versatility and quickness, and his Tae Kwon Do, Muay Thai, Jui-Jitsu and boxing experience all helped in keeping him in the fight against the 20-2 Canadian Welterweight Champion.

In the first round, Hardy couldn’t stay on his feet, as St-Pierre controlled this portion of the fight. It would’ve been over much quicker, but Hardy’s toughness and durability prevented him from submitting to a fierce armbar. As the clock winded down, Hardy was able to escape the hold, and prepared for the second round.

The trend continued, as St-Pierre kept Hardy on his back again for most of the second and third rounds. Another armbar in the fourth almost drove Hardy into submission, but he toughed it out until the bell rung for the final time in the fifth.

Prior to this past weekend’s bout, Hardy was on a role – 7-0 since his last loss via disqualification at GCM: Cage Force 5 against Yoshiyuku Yoshida in 2007. In his most recent fight, Hardy defeated American Mike Swick (14-4) at UFC 105 to become the contender for the Welterweight Championship.

The fight went three rounds, and it was a close one. Hardy was able to gain control of the first round late with a few light right swings, and a knee to the midsection of Swick.

In the second round, Swick controlled the ring, as he was able to ward off most of Hardy’s strike attempts, and was able to counter with plenty of his own.

Hardy was able to gain slight control of the final round, as he nabbed Swick with some good strikes. Hardy won unanimously, 30-27, 30-27, 29-28.

Hardy will now return to his hometown of Nottingham, England to continue training, with hopes of getting another shot someday. Hardy trains with Team Rough House, which is located in East Midlands, England, and features other fighters, including Paul Daley and Ross Pearson.

In the first episode of UFC Primetime: St. Pierre vs. Hardy, UFC welterweight champion Georges “Rush St. Pierre says, “I’m a martial artist, he’s not. He probably doesn’t understand the meaning of this, but after the fight I guarantee he will,” in regard to his opponent, Dan “The Outlaw” Hardy (23-6-1).

St. Pierre

This statement may be a stretch, but at UFC 111 St. Pierre will no doubt attempt to prove that his game is on another level, like he has against so many opponents in the past.

Two-time UFC welterweight champion and former TKO Canadian welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre will make his fourth title defense, since winning the undisputed championship in 2008, this Saturday in the main event of UFC 111 at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

Currently training out of Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts and Zahabi MMA, St. Pierre has trained with various gyms, coaches and fighters throughout his MMA career. St. Pierre’s head trainer is Firas Zahabi and his muay thai coach is Phil Nurse.

Considered by many as one of the most well rounded fighters in MMA today, St. Pierre holds a third-degree black belt in Kyokushin-kaikan karate and a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. St. Pierre is known for his wrestling skills and strong takedown defense.

Fighting out of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, St. Pierre holds a professional MMA record of 19-2. St. Pierre has avenged both of his losses, to Matt Hughes and Matt Serra, and looks to continue his six-fight win streak. He has defeated one current and three former UFC champions in his career.

In the main event of UFC 94, St. Pierre defended his welterweight championship against lightweight champion B.J. Penn in a rematch of their UFC 58 meeting, in which St. Pierre was the victor via split decision. The fighters traded exchanges from the feet and the clinch for the first round, with Penn successfully fending off takedown attempts.

St. Pierre vs. Alves

In the second round St. Pierre was finally able to take Penn down and execute his game plan. St. Pierre took Penn down and passed his guard with ease for the majority of the remainder of the fight, landing vicious ground-and-pound. St. Pierre outlanded Penn 234-67 in total strikes, according to compustrke.com. The fight was stopped by Penn’s corner at the end of the fourth round and St. Pierre earned the victory via TKO.

In his last fight, in the co-main event of UFC 100, St. Pierre defended his welterweight championship against Brazilian muay thai expert Thiago Alves. St. Pierre both exchanged punches with and took down Alves with ease in the five round competition.

St. Pierre outlanded Alves 135-83 in total strikes and earned 11 takedowns. He attempted submissions and even dropped Alves in the third round, but was unable to finish him. St. Pierre dominated the fight, scoring a unanimous decision victory: 50-45, 50-44, 50-45.

In his last 13 fights St. Pierre has just one loss, which came to Matt Serra at UFC 69. His opponent at UFC 111 will present the same threat that helped Serra overcome the odds three years ago: knockout power.

Fighting out of Nottingham, England, Hardy holds a black belt in tae kwon do and a brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Hardy is a powerful standup fighter with a perfect 4-0 record in UFC competition. Of his 23 wins, 11 have come by way of knockout or TKO.

St. Pierre learned from his loss to Serra and improved his game. In their second meeting he was more reluctant to stand with Serra and rather took him to the ground from the start of the match and landed devastating ground-and-pound. Expect St. Pierre’s game plan to be much similar when he faces Hardy.

Many people are ruling Hardy out of the fight, and it’s hard not to question his chances considering St. Pierre’s impressive track record. However, Hardy embraces his underdog role and will at the least have a puncher’s chance at UFC 111.

Live pay-per-view coverage of UFC 111 will begin at 10 p.m. EST.

Watch UFC Primetime: St. Pierre vs. Hardy on Spike.com

In a fight billed and hyped as a “grudge match”, Dan Hardy landed the biggest shots en route to outpointing Marcus Davis at at UFC 99: The Comeback.

It was a fight between two notable strikers, but Davis decided to change up his gameplan by taking down Hardy and ground-and-pounding through most of the opening round. However, Hardy stood up at the end and delivered a huge standing elbow followed up by punches, dazing Davis as the round ended.

Hardy wins a split decision

On the advice of his corner, Davis tried to turn up the leg kicks in the second round, but Hardy’s counterstriking opened Davis up to eat a big knee which floored Davis. Davis, however, is known for being able to take big shots and almost caught Hardy in an armbar from guard. In round three, Davis again took Hardy down and almost scored a heel hook, but Hardy scored a takedown of his own and cut Davis open with an elbow strike. In a close bout, Hardy scored a split decision to pick up the win.

On paper, it was a good game plan for Davis to try and exploit Hardy’s ground game instead of just slugging with him, but Hardy was equal to the task and showed his power at every opportunity. On this occasion, Davis was simply out-muscled and out-lasted by the young Briton.