Cagewriter - UFC

Joe Stevenson may not be able to take out the top two fighters in the UFC lightweight ranks but he's going to be a handful for anyone else trying to move up the ladder. Spencer Fisher talked a big game before his UFC 104 against "Joe Daddy" saying he wanted a title shot when he beat Stevenson. Easier said than done. Most fighters who hit the ground with Stevenson don't get up without looking extremely battered or submitted. Fisher was no different. He was taken down with 3:42 left in the second where Stevenson worked from half guard to side control and eventually got Fisher in a crucifix. Fisher was helpless and took 14 unanswered elbows. Referee Herb Dean had to stop it at the 4:03 mark of the second.

Fisher's chances were hurt early in the fight when he was clipped by two Stevenson left hooks at 3:45 and 3:13 left in the first. On the second punch, it appeared that Stevenson (31-10, 8-4 UFC) ripped open a cut over Fisher's right eye with his thumb. The blood affected Fisher's vision for the rest of the first.

This was Stevenson's second fight working with renowned trainer Greg Jackson in Albuquerque. According to Sherdog's Greg Savage, on day one with Jackson, the trainer commented that Stevenson's foot movement was awful. In this one, you could see a concerted effort by Stevenson to stay on the balls of his feet. He mixed up his pattern of movement, left and right, in and out. Fisher never really picked up Stevenson's rythym.

Stevenson has won two straight since dropping three-of-four fights against UFC lightweight chamo B.J. Penn, Diego Sanchez and Kenny Florian. He probably deserves a crack now at some of the top six guys in the division like Gray Maynard, Frank Edgar, Sean Sherk or Tyson Griffin. For some reason, Nate Diaz, who just lost to Stevenson, is getting a crack at Maynard.

Cagewriter hosts the only UFC 104 postfight show from Staples Center starting at 1:30 a.m. ET. Listen here.

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18 Comments

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  1. Traoré
    1. Posted by Traoré Sat Oct 24, 2009 11:15 pm EDT

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    Daddy's back! A nice win, changing camp might have been the best decision of his carreer!
  2. Robert C
    2. Posted by Robert C Sat Oct 24, 2009 11:31 pm EDT

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    I overestimated Spencer Fisher.....really thought he would win this. His fights are always exciting and he usually wins. I never understood why he wasn't fighting top guys. Guess now I know. I still like him though.
  3. master ski
    3. Posted by master ski Sat Oct 24, 2009 11:37 pm EDT

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    Good win for Daddy but he is not a top 5 fighter fisher is a tough guy but he needs to head for strikeforce
  4. Gee
    4. Posted by Gee Sat Oct 24, 2009 11:49 pm EDT

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    I also like Fisher but he was not even in the same zip code as Stevenson. That dude is getting better and better with every fight.
  5. mike5o
    5. Posted by mike5o Sat Oct 24, 2009 11:50 pm EDT

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    good job Cain!!
  6. mike5o
    6. Posted by mike5o Sat Oct 24, 2009 11:50 pm EDT

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    a bit early Steve?
  7. mike5o
    7. Posted by mike5o Sat Oct 24, 2009 11:51 pm EDT

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    I mean good job Joe!!
  8. jojohn1958
    8. Posted by jojohn1958 Sun Oct 25, 2009 12:33 am EDT

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    Joe is a good fighter but lost to Sanchez as he came in as a one dimentional fighter. Today he mixed it up and did well. He deserves to stay in the top 6 mix
  9. Eddie
    9. Posted by Eddie Sun Oct 25, 2009 3:32 am EDT

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    Joe is deffinately getting better every fight. Moving to Greg Jacksons camp has deffinately improved his game. Keep up the hard work Joe, and hopefully we will see you back in title contension soon.
  10. killswitch_stl
    10. Posted by killswitch_stl Sun Oct 25, 2009 4:11 am EDT

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    joe is still one dimensional. i think he's a little [profane] and will never be top 5
  11. Roger G
    11. Posted by Roger G Sun Oct 25, 2009 10:55 am EDT

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    I agree,great win for Joe,but he isn't in the same league as Sanchez,Penn!
  12. bob h
    12. Posted by bob h Sun Oct 25, 2009 12:33 pm EDT

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    Joe daddy is back, represented the high desert well. Victorville what
  13. travis
    13. Posted by travis Sun Oct 25, 2009 3:49 pm EDT

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    I would much rather see Joe fight Maynard then Nate Diaz. My question is why Maynard would be given a title shot if he beats Diaz? Considering Diaz just lost to Joe recently. I mean yeah he submitted Melvin but who hasn't? lol Melvin is the one who needs to go to Jackson's camp. He desperately needs a ground game.
  14. jackswims2003
    14. Posted by jackswims2003 Sun Oct 25, 2009 8:26 pm EDT

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    Diaz is fighting Maynard because the UFC thinks it's an easy fight for Maynard and they want Diaz to lose basically.
  15. E = MC Hammer
    15. Posted by E = MC Hammer Mon Oct 26, 2009 4:56 am EDT

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    How about a rematch with Pellegrino? They had a great fight the first time and it could have gone either way.
  16. BNG
    16. Posted by BNG Mon Oct 26, 2009 11:28 am EDT

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    I had always looked at Joe Daddy as a gatekeeper. Just like Spencer Fisher did. If you want to get a chance at a title fight, you have to go through Stevenson. Saturday night Joe showed that he is a contender, not a hurdle for other guys. Great fight! Looking forward to seeing him improve under Greg Jackson and get another shot at one of the "top 3": Florian, Sanchez, or Penn.
  17. mike m
    17. Posted by mike m Mon Oct 26, 2009 1:14 pm EDT

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    What a sad day in the best sport in the world. Really starting to look alot like boxing. Or are we going to the Machida Era with WWE Judges. Maybe we should bring back Big John. MAybe as a judge! The ones you got cant do the job. They were probably playing a Undisputed match. And went by that round. Cause what ever body else saw at the Palace Station was Machida had his A$$ handed to him!!
    Did UFC get these judges from WWE where its a planned match! How sad. This isnt the first time. I hope Dana fixes this, Rua was the Agressor as well as the better fighter that night. It didnt even look like he broke a sweat! For everyone to brag that Machida never gets hit. He sure got pounded the Sh#! out of! There needs to be a rematch as soon as possible. Should actually be both next fight. Now Machida knows what to look out for. Rua was a true man that didnt cry about the outcome, because when it comes right down to it. He knows that between the fans and Machida fans alike know who won that fight that night. Regardless what the Judges decision was!
  18. Herbert
    18. Posted by Herbert Mon Nov 23, 2009 9:35 pm EST

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    good fight for joe daddy...he really rocks!..perfect for his entrance music "tonight is gonna be a good night" its a good night for him..

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