Last night the UFC made their Omaha, Nebraska debut with UFC Fight Night 15: Diaz vs. Neer.  The broadcast featured four main card bouts as well as a special announcement regarding a charitable December 10 event.

In the broadcast's opening bout Nebraska native Houston Alexander fell to his third straight loss to Eric Schafer in the tail end of round one.  After landing two brutal knees early on it appeared as though Alexander would finish the fight with strikes.  Schafer held on though, and eventually scored a takedown, and ultimately mount.  From mount Schafer landed elbows and punches before wrapping up his opponent to win with an arm-triangle choke with six seconds remaining in the round.

Middleweights Alan Belcher and Ed Herman fought to a decision next.  The gameplans were simple, Belcher wanted to strike - especially after spending a month in Thailand working on his Muay Thai, and Herman wanted to use his wrestling to take the fight to the ground where he could unleash ground and pound and look for submissions.  Both fighters were able to execute portions of their gameplan throughout the fight, but not enough to finish each other.  Belcher was able to land solid kicks and punches over each round, but cockiness allowed Herman to score takedowns.  Belcher was awarded a split decision, but the victory was not entirely impressive.  Despite being told to stay tight and stop being cocky by his corner, Belcher kept showboating and fighting sloppy.

In one of the most highly anticipated fights of the night TUF 6 winner Mac Danzig faced Clay Guida.  Danzig  Guida used his relentless wrestling and infallible cardio to pressure Danzig, beating the better striker to the punch and scoring consecutive takedowns.  Guida's pace appeared to wear out Danzig towards the end of round two, while after the fight Guida was still fresh enough to run celebratory laps around the ring.  Guida was awarded the decision win after controlling the fight and dictating where it took place. started off in front landing crisp strikes, but it did not take long for the tides to turn.

In the main event TUF 5 winner Nate Diaz faced his toughest challenge to date in Josh Neer.  Neer started off strong, closing the distance on Diaz and manhandling him to the ground - even threatening with submissions.  Neer, who is known for his powerful striking, was intent on keeping the distance closed and grappling with the Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt.  After edging out the first round, Neer began losing to Diaz.  Diaz fought like a snake, wiggling and slipping out of anything and everything Neer had to offer on the ground.  Rounds two and three saw Diaz landing more effective striking and working mostly from on top of Neer.  Neither fighter really came that close to finishing the other, but both clearly won their respective rounds.  Diaz was handed a split decision (which confused Neer as he had conceded to defeat).

Quick Preliminary Results

Dan Miller def. Rob Kimmons - Submission (rear naked choke) - R1, 1:27

Mike Massenzio def. Drew McFedries - Submission (kimura) - R1, 1:28

Jason Brilz def. Brad Morris - TKO (punches) - R2, 2:54

Joe Lauzon def. Kyle Bradley - TKO (punches) - R2, 1:34

Wilson Gouveia def. Ryan Jensen - Submission (armbar) - R2, 2:04

Alessio Sakara def. Joe Velepo - KO (head kick) - R1, 1:27

Fighter Bonuses Awarded

Each fighter below was given a $30,000 bonus for their respective award for fight of the night, knockout of the night, and submission of the night.

Submission of the Night:  Wilson Gouviea was handed the submission of the night for his armbar submission over Ryan Jensen in his UFC middleweight debut.

Knockout of the Night:  Alessio Sakara, who also made his middleweight debut, was granted knockout of the night for his devastating head kick knockout over Joe Velepo.

Fight of the Night:  Fight of the night was awarded to Nate Diaz and Josh Neer for their three round war in the main even of the evening.

Dec. 10

During the broadcast Dana White announced that the UFC will hold a special event on December 10 at FortBragg dubbed "UFC Fights for the Troops".  The event, which will be three-hours long on Spike TV, will benefit the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund and the National Intrepid Center of Excellence - which helps American soldiers who return home with major brain trauma.  Viewers tuning in will be able to call in all night to donate money.

**Discuss The Results Here**