Jon Fitch and BJ Penn were supposed to determine the next welterweight contender in the Ultimate Fighting Championship on Saturday. They merely produced more questions.  Fitch (23-3-1, one no contest) spent almost four minutes pounding on Penn (16-7-2) to end the fight, yet it was not enough to overcome Penn's superior grappling in the first 10 minutes of UFC 127's main event in Sydney. Two judges scored Fitch-Penn 28-28 to produce a majority draw.  One judge scored it 29-28 for Fitch. USA TODAY scored the fight 29-27 for Fitch.  AS IT HAPPENED: UFC 127 play-by-play  As they waited for the official announcements, both fighters expected the decision to go Fitch's way.  "I gave up some positioning in the first and second round, but I came back, finished out on top, I did some damage of my own," Fitch said. "I think I did enough to win at least a split decision."  Penn surprised Fitch early by going for takedowns. Most observers, including Fitch and his trainers, expected Penn to look for a win with his striking; before the fight, Penn made a point of telling people he had worked with noted boxing trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr.  But Penn also trained with former rival and ex-champion Matt Hughes, one of the first great wrestlers at 170 pounds in mixed martial arts. The work paid off, as Penn took down Fitch each of the first two rounds and established back control both times.  Penn's takedown attempts surprised his opponent. Fitch did not train defensive wrestling while preparing for the fight because he expected Penn to focus on boxing and counterwrestling.  "It was a great game plan, threw me off," Fitch said. "It took me until the second round to catch my groove."  Fitch turned his fortunes around in the final minute of the second round. Although Penn climbed his back for the second time that round, Fitch was able to turn in Penn's guard to take top position and pepper away at him for the rest of the round in a prelude of things to come.  The third round saw Fitch take down Penn with 3:45 remaining in the fight. Penn, an undersized welterweight at 165 pounds, spent the rest of the fight eating a steady diet of short punches and elbows from Fitch. Compustrike saw Fitch outstriking Penn 134-0 in the round.  "He kicked my butt in the third," Penn said.  The inconclusive result leaves open the question of who will fight for the welterweight belt after Jake Shields faces champion Georges St. Pierre on April 30 in Toronto. The winner of Fitch-Penn would be viewed as No. 1 contender, UFC President Dana White said recently.  Saturday's headline bout was UFC's second main-event draw in as many months. Judges in Las Vegas scored a Jan. 1 bout between lightweight champion Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard as a majority draw. Edgar and Maynard are scheduled for a rematch on May 28.  • Michael Bisping (21-3) put away fellow middleweight Jorge Rivera (19-8) in the second round of their co-main event bout, belittled him seconds later, then proceeded to apologize for doing so.  Bisping landed an illegal knee to the face of a kneeling Rivera in the first round that nearly ended the fight then and there. After a few minutes to recover from being dazed, Rivera told doctors he could continue, but it only prolonged the end. Bisping rocked Rivera with punches in the second round before dropping him and unloading with more blows to force referee Marc Goddard to halt the bout.  Rivera posted several online videos before the fight that ridiculed Bisping as a weak puncher content to win on points. After Saturday's fight was halted, Bisping yelled at Rivera to apologize before telling him, "Go home, loser."  Minutes later, Bisping recanted his words.  "I just got a little worked up there," Bisping said. "Him and his camp talked a lot of (crap) going into it, touched a few nerves. I'm a sensitive guy. I apologize for maybe losing control a little there. I respected him as an opponent."  • Dennis Siver (18-7) upset home country favorite George Sotiropoulos (14-3), a top-10 lightweight. Siver stifled Sotiropoulos' attempts to grapple and outstruck him during the stand-up action to earn a unanimous decision.  Siver landed 52 power strikes, compared to 22 for Sotiropoulos, according to Compustrike. Sotiropoulos went 0 for 10 on takedown attempts.  • Australian middleweight Kyle Noke (19-4-1) submitted Chris Camozzi (14-4) in less two minutes. After avoiding a charge, Noke took down Camozzi, mounted his back quickly, flattened him out and sunk in a rear-naked choke to elicit the tapout 1:35 into the bout.  • Late replacement Brian Ebersole (47-14-1, one no contest) defeated fellow Indiana welterweight Chris Lytle (30-18-5). Ebersole, taking the fight on just a few weeks' notice after Carlos Condit suffered an injury, mixed takedowns and his trademark flashy kicks to earn a unanimous decision. Lytle attempted several chokes and leglocks, but gave up position several times in doing so.  • Tiequan Zhang (13-1) got back on the winning track by leaving featherweight Jason Reinhardt (20-2) unconscious with a guillotine choke 45 seconds after their fight began. Zhang rebounded from a December defeat, the first loss of his career.  • New Zealand heavyweight Mark Hunt (6-7) snapped a six-fight losing streak by knocking out Chris Tuchscherer (21-4, one no contest). The fight continued even after a left hook from Hunt tore Tuchscherer's left eyelid in the first round and sent blood gushing from the area.  After suffering the cut, Tuchscherer took down Hunt and tried to finish him off with an armlock submission. But Hunt survived to the second round and proceeded to drill him with an uppercut that dropped Tuchscherer to the ground for good. Hunt, an experienced kickboxer, simply walked away immediately after landing the blow, knowing that Tuchscherer could not continue.  • The most disputed decision of the night was a preliminary fight between middleweights Riki Fukuda (17-5) and Nick Ring (11-0). Fukuda scored several takedowns and landed more power strikes in the second and third rounds, according to Compustrike, but judges awarded a unanimous decision. S  Several journalists scored the fight for Fukuda, as did UFC co-owners Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta. "Fukuda got robbed!!!" White posted on his Twitter account.  UFC officials awarded Submission of the Night to Noke and Knockout of the Night to Hunt. Ebersole and Lytle earned Fight of the Night. Each fighter received a $75,000 bonus.
Fitch, Penn battle to draw at UFC 127 - MMA Fighting Stances: Mixed martial arts intelligence from the cage and ring - USATODAY.com