Couture ends Coleman’s UFC career

Randy Couture easily defeated Mark Coleman at UFC 109 in the hall of famers match in the main event by rear naked choke. Couture couldn’t miss with his strikes as he battered Coleman from the outside early in the fight. Coutures pace briefly slowed after he was seemingly rocked by a Coleman right hand, but after shaking off the blow Couture turned his attention to the clinch where he punished ‘The Hammer’ with his dirty boxing to finish out the first round. After more of the same early in the 2nd round, Couture scored a takedown and ended up in mount. Coleman gave up his back after taking some punches and Couture scored an easy rear naked choke which put the 2000 PRIDE Open Weight Grand Prix winner to sleep.

The win was probably Couture’s easiest since his first appearance in the UFC. Coleman had absolutely no answers for any of Couture’s game. He didn’t shoot in once, his boxing was as terrible as it’s ever been and while he took a beating, Couture has never really had knockout power in his punches. The only thing that really stood out for me in this fight was the fact that Couture was rocked by the one punch Coleman did land. This for me further emphasises the fact that Couture’s punch resistance and durability has worn thin over the years. As a major Couture fan, I don’t look forward to him fighting one of the younger, more dangerous opponents at 205lbs.

As for Coleman, he has since been cut from the UFC and hopefully he has made some decent money in his last few fights. I’m also glad that Tito Ortiz’s attempts to salvage the Coleman fight were shut down quick as I believe that Ortiz was looking for an easy win and seeing how Ken Shamrock no longer fights in the UFC, he went for the next best thing, another mid forties UFC hall of famer who’s time was in another era. Fighting Ortiz would have been pointless as the man is an absolute legend of the sport having twice been considered the best fighter in the world at different periods in the game and also being one of the men who changed the approach to the sport. Before Coleman most of the real top level wrestlers got takedowns and either held position or in rare circumstances went for submissions. None of them dished out the sort of punishment that Coleman did from top position. Coleman also paved the way for many other top wrestlers to get involved with MMA with the likes of Mark Kerr, Kevin Randleman and Kevin Jackson soon joining Colemans training camp and then going on to win titles in the UFC.

On the undercard, Chael Sonnen earned the number one contenders slot with a gruelling unanimous decision win over Nate Marquadt. Marquadt looked good for the first minute, scoring with some solid punches before Sonnen got the first of many takedowns in the fight. From on top, Marquadt had few answers for Sonnen’s relentless top game and was controlled and punished for the first two rounds. Sonnen survived some scary moments in the third round, including a guillotine choke that only seemed to fail because Marquadts hands slipped apart, but he earned the unanimous decision and the right to face Anderson Silva (should he get by Vitor Belfort Demian Maia in April).

Sonnen-Silva should be interesting and probably the first interesting Middleweight title fight since Silva unified the belts by beating PRIDE champion Dan Henderson. Sonnen has already trash talked Silva and with a victory over Paulo Filho, Silva wil be motivated to avenge his friends loss. I think you can expect to see Silva bring out his A-game on Sonnen when they fight but then again I wouldn’t count Vitor Belfort out of the UFC 112 bout. Belfort has serious knockout power, the likes of which Silva probably hasn’t dealt with in his career. Out of anyone I give Vitor the best crack at beating Silva.

(Since writing this I learnt that Belfort is in fact out of UFC 112 and Demian Maia has taken his place on the card).

In other results, Matt Serra scored a big first round knockout over Frank Trigg. Seriously, if you didn’t think Serra was a top ten welterweight for some stupid fucking reason before this, I think this settles it. Serra is a dangerous fight for anyone at 170lbs. Demian Maia grinded out a unanimous decision win over Dan Miller. Paulo Thiago made it 2-1 v AKA fighters, choking Mike Swick out with a Darce choke which was executed after a knockdown. Thiago is going to be an extremely dangerous fighter in a year or so once he irons out some of the roughness to his game.

(Sorry for the week off, I’ve been busy again and seeing how there were no fights on this weekend I thought I’d catch up then.)

Legends Collide at UFC 109

Some fights just aren’t meant to happen.

The history behind tomorrow’s UFC 109 main event between Hall of Famer’s Randy ‘The Natural’ Couture and Mark ‘The Hammer’ Coleman suggested that this was one of those fights. Originally scheduled to meet at UFC 17 in Coleman’s return fight from his shock loss to Maurice Smith (he would have challenged Couture for the heavyweight title Couture won from Smith at ‘Ultimate Japan’), Couture was forced off the show with an injury paving the way for youngster Pete Williams to fight Coleman and shockingly KO Coleman with a highlight reel head kick. Couture left the UFC not long after, heading to Japan’s RINGS organisation where he’d lose three fights between 1998 and 2001 while Coleman lost a decision to Pedro Rizzo before heading towards the PRIDE.

With both fighters careers looking to be closing down, they both turned it around in 2000. Coleman outlasted a field of eight top competitors to win the PRIDE 2000 Open Weight Grand Prix, a tournament billed to crown the best fighter on the planet (with the exception of two or three UFC fighters at the time, it pretty much did) while Couture returned to the UFC and defeated their heavyweight champion Kevin Randleman before defending it twice against Pedro Rizzo in explosive battles. Again Couture and Coleman were at the top of the sport and were the subjects of the first PRIDE vs UFC champions debate, but their meeting wouldn’t happen. Coleman lost his title to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and his career went on a slide from there while Couture did his thing in the UFC (do I really need to go into detail on what everyone already knows on Couture?) and the fight hasn’t really been talked about since.

Tomorrow the two MMA legends meet at Light Heavyweight in the main event of the UFC’s annual super bowl weekend card (for anyone who gives a shit I’m picking the Colts). The fight is of little significance right now. Although it does push Couture very close to another title shot should he win, should Coleman win he’ll likely be fed to an up and comer and brutalised. Still, probably the most anticipated fight in MMA history (apart from the one where somehow or another Fedor fights the reigning UFC Heavyweight champion) was when Chuck Liddell and Wanderlei Silva were ruling their respective organisations’ 205lb divisions, and when they eventually fought it was off the back of consecutive losses and their fight was an absolute war. The Couture-Coleman fight is definately one to check out.

While both men come from wrestling backgrounds (Coleman was a 92 Olympian, Couture was two time Olympic alternate) their styles are much different now. Coleman has often been criticised for not evolving and his style very much relies on his ability to get the fight to the ground and get on top. Couture on the other hand as learnt how to box and has learnt submissions and learnt them to the levels where he has used them to win fights. Couture’s weaknesses have been against much bigger guys or guys who could hurt him standing and stuff his takedowns. Coleman definately has the wrestling pedigree to stuff Couture’s takedowns, but his stand-up has always been primitive in terms of technique. The other big factor besides the overall game of both men is conditioning. Couture is always in top shape while Coleman has lost many fights due to his lack of gas. Even though Couture’s durability has looked suspect in recent fights and while Coleman probably looked the best he’s ever looked in his last fight, I doubt he can outstrike or outlast The Natural.

I think this fight will see a clinch battle for the first round with both men trying to get the other on their back. The big difference will be that Couture will likely score with punches that lead to the clinch and then will likely have the upper hand in the ‘dirty boxing’ game which he is a master of. Couture’s clinch game will wear on Coleman’s conditioning which will make Coleman’s takedown shots become desperate and open him up to punches as well as takedowns from Couture himself. I think if Couture gets on top at anytime in this fight he’ll end it, while if Coleman gets on top Couture will probably escape. I really don’t see anyway in which Coleman wins this fight unless he somehow outworks Couture. I can see the fight ending in one of three ways; ground and pound, rear naked choke or some sort of choke off the sprawl with Coleman too gassed to fight it. Either way I think Randy Couture wins this fight in the 2nd round.

The undercard is fairly appetising with the co-main event to decide the next Middleweight title challenger. With Nate Marquadt’s defeat of Damian Maia and Chael Sonnen being the man to finally defeat Yushin Okami as well as Dan Henderson’s depature from the UFC, the winner of this fight is the most logical challenger for the title since Henderson himself. This fight is interesting in terms of style, similar to the Couture-Coleman fight, as Sonnen has a strong wrestling base while Marquadt is the more well-rounded fighter. Marquadt is definately the more dangerous fighter in terms of striking and submissions, but Sonnen’s wrestling is that good that he could overwhelm Marquadt and take a decision. Sonnen has been submitted in the past, but I’d hardly but Marquadt in the submission league of Damian Maia, Jeremy Horn or Paulo Filho. Still, I think Marquadt’s well rounded game will give him the edge, and I think he’ll win a close decision in a competitive fight (I’d like to see Sonnen win just to see him cop a bashing at the hands of Anderson Silva because he’s an A-grade douche bag).

Also on the main card, Mike Swick attempts to further avenge the knockout Paulo Thiago inflicted on fellow AKA fighter Josh Koscheck (Fitch already beat him last year). I don’t see Thiago handling Swick. His striking, despite scoring the knockout over Koscheck, is full of holes and Swick is the best striker from AKA and I think he’ll tear Thiago a new one inside a few minute. Former Welterweight champion Matt Serra takes on Frank Trigg in a semi-old school battle as both men have been around sinde the 90s. I think Trigg will finally do the job and send Serra back down to 155lbs where he should be, although Serra is going to be dangerous for the entire fight with his knockout power and submissions. Trigg’s size advantage and wrestling base should see him through to a decision win. Damian Maia also returns, taking on Dan Miller. Miller has the tools to make this fight hard for the submission ace, but I think this fight hits the ground at some point and Maia submits him when it does.

On the undercard, Mac Danzig should break his losing streak against Justin Bucholz, I’m picking Ronny Torres to submit Melvin Guillard because he’s a BJJ fighter and Guillard has no submission defence, Nover to destroy Rob Emerson, Rolles Gracie and Phil Davis to win their UFC debuts and YAMMA Pit Fighting veteran Chris Tuschererererererer to defeat Tim Hague.

Ten Greatest Fights in UFC History

10-  Maurice Smith unanimous decision Mark Coleman (UFC 14)
The UFC 14 main event between undefeated Heavyweight champion Mark Coleman and stand-out kickboxer Maurice Smith was the first time in UFC history you saw an elite level kickboxer who had evolved. Maurice Smith had spent time with Japanese star Tsuyoshi Kohsaka learning how to fight off his back and when Coleman took him to the ground he was prepared for it. After a brief stand-off, Coleman shot in and took Smith to the ground with ease. From there Coleman unleashed with right hands and headbutts as he had done in his previous six UFC contests. Smith though established his guard and began stifling Colemans attacks and making Coleman work to keep him on the ground. Coleman at one stage moved to mount, but Smiths knowledge of grappling allowed him to get back to guard and continue defending. Maurice briefly escaped after about seven minutes but Coleman took him down again. Coleman though was gassing and his efforts from on top became less and less and Smith escaped again just before the 15 minutes was up and landed some solid punches and leg kicks. The following two-three minute over times were all Smith as Coleman was gassed and could barely walk from the leg kicks he was taking. Smith picked his shots and landed at will while stuffing Colemans takedowns. Coleman somehow survived the onslaught, but Smith took the decision and the title in one of the biggest upsets in UFC history.

9- Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira submission (3rd) Tim Sylvia (UFC 81)
A battle a long time coming with Nogueira and Sylvia at one point holding the PRIDE and UFC Heavyweight titles at the same time. They eventually fought at UFC 81 for the interim Heavyweight championship after Randy Couture ‘retired’ and wouldn’t face Nogueira. Nogueira was out of form having split two fights with Josh Barnett by close decision and barely surviving against Heath Herring while Sylvia was looking to gain back some respect after losing his title to Couture almost a year ago. Sylvia came out with bad intentions, firing his jab and trying to follow it up. Nogueira pulled guard, but Sylvia wisely stood up and showed he had no interest in fighting on the ground with the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu stylist. Midway through the first Sylvia dropped Nogueira heavily with a right hand and move in to finish. Nogueira regained his senses and Sylvia invited him back up. Nogueira scored a takedown in the final seconds, but Sylvia was saved by the bell. Sylvia continued to batter Nogueira during the 2nd round while stuffing his takedowns and standing up whenever he pulled guard. In the third round Nogueira pulled half guard and quickly swept Sylvia. Now on top, he passed Sylvia’s guard with ease and began looking for a submission. Sylvia turned into Nogueira and was immediately caught in a guillotine choke and forced to tap out. It was an incredible comeback from Nogueira who has made a career out of coming back from the brink of defeat.

8- Don Frye submission (11:19) Gary Goodridge (Ultimate Ultimate 1996)
Probably not the fight most people would have put in their top ten, but in my opinion (obviously) one of the greatest fights in UFC history. These two engaged in a gruelling battle of attrition that ended in the first round of the champions tournament of 1996. Goodridge, wearing a gi for some strange reason, and Frye immediately locked horns and started trading shots from the clinch. Frye was using Goodridges gi for leverage and pinned Goodridge against the cage while delivering knees and elbows on the inside. Goodridge repeatedly made room and landed his heavy right hand but Frye simply ate it. This went on for a few minutes before they seperated and started trading bombs from the outside. Frye seemed to be taking control when Goodridge took him down and began to land heavy shots of his own. With both men tiring it was Goodridge who was now able to use his weight advantage and he was landing heavy shots from on top. Frye then showed the newest trick in his game, an ability to fight off his back as he survived Goodridges onslaught and then swept the much larger man. With Goodridge exhausted and now on his back, he conceded the fight and tapped out due to exhaustion. Frye would go on to win two more fights that night, one of them against Tank Abbott which was #23 on this list, to win the tournament.

7- Oleg Taktarov submission (17:47) Tank Abbott (UFC 6)
Speaking of gruelling fights, they don’t get more gruelling then the Final of UFC 6 between newcomer Tank Abbott and UFC 5 veteran Oleg Taktarov. Abbott had walked through John Matua (20 seconds) and Paul Varelans (two minutes) earlier in the evening while Taktarov had a tougher then it sounds 57 second victory over UFC 5 runner-up Dave Beneteau and a 10 second submission win over Anthony Macias. Abbott immediately went on the offensive, rocking Taktarov with vicious bombs before ending up on top in a scramble. Abbott tried to finish, but Taktarov played his guard well and managed to wear Abbott down. Tank would open up from time to time and everytime they stood up he’d rock and bloody ‘The Russian Bear’ but could do little offensively against the Sambo master on the ground. Taktarov though was showing signs of fatigue by 10 minutes into the fight as Abbotts bombs were taking their toll on him. Somehow late in the fight, Taktarov found the energy to move to Abbotts back in a scramble and had just enough strength left to secure a rear naked choke and force Abbott to submit. After the fight both men lay exhausted and Taktarov needed oxygen as he was completely spent.

6- Frank Shamrock submission (4th) Tito Ortiz (UFC 22)
The tactical brilliance of Frank Shamrock was never more on display then when he defeated future  Light Heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz in their title matchup at UFC 22. Ortiz was the hungry young contender who had just blown through Jerry Bohlander and Guy Mezger and was gunning for Shamrock and his belt. Tito had a big size advantage as he cut down to the weight limit while Shamrock walked around 5-10lbs below it. The fight started off with them briefly striking before Ortiz took Shamrock down. Comfortable off his back, Shamrock was the one who opened up and began trading with Tito from his back while making Tito work to hold him down. Tito was happy to engage from on top and was throwing heavy shots and Frank was just as happy as his plan was to wear Ortiz out. Shamrock would escape back to his feet only too happy to let Tito take him back down and expend some more energy. By the 4th round Ortiz was gassed but continued to score takedowns. Shamrock knew though that Tito was struggling to hold him down and as he escaped from the bottom at the end of the 4th round, he landed an elbow that hurt Tito and followed it up with a barrage of punches that forced Ortiz to tap out to. It would be Shamrock’s last fight in the UFC having gone 5-0 with all five fights being for the title.

5- Randy Couture unanimous decision Pedro Rizzo (UFC 31)
At the time fighters like Mark Coleman were calling it the greatest fight in MMA history and it probably was. The opening rounds of this fight saw both fighters take punishment that would have stopped most men, but they took it and continued and went the full five rounds. Couture was the champion again after returning to the organisation and defeating Kevin Randleman for the belt. Rizzo was on an impressive run following his loss to Randleman for the belt and was coming off a huge knockout over Josh Barnett. Couture opened fast, taking Rizzo down and relentlessly scoring with hard shots from on top. Rizzo was closed to being stopped in the first round as Couture pushed him up against the fence and unleashed with bombs. Rizzo survived and in round two it was his turn to be the aggressor. ‘The Rock’ scored with numerous hard leg kicks that had Couture limping as well as scoring with hard punches to the face. Rizzo punished Couture for the entire five minutes with mainly his damaging leg kicks. After two rounds of action, I had the fight scored 18-18 with Couture winning the first 10-8 and Rizzo the 2nd 10-8. The last three rounds were all heart as both men were exhausted and battered. Couture’s wrestling game him the edge on my card as he was able to get Rizzo down, but Rizzo did more damage to Couture’s legs which made the decision a 50-50 one. The judges cards read the same as mine and Couture retained his belt by unanimous decision.

4- Matt Hughes submission (1st) Frank Trigg (UFC 52)
This is UFC president Dana White’s favourite fight of all-time and it was an incredible turnaround in an incredible fight. Hughes and Trigg hated each other and there had been a lot of trash talk after their first battle at UFC 45. Hughes had since lost his title to BJ Penn before regaining it with a submission win over Georges St Pierre after Penn had left the organisation while Trigg had scored wins over Dennis Hallman and Renato Verissimo by knockout. During the final instructions Trigg bumped heads with Hughes prompting Hughes to shove him and Trigg to blow him a kiss. They clinched up and Trigg scored an unintentional knee to Hughes’ groin. The referee missed the illegal blow and Trigg pounced, nearly knocking Hughes out before mounting him, then taking his back and sinking in the same rear naked choke that Hughes had submitted Trigg with in their first fight. Hughes somehow muscled his way out of the choke, picked Trigg up on his shoulder, ran the entire way across the Octagon and slammed him hard into the mat. From there Hughes rained down punches and elbows that bloodied Trigg up. Hughes continued to punish Trigg from on top before Trigg gave up his back. Hughes again looked for the rear naked choke and after a brief struggle forced Trigg to submit.

3- Chuck Liddell unanimous decision Wanderlei Silva (UFC 79)
While this is my all-time favourite MMA fight, I do believe there are two better fights in the UFC, but this is the one I enjoyed watching the most. It was a battle between long time PRIDE 205lb champion Wanderlei Silva and long time UFC 205lb champion Chuck Liddell but it wasn’t for the belts, it ended up coming at a time when both men were on the back of two fight losing streaks. Accurately described by Joe Rogan as ‘two dogs who have been looking through the cage at each other for a long time’ these two let loose with some of the hardest strikes ever traded inside a cage. Both men circled for much of the opening round letting everyone elses anticipations of the slugfest that was about to be delivered boil over. Then just at the time when people might have thought the fight wasn’t going to live up to expectations, they began exchanging. The shots were wild and they were hard nd they were trading almost evenly, but Liddell was landing the harder blows. Wanderlei continued to stand in the pocket though and Liddell even started walking him down but everytime he landed his home run strike, Wanderlei returned fire and they traded bombs. Liddell won the first round and Wanderlei won the 2nd and the fight was up for grabs in the third round. Liddell surprisingly opened with a takedown but Wanderlei quickly escaped to his feet. Midway through the round (which was full of further exchanges) Liddell rocked Wanderlei with a spinning backfist and looked to finish. With Wanderlei pinned up against the cage, Liddell unleashed a barrage that had dropped men like Randy Couture and Tito Ortiz, but Wanderlei wouldn’t go down. Wanderlei lasted the third round and even landed some good shots later in the round, but the decision was Liddell’s. The only thing that could have made this fight better would be had they fought over five rounds for the UFC and PRIDE belts. It was almost a shame that they had to stop as both of them looked like they would fight like that all night.

2- Roger Huerta submission (3rd) Clay Guida (TUF6 Finale)
This was the crazy super fast lightweight battle. Clay Guida took on UFC poster boy Roger Huerta who was looking for a win to legitimise the hype around him. Guida had the advantage with his wrestling, but Huerta was the better striker and probably had the better submission game. Guida dominated early with his wrestling and was outworking Huerta on the mat in typical Guida fashion. In the 2nd round Guida rocked Huerta with an uppercut after a scramble and looked to be taking over. After losing the first two rounds, Huerta came out with a psychotic look on his face and went straight to work on Guida, rocking him with a knee. Guida shot in, but Huerta stuffed it and continued to punish him. Guida again shot in and Huerta took his back in a scramble, and began looking for the finish that he needed to win this fight. After sinking in the choke, Guida eventually tapped out and gave Huerta the victory. It was a spectacular comeback and finish from Huerta, who will unfortunately probably have his last fight in the UFC against Gray Maynard in September.

1- Forrest Griffin unanimous decision Stephan Bonnar (TUF1 Finale)
Seriously, have you seen a better slugfest before? This fight made the UFC into what it was today with the mainstream appeal it gave the sport. On non PPV TV, these two waged an incredible war that saw them trade repeated blows for a breathtaking 15 minutes. Back then it was hard for MMA fighters to make a proper living off just fighting and both of these guys needed that six figure contract to be able to keep on fighting professionally and they fought like it. Griffin got the better of the first round, landing the cleaner shots and rocking Bonnar once or twice. The fight briefly hit the mat in the first with Griffin using his underrated Jiu Jitsu game to nearly submit Bonnar with an arm bar. In the 2nd round Griffin gassed and Bonnar began landing heavy shots, one of which broke Griffin’s nose. It looked like the fight could be stopped because of a cut on Griffin’s nose, but the doctor allowed the fight to continue and the final round and a half saw both men leave the little they had left plus a lot more in the cage. It was a bar room brawl inside a cage on National TV and the crowd and TV audience were eating it up. Griffin took a razor thin unanimous decision, but the fight was so entertaining that Dana White declared  there was ‘no loser’ and gave Bonnar the same contract Griffin got. Bonnar unfortunately was thrown into several hard fights against the likes of James Irvin, Keith Jardine and Rashad Evans on Fight Night cards while Griffin was built up on a steady diet of fringe contenders before they were ready to gamble with him. It’s funny to think how such a close decision that could have gone either way could have changed the course of the careers of both men. It could have been interesting to see where both men would be now had Bonnar got the decision, just food for thought…..

See Also:

Part 4 (11-20)

Part 3 (21-30)

Part 2 (31-40)

Part 1 (41-50)

Fifty Greatest Fights in UFC History Part 1/5

With the UFC running their top 100 fights of all-time in celebration of the UFC 100 card next weekend (and doing such a shit job with some of the fights they selected), I thought I’d go to a certain amount of effort and come up with what I believe is the best 50 fights in UFC history. I’ve gone over and watched plenty of old fights in the past two weeks which is one of the reasons I’ve made few updates on the site in recent times and I hope I haven’t left anything too obvious out. I’ll be doing this over the next five days with five posts, enjoy:

50- Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson unanimous decision Dan Henderson (UFC 75)
Sure, not the most action packed fight of all-time but given it’s historical significance as well as the back and forth battle between the two I feel it deserves a place in my 50 even if it comes at 50. This was the long awaited mega fight all UFC and PRIDE fans had been waiting for between the UFC 205lb champion and the PRIDE 205lb champion, except that it got less attention because it wasn’t Liddell vs Silva. Rampage had knocked out Liddell at UFC 71 and Henderson KO’d Wanderlei at PRIDE 33 setting up what ended up being a very underrated fight. Henderson controlled early with his wrestling but after Rampage had an answer for Henderson’s takedown game the two became locked in a very even battle that Rampage came on top of due to superior conditioning.

49- Eugene Jackson knockout (2nd) Royce Alger (UFC 21)
A wild slugfest from the dark ages with Middleweight journeyman Jackson scoring a dramatic one punch knockout over a tiring Alger in the early part of the 2nd round. Alger was a well credentialed wrestler who scored numerous takedowns in the early goings of the fight, even advancing his position and doing damage which was unheard of for wrestlers of that age. Alger suffered from the typical lack of long term conditioning that top wrestlers had back then, and Jackson began escaping and landing shots. After a wild first round of takedowns, escapes and heavy punches being thrown, Jackson ended things quickly in the 2nd round.

48- Tito Ortiz split decision Forrest Griffin (UFC 59)
A fight that the UFC would like it’s fans to forget is the one where Tito Ortiz, the former golden boy of the UFC who Dana White hates, edged out one of their poster boys Forrest Griffin by split decision. It was Tito’s comeback after a period off contract with the UFC and his opponent was the ever popular TUF1 champion Forrest Griffin who was 2-0 since winning the show. Ortiz quickly attempted to show Griffin he was out of his league, scoring a takedown and landing with heavy elbows for the majority of the first round that rocked and bloodied Griffin. Griffin somehow survived the onslaught and began opening up on his feet in the 2nd round, scoring with rapid punches although Ortiz was landing some solid straight shots back on Forrest. With the crowd on Forrest’s side going into the third, he again tried outworking a tiring Tito but the two traded evenly with Forrest again scoring more and Tito landing the harder shots. A late takedown from Ortiz looked like it could be enough, but Forrest escaped and the fight went to the judges where Tito scored an unpopular (I actually thought he won) split decision victory.

47- Phillip Miller submission (2nd) Mark Weir (UFC 40)
If you have never seen this fight, it’s a war that could have easily been higher if anyone, anywhere knew who either of these two were. Mark Weir was coming off the quickest KO in UFC history over Eugene Jackson while Miller was a solid wrestler who lay and prayed his way to victory on the same card. The fight was back and forth with Miller scoring repeated takedowns only for Weir to escape and rock Miller with shots. In the 2nd round, Miller seemed to be out but again scored a takedown and dramatically took Weirs back and sunk in the choke for the victory. Miller would retire not long after with a 16-0 record including a 2-0 run in the UFC.

46- Don Frye submission (2:14) Gary Goodridge (UFC 8.)
The tournament billed as ‘David vs Goliath’ pitted such a matchup in the Final with 210lb Don Frye taking on 260lb Gary Goodridge. It was the first UFC event of both men and both men had an easy run to the final, winning their two previous fights of the evening in under a minute for Frye and just over six minutes for Goodridge. The fight was quick, but violent as both men traded heavy shots with Goodridge scoring a brief takedown before they returned to the feet and traded some more. After a scramble, Frye ended up on top in a good position and began landing heavy shots on Goodridge who quickly tapped out, giving Frye the UFC 8 tournament championship.

45- Matt Hughes submission (1st) Frank Trigg (UFC 45)
The not quite as attractive older sister of that hot girl everyone’s always talking about, but one you’d fuck nonetheless if you had the chance (although I wouldn’t fuck any girl that looked anything like Matt Hughes or Frank Trigg). The first fight was surely not as memorable as the epic rematch (although the ending was one of the most memorable), but it was still a great fight. The fight was a four minute scramble in which both men took top position on a number of occasions and although little damage was done, it was an awesme display of grappling. Hughes ended up taking Triggs back and as Trigg stood up to defend, sunk in a mid-air rear naked choke pulling Trigg on top of him as he tapped out.

44- Pedro Rizzo knockout (2nd) Josh Barnett (UFC 30)
It’s very rare you get a good heavyweight slugfest that goes for more then a few minutes, but top heavyweight contenders Pedro Rizzo and Josh Barnett put on a show at UFC 30. Despite Rizzo’s feared striking ability, Barnett was more then happy to stand with him and was doing well in the first round. Rizzo was having trouble timing Barnett’s odd style combined with his size advantage but midway through the first he began timing Barnett and the two started scoring heavily in the exchanges. Rizzo started scoring with leg kicks which were slowing Barnett down visibly in the 2nd round and then after stunning him with a right hand, he finished the job with a bigger right seconds later. It would be Barnett who would go on to defeat Randy Couture however as Rizzo fell short in his two attempts at the title.

43- Tyson Griffin split decision Clay Guida (UFC 72)
Two of the UFC’s most exciting current day fighters battled in Ireland at UFC 72 and as expected won fight of the night. Both guys set an electrifying pace that didn’t back off for the entire three rounds. It was a back and forth fight with Griffin doing better on the feet and Guida scoring more takedowns and getting the better positions. At one point Guida took Griffin’s back but was dropped on his face as he attempted to sink in the choke. The decision went to Griffin although many people feel Guida was robbed.

42- Forrest Griffin submission (3rd) Mauricio Shogun (UFC 76)
The 2005 PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix champion Mauricio Shogun’s UFC debut was spoiled by Forrest Griffin in an exciting battle which mostly took place on the ground. Expected to walk through the ‘reality TV star’ Shogun seemed a step behind the entire fight and despite opening two huge gashes on Griffin’s face in the opening round, Griffin’s pace was too much for Shogun. After a close first round, Griffin upped the tempo and left Shogun tired and battered at the end of the 2nd round and basically doing all that he could to survive. After battering Shogun in the third round, Forrest finished off Shogun, who at the time was considered the top Light Heavyweight in the world, with seconds remaining in the final round.

 41- Robbie Lawler unanimous decision Chris Lytle (UFC 45)
The comeback for Robbie Lawler after his first loss was also the beginning of the long time UFC career of Chris Lytle who in losing earned another chance in the organisation. Lawler took the fight to the ground early in the first where he dealt out considerable damage while avoiding numerous submission attempts from Lytle. After a slow 2nd round, the fight exploded with one of the most memorable final rounds in UFC history with a wild stand-up exchange taking place for the majority of the round. Lawler took away any doubt in the decision by dropping Lytle (only for Lytle to applaud as he fell to his back) in what was the first of many memorable fights for Lytle in the UFC.

40-31 tomorrow…..