20- Sam Stout split decision Spencer Fisher (UFC 58) This fight saw the explosive return of the lightweight division in the UFC after a two year absence. Fisher took the fight on short notice, filling in for the injured Kenny Florian, but no one would have known from the effort he put in. The fight was a back and forth battle between two heavy hitters, but it was Stout’s crisper striking that saw him take a razor thin split decision. The two would headline a UFC Fight Night in 2007 with Fisher winning in another war.
19- Bas Rutten KO (14:43) Tsuyoshi Kohsaka (UFC 18) The long awaited Octagon debut of ‘El Guapo’ Bas Rutten nearly didn’t go as planned as Tsuyoshi Kohsaka repeatedly took Bas down in the early goings of their fight. The feared kickboxer, who was hyped as having been able to knock opponents in Pancrase out with palm strikes (closed fist strikes were illegal in Pancrase) showed a hole in his game with his inability to stop the takedown. Bas played his guard well and took any punishment that was dealt out to him. After the 12 minute regular period, Kohsaka was ahead on points and it appeared that Rutten had three minutes to finish ‘TK’ in order for his Octagon debut to be a successful one. Rutten punished Kohsaka in the final three minutes, kicking his legs and body as well as landing heavy right hands before finishing TK with a barrage against the cage.
18- Jens Pulver majority decision BJ Penn (UFC 35) The fight that really put the Lightweight division on the map. The first fight between rivals BJ Penn and Jens Pulver was a war. Penn was the new phenom having dominated Din Thomas and Caol Uno already in the UFC and few gave reigning champion Pulver a chance. It was all Penn in the opening two rounds as he took Pulver down and took him to school on the ground. At the end of the second round, Penn secured an armbar but Pulver was literally saved by the buzzer. After that it was all Pulver as he stuffed Penn’s takedowns and battered him standing up. The fight went the full five rounds, but Pulver retained his title. It would take Penn another six years to capture the Lightweight title (in the meantime he moved up and choked out Matt Hughes for the welterweight title).
17- Frankie Edgar unanimous decision Tyson Griffin (UFC 67) Another Lightweight fight makes it into the top 20 and this one pitted two young prospects with excellent wrestling against one another. Edgar had the better wrestling, but Griffin had the more complete game. The cardio and pace each could set was dead even and it was at an electrifying level. Edgar controlled much of the fight with his superior wrestling, but Griffin was able to light him up when he could keep it on his feet and used some excellent escapes which created some of the best ground transitions ever seen in the UFC. Griffin sunk in a deep knee bar at the end of the 3rd round which he held for a good 30 seconds as Edgar gutted it out and took a close decision due to time spent on top.
16- Shonie Carter knockout (3rd) Matt Serra (UFC 31) The spinning backfist fight and a night that Jiu Jitsu expert and future UFC Welterweight champion Matt Serra will never forget. After dominating Carter on the ground for the majority of the fight, Carter caught Serra with a spinning backfist that knocked him out in the final seconds of the fight. Serra had gone from submission attempt to submission attempt to submission attempt for the full three rounds and was clearly ahead on points at the time of the stoppage, but Carters experience, submission defence and unorthodox style saw him over the line with one of the most memorable finishes in UFC history.
15- Royce Gracie submission (0:57) Ken Shamrock (UFC 1) The first high paced grappling match in the UFC. The first time two future UFC Hall of Famers fought each other in the UFC. Royce Gracie and Ken Shamrock were head and shoulders ahead of everyone in the first UFC tournament, but drew one another in the semi finals after winning their opening two matches quickly earlier in the night. Gracie immediately shot in and a scramble ensued and went on for nearly a minute before Gracie sunk in a sleeve choke after taking Shamrocks back and forced a tap-out. These two would dominate the early parts of UFC history with Royce winning UFC 1, 2 and 4 and Ken becoming the first UFC Heavyweight champion after winning the vacant title against Dan Severn at UFC 6. Gracie and Shamrock fought again, going to a draw in a dull 35 minute fight at UFC 5 which was fought entirely in Gracie’s guard.
14- Matt Lindland majority decision Phil Baroni (UFC 34) The other fight between these two was even better then the UFC 41 rematch. This one was fought on the preliminaries of UFC 34 and was an all-out war that was fought at a higher tempo and was alco closer then their rematch. In this fight Lindland again repeatedly took Baroni to the mat and was able to improve his position and do damage, but his stand-up back then was awful and Baroni rocked and dropped him whenever they stood up only for Lindland to get a clinch and then a takedown. After splitting the first two rounds, Lindland was having his way with Baroni again in the final round until a foul cost him a point and the fighters were stood back up. Baroni then looked like he had stolen the fight by nearly knocking Lindland out in the final seconds, but the judges saw differently with two of them scoring every round to Lindland and the other judge scoring it a draw (2-1 Lindland before the point deduction).
13- Forrest Griffin unanimous decision Rampage Jackson (UFC 86) The controversial decision in MMA history. This fight is like the Sugar Ray Leonard vs Marvin Hagler Middleweight title fight for MMA. The Ultimate Fighter 7 coaches fought out a five round war for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship and the decision still gets argued about to this day. Griffin pushed the pace in round one only for Rampage to drop him and come close to finishing him at the end of the round. Griffin dominated round two, hurting Rampage with a leg kick and then getting on top and mounting him. Round three was very close as again Forrest worked at an enormous pace, but Rampage scored with the heavier blows. Round four saw Rampage get a takedown and land some shots from on top, only for Forrest to come close with a triangle before the champion slammed his way out of it. The final round was again very close as Forrest continued to push the pace and Rampage picked the cleaner shots. I personally scored the fight a draw (10-9, 8-10, 10-9, 10-9, 9-10) but all three judges scored it for Griffin who became the first Ultimate Fighter Winner (excluding Matt Serra) to win a world championship.
12- Matt Hughes knockout (3rd) BJ Penn (UFC 63) After being choked out in less then a round in their UFC 45 meeting, Hughes had revenge on his mind. The only trouble was BJ Penn is an absolute freak and even though he was filling in for an injured Georges St Pierre on five weeks notice, he came prepared to take his title back. Penn outboxed Hughes in the first round while showing cat like balance to avoid being taken down. In the 2nd round Hughes finally got Penn on his back, only to be caught in a triangle choke and an armbar that he barely made it out of. Penn seemingly blew his gas tank trying to finish Hughes in the 2nd round and Hughes began to land heavily standing up in the 3rd. Hughes took the weakened Penn to the ground and held him in a crucifix while landing clean shots on Penns head which forced the referee to stop the fight. It was an incredible comeback from Hughes and is probably his career defining victory. I would still like to see this rivalry become a trilogy and I’m sure there’s plenty of others who’d like to see these two fight again.
11- Diego Sanchez split decision Clay Guida (TUF9 Finale) The last fight to take place in the Octagon makes it nearly into the top ten. After a staredown that almost put the Rampage-Wanderlei fights to shame (almost), both men exploded as the opening round started exchanging wild blows. Sanchez began scoring with heavy combinations before Guida took him to the mat. Sanchez escaped and dropped Guida moments later with a head kick that looked to have finished the fight. Guida showed the heart and determination that has made him a fan favourite and saw out the round. Rounds two and three saw Guida completing takedowns, but spending all his time defending submissions or trying to keep Diego on his back. The fight went the full three rounds at a pace that the Lightweights seemed to produce time and again and Sanchez’s work from the bottom gave him the split decision.
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.
A bit of news out of this week. Top Light Heavyweight contender and former UFC Champion Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson will coach the 10th season of The Ultimate Fighter alongside Rashad Evans, not Lyoto Machida. Evans and Rampage will coach the season which culminates with the Finale in early December before likely meeting for the number one contender slot and a title shot early next year on the end of the year show. The champion they will be facing will be decided in a September fight between champion Machida and probably 2005 PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix champion Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua.
I know a lot of people are bitching about this as they wanted to see Machida-Jackson first, but I’m not tha pissed off about the whole situation. Evans vs Rampage seems to be a good feud that’s going in an exciting direction after their confrontation at UFC 96 and a coaching stint on TUF could be a good way to throw fuel on the fire. Plus I’d like to see Rampage coming off the back of a solid win (assuming he beats Evans) instead of a layoff when going to face Machida. The other good thing about this is that the belt won’t be held up for TUF’s sake like has happened in the past. We get a title fight, plus two of the top fighters in the game coaching. Basically I think this is the best solution right now.
The thing that has pissed people off is that Shogun is getting a title shot. People still don’t realise how good this guy is/was. Sure he looked like shit against Griffin and Coleman, but that was on the back of layoffs and injuries. His performance against Liddell surely erased some of those doubts? Only Rampage and Rashad have done that to Liddell, and it’s one of those guys everyone wants to see in there with Machida. Throw in Shogun’s one sided brutalisation of Rampage in 2005 and this guy is as serious a contender as you can get right now. Shogun on top form in my opinion starts favourite over anyone at Light Heavyweight. I still hold a question mark over his conditioning but thats one of those things that will have to be found out.
Lyoto ‘The Dragon’ Machida became the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion at UFC 98 with a 2nd round knockout over Rashad Evans. Machida looked his usual self as he gave Evans no chance to land anything significant and scored with laser-like accuracy. After an uneventful first few minutes in the opening round, Machida briefly dropped Rashad with a short left after a leg lick in the only significant moment of the opening frame. The champion was more aggressive in the 2nd round which played right into Lyoto’s hands as he made Evans miss with ease before nailing the champion and dropping him again. Visibly hurt, Evans rose but was forced back into the cage by a barrage of strikes before being knocked out with another short left hand. The win sees the third UFC Light Heavyweight champion in as many fights with Forrest Griffin and now Evans both having lost their titles in their first defence.
This win surely puts Lyoto in the pound for pound mix. While he isn’t up there with the Silva’s, GSP’s and Fedors, he sits on or just below the same shelf as Penn and Torres. He’s gone through everyone he’s faced with such ease that it makes you wonder what is needed to beat him? The grapplers can’t get their hands on him and the strikers can’t land. His footwork, reflexes and defensive instints are on another level and he’s shown increased punching power so far this year with his two knockout wins. Rampage has to be next, although he might be looking for another fight before his next crack at the title. Light Heavyweight may have just joined Middleweight, Welterweight and Lightweight as a division with a seeminly unbeatable champion.
In the co main event, Matt Hughes won the long awaited grudge match with Matt Serra by unanimous decision. Serra had Hughes hurt in the first round after he followed up a head clash with a series of damaging punches before Hughes took Serra down and briefly had his back. The second round saw Hughes score with a takedown and control the entire round doing little damage from on top. The third was almost more of the same as Hughes scored another takedown and did nothing from on top as Serra attempted several submissions from his back. The lack of action forced a stand-up by Steve Mazzagatti before Serra took Hughes down and landed some decent shots from on top. Hughes escaped as the buzzer sounded and took the decision 29-28 on all three cards.
This fight made me kind of disappointed that these two didn’t fight over five rounds back at UFC 79. Rounds four and five would have likely decided the rightful winner in a razor thin fight that could have gone either way. I actually scored the fight for Serra as I thought he did more in the third round, but it really could have gone either way. I’d like to see these two fight again ASAP as there’s no one else out there that would make for a good fight with either of them right now. It was good to see them hug after the fight and exchange compliments, although I’m sure the ill-feelings between these two are fully resolved or ever will be.
Frankie Edgar scored the best win of his career with a unanimous decision over former UFC Lightweight Champion Sean Sherk. Sherk showed the complete lack of versatility in his stand-up game that got him in trouble against BJ Penn as Edgar boxed and moved and did it easy for most of the fight against the former champion. Sherk only attempted a takedown once and scored it, although Edgar got back to his feet in quick time. This win shakes up the division a bit and really establishes Gray Maynard as one of the top contenders as he’s beaten Edgar as well as a few other decent opponents. Also on the main card, Drew McFedries scored a devastating knockout over Xaier Foupa-Pokam in just 37 seconds. McFedries jumped on Professor X quickly and ended the fight with a barrage of hard, accurate hooks. Chael Sonnen scored his 2nd win in the Octagon with a three round domination over Dan Miller.
Preliminary Results
Brock Larson 1st round submission (arm triangle choke) Mike Pyle
Tim Hague 1st round submission (guillotine choke) Pat Barry
Kyle Bradley 1st round TKO (referee blunder) Phillipe Nover
Kryzstof Soszynski 1st round KO (punch) Andre Gusmao
Yoshiyuki Yoshida 1st round submission (guillotine choke) Brandon Wolff
George Roop split decision Dave Kaplan
Just thought I’d post something different seeing how there’s limited action over the coming weeks until the K-1 event at the end of March. A few big fights have been announced over the last few weeks. I’ve beek keeping a MMA schedule on the main page (when I get around to updating it anyway) so if you want to see who’s on what card that’s coming up this might be a good place to check out.
Evans to fight Machida, not Rampage That’s right, like I said Rampage fighting three times in a little over five months was too much especially considering one of those was a hard fought fight with Keith Jardine who is a strong, powerful bastard. Machida will instead get his shot in probably the least exciting fight for a UFC title since the Pat Miletich reign at Welterweight. This fight could be very boring, but then again I’ve been wanting to see what it takes to beat one of these guys for a while so at least that’ll satisfy that bit of curiosity for me, that and the fact that Rampage will likely tear apart whoever wins this fight.
TUF 9 Finale features Sanchez-Guida and Diaz-Stevenson The two main fights apart from the Finals for TUF 9 will feature another round robin of lightweight clashes. After Nate Diaz and Clay Guida beat Josh Neer and Mac Danzig respectively, Diaz fought Guida and Danzig took on in bouts following. The same has happened again with Guida and Diaz, who will meet Sanchez and Stevenson in respective bouts. The Guida-Sanchez fight has serious implications with the winner probably next in line to battle BJ Penn (or Kenny Florian) as both guys have been in good form and are on winning streaks. Diaz and Stevenson should be another good test for Diaz and one that I think he’ll pass. The big thing will be whether or not he can finish ‘Daddy’ because he’ll deserve serious props if he does.
Coleman to face Bonnar at UFC 100 UFC 100 features a hall of fame member in what will be a sad showing as he’ll likely lose to one of the UFC’s average Light Heavyweights. Former UFC and PRIDE Heavyweight Champion Mark ‘The Hammer’ Coleman will take on TUF1 Runner-up Stephan Bonnar at UFC 100. Bonnar should win this fight on conditioning alone as Coleman struggles to fight for more then two minutes without being short of breath.
Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson scored a three round unanimous decision over Keith Jardine in the main event at UFC 96. After Frank Mir pulled out of his main event with Brock Lesnar at UFC 98, Rashad Evans said pre fight that should Rampage defeat Jardine, the two would meet at UFC 98. Rampage started slowly, allowing Jardine to control the tempo of the fight with his awkward style. After a first close round, Rampage attacked Jardine continously in the early goings of the 2nd round, dropping him with a left hook. Jardine scrambled well but ate a few punches and still looked hurt as the fight resumed on their feet after a brief clinch. Rampage then shot in for a successful takedown but again Jardine worked his way back to his feet where he continued to come off 2nd best in the exchanges.
Jardine started well in the 3rd round before again being taken down by Jackson. Jardine showed an underrated (well unseen) ground game as he worked his way back to his feet yet again. With the fight possibly in the balance, Jardine began to use his awkward style to get off first and back Rampage up. Rampage’s strikes became wild towards the end of the round, but with Jardine tiring and his hands below his waist, Rampage dropped Jardine again in the closing seconds of the bout to take any doubt about the decision away. The judges scored the fight 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28 for Rampage, who engaged in some post fight trash talk with UFC light Heavyweight Champion Rashad Evans. In his own words, the fight is going to be ‘some black on black crime.’
I really thought Rampage fought like shit in this fight and I’d be all for Machida getting the first shot while Rampage gets a bit of rest in. Maybe it wasn’t the two fights in three months (that’s what Rampage said he thought it was after the fight) and maybe it was just Jardine making someone else look bad. If Rampage stayed in the pocket more in this fight he would have won it inside the distance no doubt in my opinion. Jardine’s inside game is horrible and that’s where a guy like Wanderlei Silva can take advantage because of his reckless style. Jardine is a nightmare for counter fighters like Liddell and Rampage.
In the main support bout, Shane Carwin knocked Gabriel Gonzaga out in just over a minute with one solid right hand. He didn’t have it all his own way however, as Gonzaga landed a handful of heavy right hands that looked to have Carwin momentarily hurt before he secured a trip takedown. Carwin scrambled well, and got back to his feet and then caught the former challenger for the UFC crown with one right hand that ended Gonzaga’s two fight winning streak. With the win, Carwin moves to 11-0 with all 11 fights ending in the first round. His UFC career moves to 3-0. Gonzaga drops to 10-4 with a 6-3 mark in the UFC. Carwin definately looked beatable but that power is always going to be an equaliser. Even though I think he looked beatable, Gonzaga is arguably the most dangerous fighter in the UFC with his ground skills and punching power and Carwin survived his onslaught. Carwin really is one of the top dogs in the division now and I’d love to see him in there with another top heavyweight ASAP.
Other Results
Matt Brown KO1 Pete Sell
Matt Hammill KO1 Mark Munoz
Gray Maynard Pts Jim Miller
Kendall Grove KO1 Jason Day
Tamdan McCrory TKO1 Ryan Madigan
Jason Brilz Pts Tim Boetsch
Brandon Vera KO2 Mike Patt
Shane Nelson KO1 Aaron Riley
Another UFC card takes place this weekend (making it the fourth this year so far in just over two months, don’t think I’m complaining though) and while some of you bitches out there think this card is shit, I completely disagree. While the main event is no St-Pierre vs Penn, the main card consists of four well matched fights and a typical Matt Hammill fight (why is this guy on the main card again?).
In the main event, former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson takes on the always unpredictable Keith Jardine over three rounds. For Rampage, a win should secure him a title shot against Rashad Evans probably in August or September of this year (a loss would mean we have an extra six months of Lyoto Machida as champion). For Jardine, if he wins he’ll probably get a big rematch with Liddell should he beat Shogun or he’ll be fed to whichever Light Heavyweight Joe Silva thinks needs a big win again. So even though the main event isn’t a big fight in the big picture of both fighters careers, it’s still a very good matchup and one that will be very interesting to see how it unfolds.
The undercard sees Heavyweight prospect Shane Carwin’s first real test as he takes on Gabriel Gonzaga in what will be a match between two of the games most powerful fighters. Both of these guys are massive and have huge power in their strikes as well as excellent ground games (although we’re yet to see Carwin fight off his back). Also an interesting Lightweight clash with two of the UFC’s middle tier 155lbers looking to move into the big time with Gray Maynard taking on Jim Miller. The other fight sees two fighters who fight with their hearts on their sleeves in Pete Sell and Matt Brown clashing in what is the favourite to take out fight of the night honours and while I’d rather see Jason Day vs Kendall Grove, I’ll make do with watching another shitty Matt Hammill vs ‘some guy with wrestling background and no striking so Hammill is at no risk of losing’ fight.
Main Card
Rampge Jackson vs Keith Jardine Prediction- Rampage by 1st round KO Rampage is by far the more dangerous fighter. Jardine is awkward with his movement and has some heavy leg kicks but Jackson’s counter punching style I think will suit a fighter like Jardine who strikes from awkward angles and has a lot of unorthodox ways of moving after he throws his shots. I think Rampage will catch him with a big strike during an exchange and hurt ‘the Dean of Mean’ and then finish him with strikes on the ground.
Shane Carwin vs Gabriel Gonzaga Prediction- Gonzaga by 2nd round KO Carwin is still very green and unless he puts a hurting on Gonzaga early I think he’ll be forced to fight at a competitive pace and his body won’t be used to it. This isn’t to say I don’t think Carwin has what it takes because he’s an excellent prospect but I think Gonzaga is a step too far at this stage. The only thing that concerns me with ‘Napao’ is his tendancy to fold when he is put under good pressure but I think he’ll make Carwin fight harder in areas he isn’t used to fighting in (like the clinch) for extended periods of time and wear the bigger man out before knocking him out in the 2nd round.
Matt Brown vs Pete Sell Prediction- Brown by 2nd round KO The first round of this fight should be a slugfest. Sell could make things easy and try to take the fight to the ground where his BJJ black belt gives him a big advantage but he won’t. He’ll get drawn into Brown’s fight and end up trading with Brown who fights like a savage dog and Brown will prove to have too much firepower over the course of the fight.
Gray Maynard vs Jim Miller Prediction- Maynard on points On paper, this is probably the most interesting matchup in terms of styles on the card. Both guys have average hands but Maynard is one of the top Lightweights when it comes to wrestling and Miller is one of the best when it comes to Jiu Jitsu. However, these type of fights often end up being really average kickboxing battles and in that department I give an edge to Maynard. Miller is a southpaw so if he’s forced to stand up he might give Maynard, who is still a very inexperienced striker, a lot of problems. Maynard though will have the choice where this fight goes and I think he might avoid Millers ground arsenal and try his luck on his feet. Could be painful but if it hits the mat it might be more entertaining then Brown vs Sell. Still, Maynard has the wrestling to control Miller on the ground and probably the better stand-up skills if he wants to stay up. It’ll be close but I think Maynard will edge him by split decision.
Matt Hammill vs Mike Munoz Prediction- Hammill by 2nd round KO As I said, typical matchup for Hammill who needs more babying. Munoz is a collegiate wrestler up against one of the top wrestlers in the game. Hammill gets repeated takedowns that he doesn’t set up with his below average boxing skills and clubs his way to an ugly stoppage win yet again and fails to impress me yet again.
As for the rest, I couldn’t be fucked going into them, but here’s my picks.
Preliminaries
Jason Day vs Kendall Grove Prediction- Day by 2nd round KO
Ryan Madigan vs Tamdan McCrory
Prediction- McCrory by 2nd round submission
Tim Boetsch vs Jason Brilz Prediction- Brilz on points
Mike Patt vs Brandon Vera Prediction- Vera by 1st round KO
Shane Nelson vs Aaron Riley Prediction- Riley on points
Georges St Pierre defended his UFC Welterweight Championship on Sunday with a 4th round TKO win over BJ Penn after Penn didn’t answer the bell for the 5th and final round. The win was the second successful defence of th title for St Pierre, who took it from Matt Serra at UFC 83 last year with a 2nd round TKO win. The win sets up a fight between St Pierre and number one contender Thiago Alves who is coming off victories over Matt Hughes and Josh Koscheck in his last two outings. The loss also likely sets up a fight between BJ Penn, who holds the UFC Lightweight title, and number one Lightweight contender Kenny Florian.
The fighters clinched up quickly after the opening round began and St Pierre tried for the entire round to take Penn down but with no success. The fighters seperated a few times with Penn landing a hard right hand on one occassion and St Pierre landing a solid right of his own on another. The round proved to be the tactical battle many anticipated and St Pierre probably won due to his aggression. Round two was a completely different story though. St Pierre again shot in for a single leg takedown and this time managed to get Penn on his back. Working from inside Penn’s rubber guard and butterfly guard, St Pierre worked Penn over with elbows and punches while looking to pass guard. The times he managed to get to side control, Penn used freakish escapes to get back to guard but that was all he was able to do as St Pierre won the second round big.
Penn looked like the minutes rest between the second and third round did him not good as he appeared sluggish at the start of the third round. St Pierre landed solid jabs and a devastating leg kick with little attempt at defence from the former Welterweight Champion before St Pierre again took Penn to the ground. Despite being able to pass Penn’s guard more in this round, St Pierre’s offence wasn’t as dominating as in the previous round. Still, the round ended with St Pierre on top working Penn over with strikes. Penn looked even more tired at the start of the 4th and after eating several punches and leg kicks, he found himself in the familiar position of being on his back. St Pierre’s confidence was growing as he often attempted to mount Penn with little regard for the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu World Champions guard. Midway through the round St Pierre landed his most damaging strikes of the round and after referee Herb Dean asked for Penn to fight back, ‘GSP’ turned it up. St Pierre proceeded to punish Penn with devastating punches from on top and was probably only a few seconds away from stopping Penn when the round ended.
A frustrated looking St Pierre walked back to his corner and a physically beaten Penn staggered back to his. In the corner the doctor and referee both examined Penn before JD Penn, BJ’s brother and manager told the doctor he wanted to stop the fight and awarded St Pierre with the TKO victory. The win brings St Pierre’s record to 18-2 with only five fights going the distance. Penn’s record drops to 13-5 and likely puts an end to Penn’s aspirations of winning titles in every weight division. With Thiago Alves likely next on the French-Canadian’s plate, a possible mega fight with Anderson Silva will have to wait. That fight would pit, in my opinion anyway, the two top pound for pound fighters in MMA against each other.
On the undercard, Lyoto Machida finally scored a knockout win in the UFC, knocking Thiago Silva out at the bell to end the first round. After clowning Silva in his usual way, Machida twice dropped the undefeated Brazilian and used clever inside trips on other occassions to put Silva on his back. One of these trips ended with Silva in guard and Machida delivered two bombs from a standing position that left Silva unconscious as the buzzer went to end the first round. Referee Yves Lavigne took a few seconds before calling the fight with Silva out on the mat. The win, according to Dana White, will earn Machida a shot at the title should Keith Jardine defeat Rampage Jackson at UFC 96. If Jardine is victorious, Machida will fight Evans for the belt instead.
Young star Jon Jones spoiled Stephan Bonnar’s return to the Octagon with a variety of spinning back kicks, highlight reel takedowns and a spinning elbow which nearly knocked Bonnar out in the 2nd round. Despite a late rally from the TUF1 runner-up, Jones held on for a unanimous decision victory. Karo Parisyan won in his comeback via split decision in an uneventful fight with fellow Judoka Dong Hyun Kim. Clay Guida took out another TUF winner, scoring a split decision over Nate Diaz in a fight that resembled a wrestling match. The times Diaz broke free and used his hands he looked a completely different fighter, even hurting Guida in the third round, but he spent too much time being outwrestled by Guida and was on the wrong end of a close decision.
Full Results Georges St Pierre TKO4 (corner stoppage) BJ Penn
Lyoto Machida KO1 (punch) Thiago Silva
Jon Jones UD Stephan Bonnar
Karo Parisyan SD Dong Hyun Kim
Clay Guida SD Nate Diaz
Jon Fitch UD Akihiro Gono
Thiago Tavares UD Manny Gamburyan
John Howard SD Chris Wilson
Jake O’Brien SD Cristian Wellisch
Dan Cramer SD Matt Arroyo
These are also late, but even more then boxing these had to be left until the new year so all the events could be done and everything taken into consideration. As it turns out, a few of the last few events of the year won some awards.
Fight of the Year- Eddie Alvarez TKO 1 (7:35) Tatsuya Kawajiri (DREAM.5)
This fight took place in the semi finals of the DREAM Lightweight Grand Prix and a cut suffered by Alvarez in winning this fight left him unable to continue in the tournament marking the way for alternate Joachim Hansen, the man Alvarez beat in the Quarter Finals, to fight in and win the Final against Shinya Aoki. Both fighters traded heavy shots on their feet throughout the fight and both fighters were knocked down. Alvarez dropped Kawajiri with a left hook-right cross about three minutes in but he used good survival skills to get himself out of trouble. After the doctors ruled Alvarez’s cut was okay to continue, Kawajiri dropped him heavily with a right hand and then passed his guard and mounted him. Alvarez escaped the mount and got back to his feet where both guys traded heavy shots and hurt each other more then once. Alvarez then pinned Kawajiri against the ropes and dropped him again, took his back and finished him with heavy strikes to the head. I picked this fight over some of the other ones on the list because it was fast paced for the full distance of the fight unlike some of the other candidates this year and because the whole way through the fight you had no idea who was going to win. If you haven’t seen the fight, here it is:
Honourable Mentions- Miguel Torres TKO3 Yoshiro Maeda (WEC 34), Forrest Griffin UD5 Rampage Jackson (UFC 86), Eddie Alvarez UD (15 mins) Joachim Hansen (DREAM.3).
Fighter of the Year- Gegard Mousasi This might come as a strange pick to some people, but the big factor in this pick was that he went 6-0 this year (plus his victory under K-1 rules against MUSASHI) and four of those wins were against decent opposition in winning the DREAM Middleweight Tournament. After winning two fights early in the year (one over PRIDE veteran Evangelista Cyborg), Mousasi entered the Grand Prix as one of the dark horses. Matched up against PRIDE 2006 Welterweight Grand Prix Runner-up Denis Kang in the first round of the tournament, Mousasi’s triangle choke victory came as a big upset to most people. A workman-like decision win over Dong Sik Yoon in the Quarter Finals earned him his spot in the Final Event where he had to face Melvin Manhoef in the Semi Finals, and then fight again on the same night to win the title. Most were expecting a Manhoef-Ronaldo Jacare final, but Mousasi had other ideas, scoring a victory again via triangle choke in 88 seconds over the feared striker. Facing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu expert Jacare in the Final, Mousasi ended up on his back early, but at the 2:15 mark of the first round a dramatic upkick followed up by punches with Jacare in his guard left his Brazilian opponent unconscious and made Gegard Mousasi the new DREAM Middleweight Champion. Some of the other fighters (particularily in the UFC) scored bigger wins this year, but all of them fought only twice this year and you can question the level of some of their wins. While some of Mousasi’s opponents certainly wouldn’t make it in the UFC, going 6-0 against that sort of competition is very impressive stuff. I definately don’t think he’d beat Anderson Silva or anything like that so save your time from writing some idiotic comment saying Silva would crush him or whatever because that’s not what this is about. It’s about which fighter accomplished the most in the calendar year and it was in my opinion Gegard Mousasi. Honourable Mentions- Frank Mir, Rashad Evans, Georges St Pierre.
Knockout of the Year- Rampage Jackson KO1 (left hook) Wanderlei Silva (UFC 92) This knockout just edged out Rashad Evans knocking out Chuck Liddell. I almost made it a tie, but then I measured my closet and realised I wasn’t big enough to fit into it so I could come out of it after making it a tie and acted like a man and made the pick. I think the deciding factor was the importance of the knockout for Rampage in this fight after avenging two brutal KO losses to Silva from their PRIDE days with an equally if not more devastating KO win himself. I would put a clip of the KO up, but ZUFFA are pricks about this sort of thing and don’t allow any of their fights to be on youtube so I’ll have to describe it. Wanderlei attacked Rampage while he was near the fence and threw a left hook-right hook combo. Rampage countered the left hook with a tighter one of his own and caught Wanderlei square on the jaw with his own hook putting him out cold right away while he was in the middle of throwing his own shot. Rampage then followed it up with two or three shots while Wanderlei was out. Both Rampage and Rashad will likely fight for the belt later this year and hopefully we’ll see another KO of the year candidate (and hopefully it’s Rashad who is on the receiving end). Honourable Mentions- Rashad Evans KO2 (overhand right) Chuck Liddell (UFC 88), Wanderlei Silva KO1 (rape choke + right hands from mount) Keith Jardine (UFC 84), Anthony Johnson KO3 (left high kick) Kevin Burns (TUF8 Finale).
Submission of the Year- Shinya Aoki Sub1 (5:12)(Aokiplata/Gogoplata from mount) Katsuhiko Nagata (DREAM.4) I watched this about 50 times in a row after I saw it. It was so cool it has to be given it’s own name and I will from now on refer to this as the Aokiplata no matter how much my friend who has done Jiu Jitsu longer then me tells me that the gogoplata was originally done from the mount before the guard and that the one he did on Hansen should therefore be the Aokiplata because I think he’s wrong. Anyway, unlike KO of the year, I have a clip, so I’ll shut up and you can enjoy:
Honourable Mentions- Dustin Hazelett Sub2 (Flying Armbar from Whizzer) Josh Burkman (TUF7 Finale), Dustin Hazelett Sub1 (Cutting Armbar against his own leg) Tamdan McCrory, Demian Maia Sub2 (Triangle Choke from Mount + Punches) Ed Herman (UFC 83).
Event of the Year- UFC 92: The Ultimate 2008 (December 27th)
The UFC stacked their last show and it proved to be the best event of the year. On the card we had two title fights between Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Frank Mir for the UFC interim Heavyweight title and Rashad Evans challenging Forrest Griffin for the UFC Light Heavyweight title in the main event. Also on the card was a fight featuring one of the best grudges in MMA between Rampage Jackson and Wanderlei Silva; one that has been around for more then five years since before their first bout at PRIDE Final Conflict 2003. Thw two other fights that filled up the main card saw an excellent knockout by Cheick Kongo over Mustafa Al Turk as well as a great Middleweight battle between CB Dollaway and Mike Massenzio. The UFC put six of it’s top starts against each other in fights that had plenty of impact on their respective divisions as well as plenty of impact in future fights that can be made. This card had great matchups that turned into great fights, upsets plus some great finishes and you really can’t ask for anything more (other then the odd submission). Honourable Mentions- Affliction: Banned, UFC 81: Breaking Point, UFC 84: Ill Will.
Performance of the Year- Fedor Emelianenko Sub1 (36 seconds) Tim Sylvia (Affliction: Banned) There was a lot of hype around Fedor’s return to US soil and him fighting his (apparent) first ‘real’ opponent in former Heavyweight Champion Tim Sylvia. Plenty of people thought that Fedor was all hype and no skill and the new promotion he represented, Affliction, depended on him to prove them wrong in order to succeed. That he did. After a brief feeling out process off about 10 seconds, Fedor dropped Sylvia with a series of big punches, battered him on the ground with even heavier punches, took his back and made him tap with a rear naked choke. It was easily the most you could dominate someone in just 36 seconds. Anyone who wasn’t impressed by Fedor in this fight is an idiot and I really don’t care what anyone has to say about it. Fact of the matter is he’s the best Heavyweight in the World until someone beats him. Guess what, I found a clip of it as well:
Honourable Mentions- Anderson Silva Sub2 Dan Henderson (UFC 81), Frank Mir TKO2 Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (UFC 92), Georges St Pierre TKO2 Matt Serra (UFC 83).
Upset of the Year- Mike Brown TKO1 Urijah Faber (WEC 36) Faber was easily the top Featherweight in the World and was considered miles ahead of anyone else. He was a top pound for pound fighter as well and no one expected him to lose anytime soon. Mike Brown was a former UFC competitor (he had one fight and got tapped out by Genki Sudo) who had only lost to top fighters and usually fought at Lightweight. While a respectable fighter no one really thought he standed much of a chance with Faber. Two minutes 23 seconds later he had caught Faber with a big right hand as Faber attempted a spinning elbow and rained down punches until the referee pulled him off. I didn’t even bother watching this fight until I saw the result (plus I would have had a hard time finding it online because they broadcast fuckall down under in terms of MMA) because I thought this would be business as usual for Faber. None of the other upsets this year come close to that one.
Honourable Mentions- Junior dos Santos KO1 Fabricio Werdum (UFC 90), Rashad Evans KO2 (UFC 88), Frank Mir TKO2 Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (UFC 92).
Before I get onto some of the lesser more comical awards, I’m going to explain my lack of a round of the year award. I prefer the Japanese 1 10 min/1-2 5 min rounds because I think MMA is a sport that doesn’t need rounds. It’s a proper fight and while I don’t care about having rounds as much as I care about say stand-ups and while I understand that they allow more fights to get sanctioned and make some fights more exciting, I still prefer the fighters to go for as long as they can for a round or two then a couple of shorter rounds at the end so I will not include a round of the year. If I did have one I’d give it to Alvarez-Kawajiri because it ended in the first round even though that round was 10 minutes long.
Now, seeing how MMA isn’t as old as boxing, these are all going to be completely new and made up awards named after whoever wins them as I go remembering some of the funnier moments of the year.
Shonie Carter Award for Best Referee Stoppage/- Shonie Carter (Tyler Bryan vs Shaun Parker)
Bryan/Parker Award for Double KO of the Year- Tyler Bryan vs Shaun Parker And here it is:
Just a prior warning, the next few awards go to EliteXC for their ‘Heat’ show, so make sure you have a bucket handy.
Shamrock/Kimbo Award for Most Entertaining Weigh-in of the Year- EliteXC: Heat This weigh-in had two big feuds that almost flared up as well as some nudity from someone not quite as ugly as Kimbo Slice. Undercard attraction and probably the most well known female MMA fighter Gina Carano failed to make weight for like the 4th time in her MMA career but instead of letting it go like what has happened in the past, EliteXC officials made her strip all the way to see if the limited clothing she was wearing accounted for extra weight that she was over. Somehow it did. About four towels covered Carano (and from what I read on a few message boards the wet dreams of many fight fans) that were being held up by her handlers and a very embarrassed Carano made the contracted weight for her fight with Kelly Kobald. After the Arlovski-Nelson weigh in went off without any problems, EliteEX Welterweight Championship competitors Paul Daley and Jake Shields had to be seperated after Shields blew Daley a kiss during the staredown. The main event for this fight was between UFC Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock and Youtube star Kimbo Slice (well at that stage it was) and going with his usual style, Shamrock decided to start some shit before the fight. While posing for the media in attention, Shamrock for absolutely no logical reason (Shamrock thinking he’s been disrespected isn’t a logical reason) pushed Slice in the back and caused the second near brawl of the weigh-in. This one took a lot longer to calm down though as both fighters had bigger entourages then Daley and Shields. Unfortunately, the actual card was no where near as entertaining as the weigh-in.
Jared Shaw Award for Worst Matchmaking of the Year- Kimbo Slice vs Seth Petruzelli (EliteXC: Heat)
Kimbo Slice Award for Most Pathetic Knockout of the Year- Seth Petruzelli KO1 (14 seconds) Kimbo Slice (EliteXC: Heat) Ken Shamrock somehow got himself cut warming-up for the fight and EliteXC needed someone to step in and fight Kimbo Slice in their main event. After an offer from commentator Frank Shamrock was turned down because Shamrock, despite being 50lbs lighter then Kimbo, has some serious skills and would likely have beaten Kimbo anywhere the fight went and EliteXC couldn’t risk their main drawcard getting beaten by a Middleweight. Instead Jared Shaw came up with former TUF2 competitor Seth Petruzelli who was fighting in a Light Heavyweight bout on the preliminary card. Petruzelli was an unorthodox but fairly handy striker who also had some wrestling ability and Shaw tried to make sure it was his striking skills that he would be using against their apparent ‘top 10 Heavyweight boxer in the World’ by asking that Petruzelli stand with Kimbo. What Shaw didn’t know is that there is a difference in levels of striking between your good street fighters and your trained fighters. It took only 14 seconds for him to be wishing that he picked Frank Shamrock. Kimbo rushed across the cage in his usual fashion and backed Petruzelli against the fence. Petruzelli flicked out a jab while off balance and to his and everyone else’s surprised it dropped Kimbo onto all fours. Petruzelli pounced and landed several shots while on Kimbos back, then rolled him over and landed a barrage from, side control that forced the referee to stop the fight at just 0:14 of the first round.
Bob Sapp Award for Biggest Mismatch of the Year- Jan Nortje vs Bob Sapp (Strikeforce: At the Dome) Some people might be surprised that I picked this fight over the Kinniku Mantaro fight against Sapp at the end of the year. Well the answer is obvious, that fight was competitive, this fight wasn’t. Jan Nortje was receiving a lot of hype for his 1-5 record that earned him a spot in the Strikeforce main event. They brought in monster of a man Bob Sapp to fight him because that wanted to see what happens when Nortje picks on someone his own size. The fight ended quickly after Nortje landed several hard blows that forced Sapp to run away, then chased him down and finished the job 55 seconds into the first round. It truly was a mismatch and the matchmakers at Strikeforce deserve an enquiry much more then EliteXC officials for bringing in someone as poor as Bob Sapp to fight a stud like Jan Nortje.
YAMMA Award for Worst MMA Show of the Year (maybe ever)- YAMMA Pit Fighting Seriously this was just horrendous. The creators of the UFC tried to bring back eight man-one night tournaments and make MMA ‘more exciting.’ The tournaments were impossible to do like they used to be done, so they had to compromise. Because fighters could only fight five rounds a night, the first and second rounds of the tournament would be one round of fighting each with the Final fight being three rounds. YAMMA also had a ‘revolutionary’ new fighting surface in which the area of the mat around the edge of the fence would go up on an angle so that the wrestlers couldn’t just pin you up against the cage and drop elbows on your head. Basically YAMMA wanted their organisation to be striker friendly. Instead, the wrestlers backed their opponents onto the ‘ramp’ then took them down with ease because they were off balance and because the fights were only one five minute round, the fight was over right there and then. The tournament consisted of every match being won by lay and prey (including the three round final). The only slightly entertaining part of this event was the super fights between Butterbean and Patrick Smith (mainly because Butterbean got royally fucked up) and Oleg Taktarov vs the man who ate Mark Kerr (Taktarov won by kneebar about one minute in). The event was bad from the fights to the Ring Announcer, who was so bad I’ve named an Award after him.
Scott Ferrall Award for Worst Ring Announcer of the Year- Scott Ferrall (YAMMA Pit Fighting) Scott Ferrall was funny but I wasn’t laughing with him. The guy was way too weird to be allowed to have his thoughts expressed on a microphone. He first announced referee Dan Miragliotta as “Big Dan Miragliotta STOMP YOU OUT!” and then “Big Dan the Man, How can I be the man if you’re the man, Dan Miragliotta (to which Dan shook his head in disgust). Pulled off a terribly lame call in “Travis ‘The Diesel’ Gimme a room with a Wiuff.” One fighter he said “hadn’t eaten in a week because he’s going to the electric chair.” Referred to the YAMMA Championship belt as ‘the strap-on’ and probably the weirdest call he made was “Kevin Mulhall will be the referee for this beautiful matchup of warriors and freaks ready to pound and dance…”
Gone but not Forgotten It’s sad that I have to do one of these for MMA. Boxing has been around for over 100 years and past champions are going to pass away each year and I feel it’s important to remember them. MMA on the other hand has been around for just 15 years and this year my favourite fighter, Evan Tanner, passed away way earlier then he should have.
Evan Tanner- Former UFC Middleweight Champion. Challenged Tito Ortiz for the UFC Light Heavyweight Title at UFC 30 but lost. Defeated Dave Terrell for the UFC Middleweight title at UFC 51 and won with strikes in the first round. Lost the title to Rich Franklin on a doctors stoppage in his first defence at UFC 53. None of this was why I liked Evan Tanner. He kept a blog on his website which I read for over a year about everything that went on in his life, including all his adventures and even his battle with alcohol which he beat in order to return to the UFC this year. I admired not so much the way the man led his life but the way he was completely honest with himself about who he was and who he wasn’t. He died in September of this year from heat exposure after his motorbike broke down in the desert and he ran out of water. He was 37.
Evans pounds out Griffin in three In what was the best fight of the night, undefeated winner of season two of The Ultimate Fighter Rashad Evans won the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship with a third round technical knockout over Season one winner Forrest Griffin. The win marks the third man to hold the Light Heavyweight belt this year, with Griffin taking it from Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson at UFC 86 before losing it in his first defence yesterday.
Both fighters started the first round of the fight slowly with Griffin landing more shots compared to Evans solid but infrequent bombs. The second round saw some furious exchanges with both guys looking hurt at different points in the fight. Evans ate a left hook early in the round which prompted Griffin to open up and chase Evans across the Octagon raining down blows. Evans retaliated by tauning Griffin then countering with a left hook. Later in the round Evans landed a series of bombs on Griffin that looked like they hurt the champion but Griffin fired back. Griffin landed heavily with a right hand at the end of the round which cemented the round for him on my card.
In the third round the fight finally hit the deck after Griffin slipped and Evans was quick to pounce, landing some hard shots from inside the champions guard. Griffin entually got wrist control but couldn’t control the challengers posture which made his submission attempts near impossible. Griffin tried a kimura from his back but Evans never let him get close. A triangle choke attempt from Griffin saw Evans briefly pass his guard and land some shots although Forrest was quick to get back to full guard. Evans finally got the opening he was after and landed a thunderous right hand from the guard which dazed Griffin. Numerous follow-up shots with first the right hand and eventually both hands had Griffin seriously hurt. Steve Mazzaghatti finally stepped in and halted the bout after what looked like Griffin tapped (although he claimed in the post fight interview that he didn’t and was just flailing from the punches) and crowned Evans the new champion at 2:46 of the third round.
Mir becomes first man to stop Nogueira
Fedor Emelianenko couldn’t do it. Josh Barnett couldn’t do it. Mirko Cro Cop couldn’t do it and either could Tim Sylvia or Heath Herring. But Jiu Jitsu stylist Frank Mir became the first man to stop Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira with strikes in the second round of their five round clash for the Interim UFC Heavyweight title. The win sets up a rematch for the Undisputed UFC Heavyweight Championship with Brock Lesnar, a rematch from a great fight earlier in the year which Mir won by kneebar in 90 seconds after taking heavy punishment for at least 60 of those seconds.
Right from the start Mir dominated the fight with his stand-up against the sluggish looking Nogueira. Landing with crisp combinations usually consisting of right uppercut from his southpaw stance, Mir constantly kept Nogueira off balance and forced him back when he tried for a clinch. After a brief battle on the ground courtesy of a Mir takedown, Mir then dropped Nogueira with a combination and looked to finish on the ground. Nogueira showed his usual composure when hurt which has seen him score famous come from behind victories over the likes of Mirko Cro Cop and Bob Sapp and saw off Mirs attack before Mir took the fight back to the feet. Standing up, Mir continued to get off first with crisp combinations while Nogueira failed to pull the trigger on anything before Mir again dropped Nogueira at the end of the round.
Nothing changed in the second round with Mir again easily outboxing the former PRIDE Heavyweight champion and landing with clean, crisp combinations. Mir then dropped Nogueira for the third time of the night with punches but this time was able to follow up and force referee Herb Dean to step in and rescue Nogueira for the first time in his 38 fight career. An emotional Mir thanked his team and his family for helping him to get back to where he was after his horrific motorcycle accident in 2004 which cost him the UFC Heavyweight title last time he held it.
Rampage scores sweet knockout over bitter rival Wanderlei Silva Former UFC Light Heavyweight champion made his comeback fight a successful one, avenging two previous knockout losses against Wanderlei Silva with a one punch left hook knockout at 3:21 of the first round. Silva had twice knocked Rampage out in fights for the PRIDE Middleweight (205lbs) title (one was the final of the 2003 Grand Prix) but lost his fourth fight in his last five appearances, his third by knockout. For Rampage, the win likely sets up another shot at the UFC crown he lost to Forrest Griffin at UFC 86 earlier this year.
Both fighters came out striking with Rampage looking the quicker early on. After eating two shots from Silva, Rampage attempted to take the fight to the ground but ate a knee for his trouble. Silva appeared to be getting set, landing a few vicious leg kicks to Rampage’s left thigh. Rampage though kept his cool and after en exchange of punches near the fence, Rampage countered a Silva left hook with one of his own that landed flush on the jaw and put the former PRIDE Middleweight champion down and out cold. Three follow up shots from Rampage left Silva unconscious for around three minutes before he woke up.
Other Results
CB Dollaway TKO1 (strikes from back mount) Mike Massenzio
Cheick Kongo TKO1 (strikes) Mustafa Al Turk
Yushin Okami UD3 Dean Lister
Matt Hammill TKO2 (strikes) Reese Andy
Brad Blackburn UD3 Ryo Chonan
Patt Berry TKO1 (leg kicks) Dan Evenson
