MMA: Past Fight Discussion

[Egg Shen]

The only thing which hasn't been mentioned about Liddell/Silva was in the first round when Liddell hit Silva who backtracked like he was rocked for Liddell to come storming in only for Silva to hit him a couple of times and smile after playing possum. I really liked that. Great fight and one of the few which lived up to the hype. Liddell's last truly great moment for sure.

 

On the subject of Evan Tanner, it was a real shame. Tanner but mainly Randy Couture truly got me into following MMA and it was so nice to see Tanner win the UFC Middleweight Championship at UFC 51. Did UFC do anything to mark his passing other than a mention on their official website? I thought there was a bit of a campaign going to get him inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame.

 

i'd love them to induct Tanner. He was a unique fighter, towards the end of his career he was pretty much an alcoholic between fights i believe, he would drink heavily and just travel around the country, then when he'd get a fight signed he'd stop drinking and hit the gym and get into ridiculous shape every time. He was a bit of an enigma and he basically let raw ralent guide him in the cage...he was involved in some classic tussles.

 

RIP Evan.

[The Cum Doctor]

I loved the way Wiman was having a rough time and then between rounds Chuck was in Wiman's corner just staring a hole through Wiman not saying a word.Me and my brother were saying "what the fuck's wrong with Chuck" then Wiman came out like a nutter for round 2 and got the KO.

 

My brother walked past while I was watching that fight, just for the end and he seen Matt Wiman celebrating the fight like he had won the right to live. Given the look that Chuck gave him, that's probably exactly what happened.

 

MacDonald did better on the ground than anyone else in MMA has against Maia,really strong showing he just came up a little short.

 

Yeah, MacDonald impressed me an awful lot. Maia continued to get the better of him actually, but it was the job MacDonald did of sticking with him when Maia seemed to be easily getting the control of the fight, all of a sudden MacDonald was turning things around.

 

UFC 88

 

Dong Hyun Kim vs. Matt Brown

 

It wasn't a spectacular fight by any means, but it was a busy as hell fight. Certainly plenty to like about it. Kim looked very good in the first round even getting two takedowns in VERY quick succession. Kim was dominant when he had position but Brown seemed to settle down after a while and was able, for the most part, to stop the takedown attempts. Brown even managed to get to the top position a couple of times from the takedown attempts of Kim, but the third round went the same way as the first with Kim getting down Brown and managing to control the fight. The crowd boo the decision, but that's how I had it so you won't find me complaining.

 

Nate Marquardt vs. Martin Kampmann

 

Nate Marquardt looks BRILLIANT here, as he smells blood after the head kick and when it looks like Kampmann might have recovered, Nate just continues to throw everything at him time and time again untill Kampmann finally folds. Brilliant.

 

Dan Henderson vs. Rousimar Palhares

 

Henderson's approach was very one dimensional, but it certainly was effective and hard to work against. It was basically to look avoid takedowns and then land his right hand and knock him out. He probably didn't count on Palhares having a chin of steel. It's one thing to be rocked and come back into a fight, but it's another to be knocked down by one of Henderson's big right hand and recover in a fraction of a second in order to not allow Henderson to keep on coming. Palhares had a few moments of his own, almost locking the leg of Henderson on a couple of occaisions and also getting an absolutely massive takedown. It wasn't the most exciting fight thanks to Henderson's tactics but Palhares' heart made it watchable.

 

Tim Boetsch vs. Michael Patt

 

Tim Boetsch always looked like he had too much power in his hands for Michael Patt to last long and sure enough, he knocked down Patt with a VICIOUS right hand and then unloaded with no reply. The referee gave Patt well enough time to get away from that position and that was that.

 

Rich Franklin vs. Matt Hamill

 

I love Franklin using AC/DC as his music coming to the octagon. The first four minutes of the first round made me think that this was going to be something of a shitfest as it was just Rich following Matt around the cage and landing a leg kick, but then Matt got a takedown and that seemed to be the wake up call that Franklin needed. Right after that, Rich landed a pair of big knees to end the round and that became the story of the fight as Matt continued to look for an uppercut and Rich would come in and pick him apart at will with a huge array of strikes, kicking both legs ( although obviously one more than the other ) and punching the crap out of Matt. The body kick wasn't the biggest weapon for him, so I suppose it was only fitting that it was the way it ended.

 

Rashad Evans vs. Chuck Liddell

 

I forgot how good that punch was. No matter how bad Chuck's chin became, there was no way that thing was going to knock him out. That was VICIOUS. The end of the first round came at such a bad time for Chuck as he was beginning to land anything and everything and made Evans eat some hard shots. When Evans came out for the second round, he seemed like a different and more confident fighter and he had every right to be by the looks of things. That was very impressive.

 

Jason Lambert vs. Jason MacDonald

 

You know what ? I'm convinced that Jason MacDonald is a fucking machine. Horrible choke from Lambert and MacDonald just hangs in there because it turns out he neither 1) gets choked out or 2) taps. So he just stays there and waits it out because he knows better. Mental. He gets a choke of his own and actually, Lambert did as well as he did to hang on for as long as he did, but he's not Jason MacDonald, so he has to tap eventually.

 

UFC 89

 

Marcus Davis vs. Paul Kelly

 

Not a great fight by any means. Much of the first round was both men coming forward and being aggressive but not really landing much of anything. Davis getting the choke was pretty impressive right enough though.

 

Chris Lytle vs. Paul Taylor

 

You know what, after that last fight which I had hardly anything to say about, we come up to that fucking beauty of a fight. Taylor looked so crisp early in the fight with his very quick combos. We got another one of them big starts from him as well. However, as the fight went on, Chris' wild swinging was beginning to connect and he was also doing a much better job of defending the striking of Taylor, but he got tired and then the pendulum of control swung the other way. I think this is what made the fight as good as it was as well. It was incredibly close and both guys swung for the fences pretty much the whole way. You can't argue with that.

 

Sokoudju vs. Luiz Cane

 

Sokoudju had his right knee taped and when Cane hit it with a hard kick at the end of the first round, it seemed to change things in the fight. Sokoudju just got less and less aggressive and as that happened, Cane came forward more and also got more confident and then he completely unloaded. A good showing from Cane.

 

Shane Carwin vs. Neil Wain

 

Shane Carwin mauls Neil Wain and gets booed for it. Umm ... okay. Oh right, he's a Brit. Not much else to say than this looked very easy.

 

Keith Jardine vs. Brandon Vera

 

I've rarely seen such a busy fight where so little happens. It's like one of those scramble matches from the early days of ROH. Lots of action, but at the end you're sort of left wondering "well, what was the point of that ?". The highlight of the fight for me was when Jardine punched Vera and Joe Rogan got sweat on him, prompting Goldberg to tell him that it was kinda gross. There was some little bits of good action from both men through the fight, but I really really didn't like it.

 

Chris Leben vs. Michael Bisping

 

Unlike that last fight, a whole lot of action here, and it was a lot of fun to watch as well. The first round was like many of the more one sided fights that Bisping has had, with Bisping being the aggressor, coming forward and picking his spots. In the second round Leben knew he had to do something to take the fight to Bisping and started to come forward, but Bisping was able to counteract that with his jab an awful lot. Leben did find a home for that left hand a few times but Bisping was certainly the more effective guy I thought. In the third round it was more of the same outside of the takedown from Leben. Anyways, fun fight.

[wandshogun09]

Dong Hyun Kim vs. Matt Brown

 

It wasn't a spectacular fight by any means, but it was a busy as hell fight. Certainly plenty to like about it. Kim looked very good in the first round even getting two takedowns in VERY quick succession. Kim was dominant when he had position but Brown seemed to settle down after a while and was able, for the most part, to stop the takedown attempts. Brown even managed to get to the top position a couple of times from the takedown attempts of Kim, but the third round went the same way as the first with Kim getting down Brown and managing to control the fight. The crowd boo the decision, but that's how I had it so you won't find me complaining.

 

Yeah I had DHK winning that one too.It was pretty close but I never got why Rogan was screaming robbery or why the crowd was booing.

 

Same with Akiyama-Belcher,I had Akiyama winning.I can see why people might have had Belcher winning but in fights that close you can't really call it a robbery.

 

Rashad Evans vs. Chuck Liddell

 

I forgot how good that punch was. No matter how bad Chuck's chin became, there was no way that thing was going to knock him out. That was VICIOUS. The end of the first round came at such a bad time for Chuck as he was beginning to land anything and everything and made Evans eat some hard shots. When Evans came out for the second round, he seemed like a different and more confident fighter and he had every right to be by the looks of things. That was very impressive.

 

That was the punch that cracked Chuck's chin in my opinion.

 

I know he'd been knocked out before,even the same year against Rampage but that punch Rashad whacked him with was scary.After the Rampage fight he fought 2 tough 15 minute wars with Jardine and Wanderlei and took some decent shots and hung in there.

 

In his fights after the Rashad KO though,he's getting KO'd with seemingly any punch that touches his face.Shogun dropped him with a left hook which didn't look that big of a shot and then Rich Franklin flattened him with one punch.I mean the Franklin punch was on the chin,I'd understand it wobbling or even knocking someone on their arse but it didn't look to have the kind of steam behind it that would knock a guy completely cold.

 

It's sad to see.Especially in the fight with Franklin,his offence still looked pretty sharp to me.He badly wants to carry on and he's still in great physical shape but his punch resistance is completely shot.For that reason I really hope he doesn't fight again.

[wandshogun09]

Oh and UFC 89 was the last time I attended a UFC,for now at least anyway.

 

Like you say the main card was all about the Taylor-Lytle war.Amazing fight that one.Bisping-Leben and Cane-Sokoudjou were alright too.

 

The thing with this card was a lot of the best fights were on the prelims.If you can find them the Terry Etim vs Sam Stout fight is a cracking strikefest and Dan Hardy's UFC debut vs Akihiro Gono was a fun fight too.Gono's entrance was excellent.

 

Davis-Tellys was a huge disappointment to me.I was expecting a FOTN all out war after seeing both guys fights with Paul Taylor.In hindsight I wish they'd have put the Hardy-Gono fight as the main card opener instead.It was a much better fight,plus Gono's entrance would've made TV too.

Edited September 23, 2010 by wandshogun09

[Magnum Milano]

Forrest Griffin vs. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson

 

I've been looking forward to this fight for fucking yonks btw. That last round was horrible to score so I'm just going to forget about it, but I felt pretty sure about my 38-37 to Jackson in the first four rounds. If I had a gun to my head, I'd probably give the last round to Forrest. I say this before the decision is made btw.

 

Well, I can't say I agree with that. Although I'll say that the fourth round might have been a big thing. I thought Rampage being able to escape the submission attempts easily and his domination of the round outside of that point would have been enough. I had Griffin on a 10-8 round in the second round as well and with those two rounds I could see how the decision went how it went. It was a very, very close fight though and certainly not a decision that I'm going to moan about. The fight was certainly terrific although not quite as good as some people had told me it was going to be.

 

The fight actually won Wrestling Observer Shoot Match of the Year in the end of year polls, and I remember it being a surprise to Meltzer. In the time frame in which the Observer Awards are based (December 1st to November 30th), I personally prefered both Chuck/Wanderlei and Huerta/Griffin from the UFC to this. On to the fight, and I had Rampage winning 48-47 giving him Rounds 1, 3 and 4. Plus, Round 2 could easily have been a 10-8 Forrest, in which event I would have scored this a draw, but yeah it was no robbery.

 

Kenny Florian vs. Roger Huerta

 

You can have that as two great fights on this card out of two so far. Kenny Florian had this the whole way. He was the only one to do anything on the ground but I liked his stand up as well. Huerta as the aggressor kept on pinning Kenny against the fence and Kenny would just swing and then duck ( usually in that order ) his way out of the corner and make Roger Huerta do the chasing yet again. When the fight DID go down to the ground, Kenny got the back twice and flattened Huerta both times and came close to locking in the choke. Moment of the fight was when Kenny kneed Huerta in the third round, and Roger just stood still, hands down and spat at the ground and went mental. Another great fight here.

 

Bit of a back story to this one. If I remember correctly, this was the last fight on Huerta's contract and he was looking for a big raise (that included getting a cut of PPVs). At the time he was going to be the big Mexican star of the company, was the first UFC fighter to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated and was unbeaten in the Octagon at 6-0. Anyway, Dana was fed up with how negotiations and everything was going with Huerta, so Florian was pretty much Dana's 'hired gun' to go and beat Huerta and put an end to all his negotiating power etc.

[KingOfMetal]

similar to how Randy came back to win the HW belt back from the snoozefest that was Tim Sylvia

[Magnum Milano]

i'd love them to induct Tanner. He was a unique fighter, towards the end of his career he was pretty much an alcoholic between fights i believe, he would drink heavily and just travel around the country, then when he'd get a fight signed he'd stop drinking and hit the gym and get into ridiculous shape every time. He was a bit of an enigma and he basically let raw ralent guide him in the cage...he was involved in some classic tussles.

 

RIP Evan.

After watching some of his early UFC fights recently, I went back and re-read Meltzer's obituary of him. A very unique character and enigma sums him up perfectly.

 

He pretty much raised himself growing up and suffered from depression his entire life. Didn't wrestle until his sophomore year in High School, and studied books on wrestling technique and picked up what he learned so quickly that he was state champion as a junior and senior. A serious illness led him to dropping out of college and he did nothing athletic for years.

 

He became a bit of a drifter, and was back in Amarillo visiting friends when some of his old high school wrestling colleagues had signed up for the first USWF show. Tanner initially had no interest in doing it, but when he saw how well some of his buddies were doing, and guys who he had owned at school, decided to give it a shot. With no training he ended up winning the first tournament he entered, defeating Paul Buentello in the finals. He started to learn submissions by watching the 'Gracie in Action' videos, and had the unique ability to watch something on tape and implement it in practice.

 

He was a self taught fighter who saw fighting solely as a way to make some money, and never fully committed himself to the sport. He was also, as mentioned, an admitted alcoholic who was not averse to saying how he squandered his prime years.

 

I would have no problem with him going in the Hall of Fame (although think there are more deserving candidates who need to go in first).

[Egg Shen]

^ nice little read ^

 

its crazy to think a guy who was pretty much self taught (althought he did have some affiliation with Team Quest) won a UFC title when he did, some achievement

[Egg Shen]

i just re-watched Fedor Emelienaneko vs. Kazayuki Fujita for the 9,000,000 time. Crazy little fight. This was a the time when Fedor was at the peak of his powers, and was pretty much seen as unbeatable. Quadros sums up the feeling of this fight as the pair touch gloves, "that might be the closest thing to a punch that Fujita lands', that's how lopsided this bought was seen as being (despite Fujita having a decent record)...but land a punch Fujita did, the infamous overhand right>chicken dance sequence is one of the most well remembered moments in MMA history. For anyone who doesn't understand Japanese audiences, this is where you need to learn, the audience is silent for the first part of the bout, but when Fujita landed that punch and scored the takedown you swear the roof is gonna come off, it's a hairs on the neck moment. Of course Fedor got up, dropped Fujita and scored the choke.

 

 

Fuck all the people who've got on Fedor's back recently, if you was around when Pride was on top you'd never doubt anything said about the man. Same goes for CroCop, i assume most people think now 'what was all the fuss about', but at the time both guys had the it/ factor. It was almost scary to watch em fight. Fujita almost did the unthinkable.

 

Edited September 23, 2010 by Ebb

[Magnum Milano]

^ nice little read ^

 

its crazy to think a guy who was pretty much self taught (althought he did have some affiliation with Team Quest) won a UFC title when he did, some achievement

Yeah, I pretty much copied and summarised some of the early parts of his career just to try and emphasise how much raw talent and natural aptitude Tanner had for MMA.

 

I no-longer subscribe to the Observer, but I will try and find the obituary online and then post it here. It is a fantastic piece full of stuff I didn't know, such as even though he was an alcoholic, Tanner hated drinking, its taste etc, but as a teenager felt it was something he had to do.

[The Cum Doctor]

UFC 90

 

Sean Sherk vs. Tyson Griffin

 

More Tyson ? Yes please ! This was a really good showing from Sean Sherk. Took Sherk a wee bit of time to find his range but when he did, he really found a home for that left hand. Any time Tyson came forward and put the pressure on, Sherk would punish him with a good combo. Sherk even put together some cracking four and five punch combos where every shot would connect. The first two rounds were terrific viewing. The third round wasn't as good, even though it started as if the two guys were just gonna throw everything including the kitchen sink at each other, but you can't have it all. This was a very fun fight.

 

Fabrico Werdum vs. Junior Dos Santos

 

Before this fight, Dan Severn gets an applause from the audience. Nice. This basically puts Junior Dos Santos on the map as he knocks Werdum out in very quick order with a HARD uppercut. The fight was over as soon as that one was hit but he had to land a couple more shots to be sure. The replays show just how amazing that punch is. They show about five replays but I watch it about seven more times. Fucking hell, that's just VIOLENT.

 

Rich Clementi vs. Gray Maynard

 

Ugh. Didn't enjoy this at all. Gray Maynard just got on top of Rich Clementi and could not be shaken off and that was pretty much the fight. He almost lost position in a couple of occaisions ( fully lost once, but quickly changed that ) and landed a couple of right hands from the top position, but other than that, I just couldn't enjoy this at all.

 

Thiago Alvez vs. Josh Koscheck

 

This was a really good co main event. Josh took some really big beatings. In the first round there was the combo with the left hand and the head kick which had Josh rocked and he recovered quickly. Then in the third, the same thing happened and Alvez also landed a BIG leg kick which clearly hurt Josh. I was surprised at how little Josh even attempted the takedowns. He tried a couple and he seemed to be discouraged by those attempts. Alvez was landing some big kicks to the leg all the way through the fight. Entertaining stuff.

 

Anderson Silva vs. Patrick Cote

 

Even when Anderson Silva is fucking about, there's something strangely compelling about watching him. That ending really wasn't pleasant. I liked watching Silva because when he was moving about and just fucking about, he could still have those moments and I was just waiting for those moments to come. Really unfortunate ending, but Anderson Silva was going to win anyways.

 

Thales Leites vs. Drew McFederies

 

I've never seen Joe Rogan that certain before. As soon as Leites got the back of Drew, Rogan said "it's done". Not "he's in real trouble". Simply "it's done". Didn't take too long for that to come to fruition either.

 

UFC 91

 

Nate Quarry vs. Demian Maia

 

Nate Quarry was in trouble right from the word go since Maia instantly took the fight to the ground and mounted Quarry. He then went on take the back and then get the choke, both of which were inevitable. Another good showing from Demien Maia.

 

Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Josh Hendricks

 

Why did the ref, being the fanny that he is, see that Josh was clearly out of it and basically demand that Gonzaga still hit a final shot. That is one of the most ridiculous and dangerous bits of refereeing I've ever seen. Great knockout though.

 

Ryan Thomas vs. Matt Brown

 

Matt Brown was giving Ryan Thomas all sorts of warning during that fight there. Any time that Thomas had the top position, Brown was close to getting the submission with about four different attempts before the eventual finish. The main one that he seemed to be going for was the arm bar. He kept the arm and tried to control it. Even a couple of slams couldn't make Matt Brown break the arm bar that eventually ended it. Thomas looked naw bad when it came to actually getting the fight to the deck, but clearly wasn't good enough when he got down there. It was a fun fight.

 

Dustin Hazelett vs. Tamdan McCrory

 

Loved the start of the fight as Tamdan just unloaded with a major combo of strikes, most of them finding a home. After that Tamdan did look like the more dangerous fighter on the feet but when the fight went down to the ground, Dustin had Tamdan in all sorts of bother and then locked in that BRUTAL arm bar.

 

Jeremy Stephens vs. Rafael Dos Anjos

 

In what probably ranks up there as the most bizarre post-fight celebration ever, Jeremy Stephens runs face first into the cage. I was just noting down that on the feet, Stephens was clearly the better of the two before he landed that uppercut. He even had some joy in the second round on the ground when he was laying in the ground and pound. That was a good fight. I liked watching Rafael Dos Anjos who, like the earlier fights, was always dangerous from the bottom, and Stephens did well not to tap out from a deep submission. The finish was brutal. Hell of an uppercut.

 

Kenny Florian vs. Joe Stevenson

 

Joe Stevenson had Kenny Florian on the back foot right from the off here, landing a couple of brilliant combos. Kenny showed some real quality on the ground though. When he made that mount, he seemed to do it with such ease. Joe basically turned into a really bad position because he was forced to. Great show from Kenny Florian there.

 

Randy Couture vs. Brock Lesnar

 

That was a brutal beating Lesnar landed when he got Couture down. Watching the replays, you get the feeling that Couture was unlucky, but he ducked right into that punch and that put him in real bother. Brock was landing a LOT of punches for the finish, and not only were the punches coming thick and fast, they also looked like really hard punches. Reminded me of the wee punches that Sonnen was hitting on Anderson Silva, except these punches COULD finish someone off. Brock Lesnar looked pretty decent on his feet, as he was settling down.

 

Jorge Gurgel vs. Aaron Riley

 

This was a fun war. The corner of Gurgel continually told Gurgel not to stand and trade with Riley, but he went in and continually done it. He was getting away with it for the first couple of rounds. Especially in the first when he landed the body kick several times and actually had the body marked. He was also landing some really nice combos, but after Riley shook Gurgel for the first time, things started to go downhill for him. Gurgel kept on coming in and trading like before but the longer the fight went on, Riley would keep on finding a home for his left hand and actually had Gurgel rocked with a head kick and I thought he might have been able to finish the fight from there. It was a cracking fight this one though.

 

Alvin Robinson vs. Mark Bocek

 

Man, there's a LOT of fights on this show ! This is another entertaining fight, but for other reasons than the previous fight. This one was intriguing most of the way to see just how long Alvin Robinson could last in there as Mark Bocek had Alvin Robinson in all sorts of bother on numerous occaisions. That's not to say Alvin Robinson didn't look good though. He reversed the position a few times as well and when he wasn't caught in the submissions he kept it as a bit of a competitive ground battle. Mark Bocek did seem to be the better guy on the ground. He passed to the side control a little bit too easily at times and it was the north south position where he was causing the most problems. Good stuff here.

[wandshogun09]

UFC 91 was a great card top to bottom.Going in I remember people complaining it was a one fight show and everything under the main event was shit.Goes to show you can't bash a card until it's over because UFC 91 was probably the best card UFC put on in 2008.

 

The card has everything,it's full of exciting fights,cool finishes (KO and subs) and topped off with a huge main event.

 

Loved Riley/Gurgel,Hazelett/McCrory and Stephens/Dos Anjos in particular.

[The Cum Doctor]

The Ultimate Fighter 8 Finale

 

David Kaplan vs. Junie Browning

 

In the first round, the stand up exchanges just looked far too easy for Junie Browing. He kept on landing combos and he was hitting the shots every single time. The defence from Kaplan was just no existant. David Kaplan seemed to decide to swing wildly in lieu of actually defending after a while, not that it did very good, as it allowed Junie to take him down and then submit him. It was a good showing for Browning, but I'm wondering how much of that was David Kaplan making him look good.

 

Eliot Marshall vs. Jules Bruchez

 

Eliot Marshall hurt Jules right off the bat with a big right hand which Jules seemed to be caught off guard with it. From there, Marshall just unloaded got him down and finished it. Good stuff.

 

Jason MacDonald vs. Wilson Gouveia

 

That was a hell of a beating inflicted by Wilson. Jason was coming forward wildly and then Wilson clocked him with a stiff right and then an even stiffer left and that was basically the beginning of the end. Wilson didn't seem to be swinging as wildly as I thought he would looking for the finish, but then he referee told Jason to fight back, and all of a sudden Wilson seemed to realise that he was supposed to keep going !

 

Kevin Burns vs. Anthony Johnson

 

AWESOME finish to this one with Johnson landing a badass kick, which to be honest was no less than he deserved as he controlled the fight. Kevin Burns had some moments when they were on the feet. Burns didn't look too bad actually. Johnson got the fight to the ground though and managed to control things there, spent a lot of the time on the top and was able to pass the guard a couple of times, and even when he was in the full guard he was landing some hard elbows from the top position. Burns looked dangerous in the first round when Johnson had the side control and all of a sudden Burns had the triangle choke locked in. Johnson did well to escape though and it was business as usual. A good fun fight though.

 

Ryan Bader vs. Vinicius Magalahaes

 

That finish looked kinda awkward. Vinicius certainly didn't look like he wanted any of Bader though. It actually looked like Bader missed the initial punch on one of the replays. I thought it was the big hammerfist on the ground that did all of the damage, but it appears that I'm the only person who thought that so I guess it connected. There wasn't too much going on before that point. It seemed to be getting more and more aggressive before the finish though.

 

Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Shane Primm

 

Are you serious ? I hope I don't have to write that name an awful lot. He was incredibly dangerous anyways. Seemed a bit wild on the feet and anything the two guys did standing up looked clumsy as hell. When they got to the ground though, Soszynski looked pretty dangerous. He landed some big shots and he also almost got the Kimura in the first round. He just had to get the position right to get it and he rectified that in the second round when he completed it and got the tap out.

 

Phillipe Nover vs. Efrain Escudero

 

The fight had a pretty deliberate pattern. Nover would come forward and be the aggressor, he'd try a knee or a kick, and this would lead to Efrain getting the takedown and then Efrain would just ride it out for as long as possible. With the exception of the first round where he was landing some right brutal shots from the top position. Efrain was far too good on the ground here. I didn't really enjoy it, and this was only cemented when Rogan and Goldberg suddenly felt the need to tell us all that this fight wasn't boring. If they're prompted into saying that, it's never a bad sign. Don't want to take credit away from Efrain here because he did what he had to do and was impressive in doing so. I just didn't enjoy it much.

 

UFC 92

 

Cheick Kongo vs. Mostapha Al Turk

 

For all of the stick I give Mazzagatti (sp?), I thought he did very well not to step in to end this fight. Al Turk was clearly still looking for something but Kongo was just raining down shot after shot and you could have forgiven him for stepping in and ending it. It was the unanswered hammer fists that ended up winning the fight and that probably makes sense. Kongo's low blow got a cheer from the audience, presumably because they suspected that it was a bit of tit for tat.

 

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson vs. Wanderlei Silva

 

That was a brutal ending there. Have to love the commentators saying "great show of class" when it's clear that Rampage knew he was out cold and still hit him with three punches after the referee stepped in. Real classy. Was a boring as fuck fight though untill then though so I suppose we should have been glad to get that sort of ending.

 

Dan Evensen vs. Pat Barry

 

Pat Barry just unloaded with some absolutely brutal leg kicks here. Can't understand the fans booing that ending. Those were some awesome leg kicks and that was basically the fight ! No complaints from me. Just the fannies in attendance.

 

CB Dollaway vs. Mike Massenzio

 

That was about as fun a three minute fight as you are likely to see. Mike Massenzio complains about the finish. I'm not sure that lying on your stomach and just eating lots of punches is intelligently defending yourself, but he clearly knows more than I do. This was good though. Especially when they get to the ground and Massenzio is looking for a few submissions and CB defends well. He actually rocked Massenzio with a CRACKING right hand from the top position which went completely un-noticed by Rogan and Goldberg, and that was pretty much what ended the fight for him.

 

Matt Hamill vs. Reese Andy

 

Reese Andy was completely gassed in the second round. When I was noting what was going on, I was wondering how the shit was going to hit the fan for Andy because he wasn't looking bad on his feet and seemed to be dominating the fight on the feet, but he just got more and more knackered and he had absolutely nothing in him by the time that Matt Hamill ended the fight. One of them ones when the other guy is so tired that you know the ending isn't far away.

 

Frank Mir vs. Minotauro Nogueira

 

Frank Mir looks amazing in this one. He just came forward at will and unloaded some big shots. It seemed to be the left hand that did the most damage for Mir. He landed some right cracking right uppercuts through the fight, but he dropped Nog three times with the left hook. One thing worth noting was when he had Mir down in the first round and he was looking for the finish, and decided to just stand back and bring the fight up again instead of tiring himself out. Good stuff. I could have watched Mir do that for five rounds.

 

Rashad Evans vs. Forrest Griffin

 

I don't know about anyone else, but I fucking loved this fight. It was a stunning show from both men. Forrest was in complete control for the majority of the first two rounds. Much like he did in the Rampage fight, he looked to weaken Evans with the leg kicks and he even managed to hurt him with one, as well as a body kick. Evans spent much of the first two rounds seemingly trying to find his range and he certainly did so towards the end of the second round as he started to exchange with Forrest and he was getting the better of him in those exchanges. Forrest probably should have tried to mix things up in the third round knowing that Rashad was getting more confident on his feet, but he didn't and Evans clocked him and Forrest didn't ever recover from that. It was a cracker this one though.

 

Antoni Hardonk vs. Mike Wessel

 

Feels like a while since I've watched a match with Hardonk actually. I'll need to try and find out when the last time I watched him was. Hardonk fucking HAMMERED Wessel in the clinch. He was just hitting knee after knee and then would hit elbows. He actually hit a pure cracker of a knee/left hook/right elbow combo in which every single one connected. After that beating, Wessel was wobbly and didn't recover. Hardonk basically had his way with him.

[Magnum Milano]

Here is the Evan Tanner obituary that I was talking about last week. It is a lengthy read, but is a tremendous piece and worth the effort. Taken from the September 15th, 2008 issue of the Wrestling Observer.

 

Evan Tanner, an enigma of an individual who until the past year, never fully embraced that he was a fighter, became the first modern era UFC champion to pass away at a young age.

 

Tanner was found dead in the Palo Verde mountain area in Southern California by the Imperial County Sheriff

[The Cum Doctor]

UFC 93

 

I remember seeing the main event for this and really enjoying it so I can't wait to see it again.

 

Marcus Davis vs. Chris Lytle

 

There's something very appealing about this fight. It appears you merely have to call yourself Irish to get cheered, even if you aren't Irish. First round seen a good start from Lytle but Davis started to find his range and hit lots and lots of good counter punches and even rocked Lytle a couple of times. Lytle was still dangerous though even when Davis was looking good. Chris looked good in the second round but the body shots from the first round were really taking their toll, and a body shot knocked Lytle down. Both men had some big exchanges and it was a great round of action. The third round was more of the same with both guys standing and unloading on each other. It was basically a great fun stand up fight.

 

Denis Kang vs. Alan Belcher

 

KAAAAAANNNNGGGGGG !!! Okay, so that's not right, but it was still hard to resist. First round was terrific for Kang as he threw some nice combos, took Belcher down at will and was able to pass guard with ease though, although Belcher did well at defending when Kang got into some dangerous positions. It was all about Kang domination though. The second round was a lot closer on the feet and seen Belcher hit a couple of shots but it was basically all Kang on the ground which made it a surprise that it was blocking the takedown from Kang that gave Belcher the fight, as he locked in the guillotine and pulled guard and that was that. It was a fun fight while it lasted.

 

Jeremy Horn vs. Rousimar Palhares

 

The first round was just an incredible beating laid on Palhares. I don't think I've ever seen someone take the back as much as Palhares did here. He just did it over and over again. It actually started with Horn pulling guard as well. The only thing that saved Horn from 10-8 was good defence. Second round was terrific. It started with Palhares putting on the same show, but he seemed tired and couldn't lay on the same beating. This allowed Horn to come back into the fight and he almost got the arm triangle but gave it up. Horn showed some real fight. The last round seen Palhares regain control but he did practically nothing in the guard while Horn did what he could in the bottom postion, but the multiple takedowns probably put it in Palhares' favour. Really enjoyed the first two rounds. The last not so good.

 

Mark Coleman vs. Mauricio Rua

 

Coleman just wasn't fit enough for the first round as Shogun really started to pick apart Coleman as he brought the hands down. Mark wanted no part of these stand up exchanges either and always looked for the takedowns. In the second round, Coleman was able to get more frequent takedowns which might well get favour from the judges. Shogun still had the pickings of Coleman on the feet as Coleman was absolutely knackered, but he may well have been getting tired, making the takedowns easier for Coleman. Amazingly, Coleman managed to control the third round which came as a massive surprise considering how knackered he was. Shogun got a gift though as the ref called an illegal knee allowing Shogun in to win the fight. Didn't know a knee to the body was illegal. Should have been a Coleman win, and for me, it's a tainted win for Shogun. It was an interesting fight, but a horrible ending to watch. I really did feel sorry for Coleman.

 

Rich Franklin vs. Dan Henderson

 

Time to see if this fight is as good as I can remember it being. It's Rich, which means it's AC/DC time ! First was a round of two halves. Dan found his range very early and rocked Rich and had him grounded and continued to land the big shots, but Rich came forward well in the second half of the round, landing some big shots. Hard to score, but probably Henderson's. Dominant end to the second round from Henderson. The rest of the round was busy and aggressive but neither man could rock the other. There was a dangerous right hand from Dan but Rich seemed to have the advantage with the body kicks. Dan got the takedown and remained there. Third round was very topsy turvy stuff. Dan was looking more and more wary as the third went on. He wanted no part of the kicks of Franklin. In the end it wasn't quite the war that I could remember it being. It was still a good fight though.