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MMA: Past Fight Discussion


Egg Shen

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UFC 4

Date: December 16 1994 - Tulsa Oklahoma - Attendance: 5,857 - Buy Rate: 120,000

Number four! We head into this event with the landscape looking a little different. For the first time, Royce Gracie isn't walking into a show as the champion. That honour belongs to Steve Junnem, whom won the tournament despite the final being his only participation. Junnem is back tonight though, and you have a few nice little stories leading into this event. Can Junnem prove he's a legitimate champion? Can Gracie overcome the fatigue issues that forced him to drop out? Will any new fighters prove a challenge for our more regular combatants? There's a chap by the name of Dan Severn making his debut tonight as well, you might know him.

No introduction video this time, but the commentary team do run down the preliminary fights. Joe Charles beat Kevin Rosier (from UFC 1) and Marcus Bossett beat Eldo D. Xavier. Charles and Bossett would now act as the potential alternatives for the night in the event of injury. A good idea given the events from UFC 3, as it allows the crowd to familiarise themselves with the fighters somewhat, and also means they aren't just being handed an easy fight which they haven't earnt. It also means they won't have the advantage of coming into a fight fresher than their opponent. 

Ron van Clief vs Royce Gracie

At 51 years of age, van Clief is still the oldest participant to fight within the UFC. He's a 10th black belt in karate, and seems like a nice guy which is a shame given the total mugging Royce is going to give him. The crowd is really in on this, they're in great voice especially for the Gracie train walkout. We're underway and van Clief is on his back after five seconds. Gracie is just happy waiting on Ron to make a mistake, holding side control and making Ron carry his weight. There's no submission attempts from Royce, he isn't actively searching to lock anything in, he's just content to wait for his opponent to panic and try to move. He's happy to sit in the guard of van Clief, he's in no danger at all from the top. He transitions to take Ron's back and the rear naked choke earns the submission win just under four minutes. Easy pickings for Royce, but this was an incredibly favourable match for him. Ron had nothing to threaten Royce with and everybody seemed to know it.

Joe Son vs Keith Hackney

They go full pro-wrestling with the introduction of Son. The first shot we see is of him and Kimo stood in the dark reading bibles together. He states "you guys will see the spirit of the lord of the Jesus Christ tonight". He's a practitioner of JoSondo! Put the belt on this chap, Vince. He comes out carrying a cross, similarly to Kimo. The commentary team don't even try to hide the fact they have no idea what's going on. Imagine Joe Son on The Ultimate Fighter? This should be interesting. We know that Hackney has power in abundance after finishing 600lb Emmanuel Yarborough. Hackney tries to close the distance but gets taken down whilst doing so, Son just satisfied to hold Hackney in a front facelock. Only when Keith starts to work to his feet does Joe try for a choke, but it's too late and he winds up being taken down. Hackney just starts whaling away on his bollocks! It's all legal mind, so fair play to him. He essentially starts to strangle Son and there's the submission. Hardly anything pretty, but Hackney has a knack for these entertaining finishes.

Melton Bowen vs Steve Jennum

Melton is a former golden-gloves winning boxer, the first pure boxer I think we've had so far. He's in good shape and has the stiffest nipples I've ever seen on a man. Jennum is the defending champion. Nobody is really buying Jennum as the guy, even the announcers aren't making any effort to endear his skills. Jennum tries to keep at range with a variety of kicks, but he's doing no damage. He is engaging though, which is a lot more than can be said for Bowen. They clinch, and Jennum takes Melton down. He's managing to continually land with his ground and pound but Bowen doesn't appear to be in a world of trouble. Bowen, the boxer, manages to work Jennum back to a standing position. There's no excuse for that. Jennum scores a lovely judo takedown and Bowen is gassed. Oh, and Jennum is gassed as well. He finally bursts into life after smothering Bowen and locks on an armbar for the tap. Jennum is wank. He looked knackered after two minutes, and allowed a boxer to wrestle his way to his feet. I hope Royce twists his head off.

Anthony Macias vs Dan Severn

Macias is the hometown fighter. That hasn't been a good omen for previous shows, but we might see him buck that trend. Severn is carrying a big weight advantage coming into this fight, to the tune of 70lbs. Christ! We start off with Severn completely ragdolling Macias, but he can't get him down properly, meaning every time he tries to lift him he's taking some heavy elbows to the head. He manages to eventually land a gorgeous suplex, followed by a picture perfect german suplex. The man is freakishly strong. He takes the back and Macias just seems to cover up. The choke soon follows to send Severn through. Really entertaining fight, Macias looked exciting on the feet with his Muay Thai background so it's a shame he's out. A huge debut for Severn, leaving a massive impression on this crowd.

Royce Gracie vs Keith Hackney

Interesting clash of styles. Royce is the submission wizard, slick as you can get, whereas Hackney hasn't anything in terms of technique but a lot of power. He's a big chap as well which might leave Royce vulnerable when going for the takedown. And we see it straight away! Royce is just a little too far away with his first attempt and eats two uppercuts in the process. And a second takedown is stuffed! Gracie is flustered, he starts rushing in with strikes to little avail and the crowd can tell he's not on the ball. Hackney keeps making the mistake of having his back constantly against the cage, and it allows Royce to clinch with him. Hackney starts throwing shots though! He connects a few times and Gracie isn't pleased one fucking bit. He's composed enough to clinch however, throwing knees to the ribs before pulling guard and attempting an arm triangle. Keith's having none of it, and starts nailing Royce with hard shots from a stacked guard. Royce weathers the storm enough to pull Hackney into a tight guard, managing to straighten out the arm and forcing the tap! This was excellent stuff. We had seen vulnerabilities from Royce in terms of his wrestling against Kimo, but this was the first time we saw how he handled being smacked around by a heavy hitter like Hackney. Both guys came out of this looking great. Gracie manages to keep his shit together against a powerful, unorthodox fighter and Hackney was tagging the former champion pretty consistently. The best fight so far from these early shows. Give this a watch.

Dan Severn vs Marcus Bossett

Bossett is filling in for the injured Steve Jennum. Piss off, Steve. I can't find anything on Bossett other than he's a heavyweight mixed martial artist. He lands a nice body kick in the opening exchange, but when throwing another gets his leg caught and thrown to his back. Severn's on top and uses an arm triangle to submit Bossett in under a minute. Another fantastic showcase for the Beast.

Dan Severn vs Royce Gracie

You have to think Severn has the advantage here. He has not only the size and weight, but an immensely accomplished wrestling background to counter the takedown game of Gracie. He's also been in the octagon for a much lesser time, and absorbed less punishment than Royce. There's a big feeling out process, before Severn dives in and shoots for a single. I'm looking forward to seeing if Gracie has to use a more aggressive submission style now, Severn isn't likely to leave many holes in his game. Royce holds him in guard as they swap small strikes to the head. Severn will be more than happy to lay on Gracie, there's an 80lbs difference that Royce is being made to carry. There's a lot of smothering here, Severn isn't looking for any strikes or to set up anything to tap Gracie out with. There really isn't much to write home about. Severn is laying on top of Royce, Royce is happy to keep Severn in the guard. Dan lands with some nice rights to the side of Royce's head, but again Royce deals with them capably enough. He begins to actively search out submissions from the bottom, throwing his legs up for any variation of a triangle, but getting nowhere. Dan is fighting conservatively, but smartly. He's in no rush to go for the finish and he's very aware how easily Royce can lock in a submission. We're at the 15 minute mark, and there's still not much in terms of actual action. Royce has spent all that time on his back. But Severn commits his head too closely to Royce, letting Gracie wrap his legs around the neck and try to slap on a triangle, he starts wrenching and wrenching and locks it in and the tap soon follows.

The Gracie family flood the octagon to see out the show.

Another surprisingly entertaining show. The main event was a bit of a snoozer, but they still managed to maintain the big fight feeling based on how excellent Severn had looked in his two fights beforehand. If you look at the amount of submission victories it's clear to see the path to victory is there, and more guys are now beginning to implement these takedowns into their arsenal, despite maybe not having any prior knowledge or even experience of what to do from the ground. This was a really enjoyable show though, and probably my favourite of the four so far. Severn looked like the man, before being caught by Royce. Steve Junnem fucks off after one fight, Hackney/Gracie was a great clash of styles and Joe Son is Joe Son. Good stuff from the UFC.

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Enjoying your little write ups Adam, keep em coming.

Joe Son though, what a crazy story that guy has...and despite being a complete and utter scumbag, he's another of the old UFC guys who went on to appear in movies.

Here he is bunging a shoe at Austin Powers:

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Edited by Egg Shen
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UFC 5 - PART ONE

Ufc 5.jpg

Date: April 7 1995 - Charlotte, North Carolina - Attendance: 6000 - Buy Rate: 260,000

Let's give one another go then, yeah?

7 months ago, UFC hosted their third event, and their first taking place within Charlotte, North Carolina. The show was advertised under the premise of the anticipated rematch taking place between Royce Gracie, and Ken Shamrock. Following their fight at UFC 1, which Royce won in mere minutes, it was obvious that their rematch was the money match to make. Their first fight was a massive factor in setting the UFC wheels in motion. How could Royce, this skinny little Brazilian force this chiselled statue of a man in Shamrock to voluntarily submit? It massively reinforced the ideals of anything being able to happen in the octagon, and it paved the way for Gracie's Jiu-Jitsu to dominate many a fighter in the company. This is a big fight, reflected in the surge of attendance and buy rate this show garnered. In comparison, their last outing in Charlotte garnered just half the attendance, and only a 90,000 buy rate. It's a fight people were very much willing to pay for, and it's going down. At the time of this show, Gracie had won 3 out of the 4 tournaments hosted by the UFC. The only occasion he didn't win was due to dropping out, citing fatigue as the issue. His last fight was his toughest to date though. Dan Severn had taken apart his two opponents in the quarter and semi finals, before dominating Gracie for a long duration of time in the finals. Royce proved too intelligent for a fighter like Severn however, submitting him with an arm triangle in just under 16 minutes. Though he's been tested before, still nobody is able to find a method of beating Gracie.

There's a lot of new faces on this show. With the exception of Dan Severn, all the other tournament participants were fighters making their UFC debut. It's a smart move, introducing a lot of fresh talent to a big PPV audience. I'm a fan of the booking coming into this event as well. Severn fought well against Royce, but couldn't beat him, and now needs to re-establish himself in another tournament to merit his rematch, yet with 7 new competitors, will he be able to overcome guys who may be real unknown talents? His excellent wrestling pedigree was evident for all to witness at UFC 4, yet his issues in finishing fights eventually cost him. All of the physical attributes are there for him, and I'm excited to see if he can develop the skill set to compliment them. My knowledge on these new fighters is literally non-existent, so it's going to be a fun opportunity for me to broaden my MMA horizons and check them out. It's making for a very interesting looking card, so without wasting anymore time...

Jon Hess vs Andy Anderson

The first thing I notice is that the production is way up on this show. The music, the stage, the lighting. It's all streets ahead of their set up from their previous shows. Big John even has a branded shirt! It only has "UFC V" emblazoned across it, but I'm satisfied! I know I spoke briefly about unknown quantities, but Hess is really out there. He's no sanctioned record, and is the founder of an art called SAFTA. Anderson supposedly has 86 knockouts in bare knuckle challenges, so take that as you will. It's a weird situation. Here's this fantastic upgrade in production, and here's some new carny as fuck fighters to go alongside it. From the get go it's clear any boasts in regards to technique is utter fabrication. They just start flailing at one another and hope that something connects. Hess drops Anderson, tries to jump on him, misses, and has to pull guard. They both stand up and Hess is chasing Anderson down. He's utter dross, but he's 6'9 and that has to account for something. He clubs on Andy until he goes down and the stoppage follows soon after. 

Todd Medina vs Larry Cureton

Both guys are being played up as strikers, which makes an interesting change from the last show. The success of guys so far has mostly come from those whom can control their opponent on the ground, so this should make for something a bit different. Scratch that, Medina goes for a sloppy takedown and lands it. Cureton is clueless fighting off of his back, and just tries to throw anything he can land with. All he can hope for is to hold Medina as closely to the body as possible. Todd throws headbutts from the top and Cureton submits. This is a fascinating example of fighters just copying what's been successful for others. The message seems to be, if you can wrestle in the slightest, you should do it. Guys like Medina have no idea how to progress from the guard, it's nothing more than emulating what they've seen from the likes of Shamrock and Severn, yet if you can take away a strikers ability to hit you then you're always going to have the advantage. Every time we see a striker hit the canvas, they panic and inevitably tire themselves out. This was no different. It's eye opening seeing just how abysmal the takedown defence of these strikers is. Medina's wrestling was really poor yet it was still enough to get Cureton on his back, where he was never going to win the fight.

Oleg Taktarov vs Ernie Verdicia

Oleg is a sambo fighter from Russia, whom has never lost a fight before this event. Black belt in both Judo and Sambo, so there'll be no prizes for guessing his strategy tonight. Ernie is a kempo karate fighter, working as a paramedic. There's something hilarious about his entourage all being fellow ambulance employees. The announcers bill this as a striker vs grappler. I doubt Verdicia is going to buck the trend. Ernie actually manages to land on Oleg, and in a combination of Oleg pulling guard and Ernie falling over, winds up on top. Oleg is comfortable working from half guard, and rightfully so. Ernie's top game poses no threat to him. He rides out Ernie's laboured offence before throwing him to the side and choking him out with a side headlock. Easy stuff for Oleg, who never looked anything other than being in complete control. This felt like a UFC 1 bout, with an easy opponent being given to a likely finalist for no other reason than a showcase of skills.

Dan Severn vs Joe Charles

You can tell the UFC has high hopes for Severn. Unlike the other fighters, where their videos detail their fighting style, Severn's is solely dedicated to how he managed to drag Royce into a gruelling battle. It's smart booking, because if he does well (and he really should given this pool of fighters) then he's already being built as the likely challenger to the winner of Gracie/Shamrock. Charles was an accomplished high school wrestler and judoka. Within the opening four seconds, Severn has Charles on his back. He's a lot more aggressive than in his last showings, quickly transitioning to side control to strike Charles. Severn is forced to be pulled into guard, but when Charles tries to move, takes the back and slaps on a choke to send him into the next round. Easy pickings for Severn, with his work from guard being a lot better than against Royce. Obviously, Charles is nowhere near the league of Royce but it's good to see Severn adapting from what let him down on the previous show.

Dave Beneteau vs Todd Medina

Beneteau is filling in for the injured Jon Hess, whom broke his hand during his fight earlier in the night. He had to beat Asbiel Cancio to get here, which he did by winning in 20 seconds, so at least he has some pedigree behind him. Medina makes his way to the octagon, and it's revealed he's great pals with Joe Son and Kimo. Here we fucking go then. Dave lands the takedown early and throws some headbutts from side control. Medina is trying to wriggle out, but Dave is a big fucker, and it's not working out for him. Beneteau grabs the mount, breaks free of Medina's grip and pounds away until the towel is thrown in. This completely backs up my point from earlier. Anyone with even the slightest knowledge of wrestling is trying it, just because they're trying to emulate others. Medina was the guy working from the top in his earlier fight, yet in this one he's been put on his back at the tip of a hat. It's a good tactic, because it's evidently working, but this company is crying out for a good all-rounder.

Oleg Taktarov vs Dan Severn

Severn holds a 55lb advantage heading into this one, meaning if he gets Oleg on the floor, I don't see him allowing him back up. Two chaps who are actually decorated in their wrestling skills, so hopefully we get something resembling competitive in this one. Dan takes Oleg down from the head, and quickly follows with a sharp knee to the face. That looked like it hurt. Severn is throwing hammerfists from the top but isn't causing much damage, so he has to settle for keeping himself in the half guard. He's able to shift into full guard and start leaving some considerable bruising pn Oleg's face. Rough stuff. Severn has some old fucker in his corner barking orders, and it's magnificent. Troublesome moment for Severn as Oleg goes to trap an arm, but Seven counters with another brutal knee which cuts Taktarov up underneath the eye. Oleg is folded up at the moment and his face is just pissing blood. Knees keep landing, and Oleg keeps bleeding, and Big John calls this one off after 4 minutes. The correct call, because Taktarov was completely pissing blood by the end of this fight. Another stellar demonstration of wrestling and ground and pound from Severn, a much improved ability again of engaging when on the ground and actively seeking a finish. The first knee he threw came out of nowhere, it considerably rocked Oleg and subsequently allowed Severn to control the rest of the bout. Taktarov gets a nice ovation as he leaves the cage.

Dan Severn vs Dave Beneteau

The tale of the tape is interesting reading. Severn, the Greco-Roman wrestler matched against the Judoka wrestler in Beneteau. They both lock horns by clinching to start, Severn closing the distance and holding Dave up on the cage. Beneteau connects with a strong uppercut which momentarily wobbles Dan, but his following takedown attempt comes to nothing. Severn manages to back Dave back onto the cage with the clinch and scores with some clean knees to the body. Beneteau swings for the fences with a right, allowing Dan to improve his position on the cage considerably. Severn is still maintaining control of Beneteau, but a takedown attempt hasn't looked though it's been coming from either men. Eventually, Severn catches an off-guard Beneteau with an outside trip and straight away looks to the finish. He can't connect with any powerful strikes but a keylock is what takes the submission victory in 3:03. The celebrations are really underway, with his entire entourage flooding himself and Big John with champagne a in the middle of the cage.

You'll notice I haven't included the fight between Royce Gracie and Ken Shamrock. I won't bother making excuses, it's late, I know they fight for a long time, and if it's the sort of fight I envision them having I'll end up drifting off. I've split this overview of UFC 5 into two sections, and the second section will solely focus on the Gracie/Shamrock rematch.

As for the tournament aspect, it was a bit of a slog to get through. Most guys are now realising that wrestling is a really effective method of victory, yet there's a serious lack of understanding of how to capitalise once your opponent is actually on the ground. It's all well and good being able to put somebody on their back, but unless you have an idea of what to do next, there's not particularly much point. The new fighters were fairly disappointing. I was excited to be introduced to seven brand new guys, but none of them made any sort of impression on me. You could probably sort them equally into guys capable of stopping a takedown, and guys who haven't a clue, and you've gotten yourself some brackets. Severn winning the tournament was pleasing, because he's now primed and set for a showdown between the Shamrock/Gracie winner, and that's going to be a big money fight irregardless of the winner.

I wasn't feeling this show much. They made a lot of effort improving the production side of things, but they could have taken a large chunk of that into investing in improved fighters. The viewing audience understands that wrestling is a valuable tool, it's not particularly necessary to have these cans with no experience of grappling in to prove that time and time again. You aren't getting many exciting fights either. Once a fight hits the floor, you're either seeing an expert like Severn beat the shit out of his opponent, or somebody not as well-versed like John Hess clubbing their opponent like a gorilla. It had an impact on the crowd as well. By the tournament finals, they weren't particularly loud or active because they understood once the fight hits the floor, nothing much exciting is going to happen. Of course, the mega-long Shamrock/Gracie bout didn't help matters, but this was an issue progressing throughout the night. 

I'll see how I feel after visiting the superfight tomorrow, but as it stands, this show is a bit of a miss for me.

 

 

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On 23/04/2017 at 1:40 PM, AdamTH17 said:

 

Ron van Clief vs Royce Gracie

At 51 years of age, van Clief is still the oldest participant to fight within the UFC. He's a 10th black belt in karate, and seems like a nice guy which is a shame given the total mugging Royce is going to give him. 

Due to his advanced age, Van Clief was initially rejected from entry. In response, he paid a visit to Campbell McLaren's office, accompanied by 4 of his goons. After spooking McLaren, they came to a deal. If Van Cleif completed the New York marathon, he would be granted entry. He did so, and was deemed fit enough to compete. 

There's a certain amount of charm to these little stories. When you hear them, you know they either involved Pride, or the SEG version of the UFC. 

Edited by jimufctna24
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Van Clief was in tremendous shape for a grandad. Actually fuck that, he was in tremendous shape full stop! Fucking ripped to shreds and with the old stars & stripes Apollo Creed shorts. Topped off with a grey flat top hairdo. He looked the business. I wonder what he's up to now. Why have I got a feeling he's still fucking chiselled, just a bit saggier and maybe balding? 

I remember enjoying the shit out of Hess vs Anderson. It was ugly as fuck but those mad brawls from the first 10-15 UFC's are a pleasure to watch for me. I was going to say 'guilty pleasure' but I'm not ashamed of it one bit. Those fights were fun. 

As for Royce vs Shamrock 2...I still wake up in a cold sweat at times asking 'is it over yet?' An absolute abomination. Only one worse was Shamrock vs Severn 2 at UFC 9. I shuddered just typing that. 

On a more positive note, UFC 6 is class. And you get the debut of this charming little rascal...

 

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Edited by wandshogun09
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Bang on the money with your prediction there Wand!

I'm trying to set aside the time and effort to watch Shamrock/Gracie II but it's difficult. I'll be immensely surprised if it's anything other than Shamrock sitting in Royce's guard for 36 minutes. The time isn't that much of a factor to me, if you asked me to watch Keith Hackney and John Hess slug it out for 36 minutes I'd be all over it. It's just the knowing what's going to happen, and the knowing it's going be shit that makes it off putting. That, and the fact there'll be fuck all to talk about other than "Royce maintains guard" 500 times.

I'll try to whack something up for it tomorrow morning.

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9 hours ago, AdamTH17 said:

I'll be immensely surprised if it's anything other than Shamrock sitting in Royce's guard for 36 minutes. 

As Nate Diaz might say, you won't be immensely surprised, motherfucker. 

I'm going to finally start working through all the Pride shows this weekend. I was going to start that a couple of weeks back and, for very similar reasons as you, delayed it until I could muster up the energy to sit through the steaming sloppy Severn vs Kimo turd that's waiting for me on Pride 1. Sitting through NINETY BOLLOCKING MINUTES of Sakuraba vs Royce isn't something I'm particularly enthusiastic about either. But I'll soldier on. 

And fucking hell, those Ron Van Clief pictures! How recent are they? It's all 100% genetic I bet as well. I bet he doesn't even go to the gym and lives on a diet of McDonald's and Chinese takeaway. He's not sprinkling steroids on his Weetabix at all. No he's not. I wish I had the Van Clief genes. 

My prediction of how he'd look now was surprisingly close. Except he's not saggy at all and is somehow even more ripped than I remember him being in 1995. What the fuck? I smell a comeback. Book him, Coker. 

Edited by wandshogun09
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I think the Van Clief pictures may be a couple of years old, he's in his mid 70's now. I seem to remember the competition picture doing the rounds a couple of years back. Them old school martial artists are great.

Sherdog have a Where Are They Now? Article up about him if you google it.

As for old Pride's. The first 9 are stinkers, there may be an odd classic fight in there and for historical significance they are worth watching but i think the general consesus is that Pride really kicked in from 10 onwards.

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Yeah, 10 was the first one where they had a really strong card top to bottom. And it was their first truly massive crowd so they really pushed the boat out for that one. 

With Pride 1-9 the general rule seems to be if it doesn't involve Sakuraba, Vovchanchyn or Goodridge...it's probably shite. I'm still going to try to watch them all though. 

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Aye, my Pride fandom kicks in during the early 00's. I've never really taken interest in the earlier shows. I read up on them a bit when I first got into MMA, but barring the odd fight, I never felt the need to track the full cards down. Kimo vs Dan Severn on Pride 1 is meant to be a real stinker. Like comparable to Gonzaga vs Jordan and "The Great Dance".

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