On This Day in MMA History

[ColinBollocks]

27 minutes ago, Noah Southworth said:

Does Ben Rothwell count?

Ben Rothwell only counted when he started chuckling with evil in his throat after fights.

It's interesting reading up on this, because I was removed from that time period. When I started, Double G was some middling jabroni.

[jimufctna24]

Gonzaga was also doing damage to Cro Cop on the ground before the head kick. He landed a wicked elbow on Cro Cop's brow. I seem to recall there being some complaints when the fight was stood up. Before that night, Gonzaga was best know for being beaten by Werdum in Brazil, and that absolute clunker with Kevin Jordan (this isn't Gladiator Challenge). After the Jordan fight, he had picked up two handy wins in the UFC, but he wasn't expected to do much against Cro Cop. It was a killer performance, that sent shockwaves through the sport. 

Based on the Cro Cop win, Gonzaga's reputations did a 180. From being a middling UFC Heavyweight with very limited potential, he now appeared to be the real deal. He was the betting favourite against Couture. When Randy ripped through him, it provoked mixed emotions. Most praised Couture to high heaven. Some were sceptical, and convinced that something was awry. Was Randy clean that night? Who knows, but the attention was focused on him, not Gonzaga. 

Gonzaga never really received much acclaim again. He was certainly never again seen as the future of the division. He was seen as an imposing, but fragile fighter. Check how Werdum stopped him in Newcastle, at a time where Werdum's striking was nowhere near what it is today. He generally beat sub-par Heavies, but would get beaten by anyone half serious. However, for a 6 month period in 2007; he was considered to be one of the baddest men in the sport. Something must have been in the water that year, as fellow flash in the pans Houston Alexander and Sokoudjou had their 5 minutes of fame as well. 

[Noah Southworth]

In many respects, Gonzaga is the heavyweight version of Matt Serra. They were both fighters who punched/kicked above their weight in pulling off an incredible upset, but neither of them was good enough to make anything of their respective victories. It wasn’t that they were necessarily bad; they were fine, solid fighters. But their victories gave a false impression of just how good they really could be.

[jimufctna24]

Fair point.

There is a slight difference. When Serra clipped GSP, everyone knew that the script had been flipped. Serra was a very likeable guy, but no one ever believed that he was the best in the world, or had the potential to be so. People knew that a false impression had been created. In contrast, people actually believed that Gonzaga was the real deal for a short time, and capable of being the best in the world without question. 

I have a bit more time for Serra. He worked on his boxing with Ray Longo, and became a better fighter than he had any right to be. It was obvious that he had the Welterweight belt on loan from GSP (and possibly a few others), but I am still glad that night in Houston happened. 

[Egg Shen]

Gonzaga had all the tools but seemed to the discipline and a certain fortitude it takes to make it to the very top. Had some fun watching him fight though, and being in the crowd for UFC 70 is something i'll never forget.

[Noah Southworth]

On This Day in MMA History (August 26th)

UFC 62: Liddell vs. Sobral II (August 26th 2006)

The main event to UFC 62 would see the UFC’s reigning light heavyweight kingpin defend his title in a rematch against a man he had first faced almost four years prior, in a fight that ended with a knockout that has been on the UFC highlight reel ever since.

Chuck Liddell vs. Renato Sobral II (the build)

Chuck Liddell’s road to becoming the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion was one not without obstacles.

Liddell had earned his shot at the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship in mid-2002, with a win over Vitor Belfort at UFC 37.5. However, Liddell stepped aside to allow the champion, Tito Ortiz, to defend his title against rival Ken Shamrock at UFC 40, a fight made because it was expected to do big business. And Liddell would be fighting at UFC 40 as well, taking on Renato Sobral in a fight where Liddell was effectively putting his title shot on the line; a loss would kill Liddell’s chances of getting a title fight.

Yet Liddell came through, scoring a highlight reel knockout of Sobral with a spectacular head kick. Ortiz also came through, defeating Ken Shamrock, and it seemed like Ortiz vs. Liddell was on. But Ortiz had other ideas, throwing out one excuse after another about why the fight shouldn’t take place, leaving Ortiz and the UFC at a contractual impasse. To fill the void, the UFC set Liddell up against former two-time UFC Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture, and the two would fight at UFC 43 for the interim UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. The idea was that Liddell would beat Couture to gain the credibility of being a champion without having defeated Ortiz, and if Ortiz never came back, then Liddell would be promoted to full champion status and the UFC would go on without Ortiz.

But nobody told Couture that he was meant to play the foil, and he scored a stunning upset victory over Liddell, stopping him in the third round by TKO. Seeking redemption as much as to reassert his contender status, Liddell was entered into PRIDE’s Middleweight Grand Prix, where he gained a first round knockout Alistair Overeem in the opening round of the tournament, before falling to Quinton Jackson in the semi-finals, with Liddell’s corner pulling him from the fight due to injury. Liddell had failed to win the Grand Prix but he had achieved enough success with his win over Overeem for his efforts to not be in vain.

Meanwhile, back in the UFC, with Liddell out of the title picture, Tito Ortiz decided to return, facing Randy Couture in a title unification fight at UFC 44. Couture again defied the odds to not only dominate Ortiz, but literally spank him en route to a unanimous decision victory. Next up for Ortiz was the fight that he had tried his absolute best to avoid, one he could no longer duck, and at UFC 47, Chuck Liddell finally faced Tito Ortiz. Walking to the cage, Ortiz’s face made it abundantly clear, as if it hadn’t already been, why he had tried to so hard to avoid fighting Chuck Liddell; Ortiz looked like a man walking to his execution. Ortiz was a man defeated before he entered the cage and Ortiz was man defeated when he left the cage, with Liddell knocking Ortiz out in the second round.

Liddell had put the Ortiz issue to bed, and after beating Vernon White at UFC 49, Liddell would now get his shot at the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. Liddell faces Randy Couture at UFC 52, where Liddell erased all doubts over his championship pedigree with a first round knockout of Couture to become the new UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. Liddell’s first defence was at UFC 54, when Liddell faced the first man to ever beat him in the UFC, Jeremy Horn. Liddell retained his title and gained revenge with a fourth round stoppage victory, with Horn being rendered unable to continue due to an eye injury. It marked the first time Horn had ever been stopped via strikes.

Liddell’s next fight would see him face his old adversary, Randy Couture in their trilogy making fight at UFC 57. This time, Liddell ended things even more emphatically, as Liddell needed just 88 seconds to knock Couture out, with Couture retiring after the fight. Liddell had put another issue to bed, his rivalry with Randy Couture, but for his next title defence, Liddell would once more have to face a foe that he was already familiar with.

Renato Sobral entered the UFC with a 16-2 record, with the majority of fights having taken place in RINGS, where Sobral had made it to the finals of the 1999 edition of their King of Kings Tournament, with Sobral losing to Dan Henderson by unanimous decision. Sobral’s first fight in the UFC was actually a heavyweight fight and he’d get no easy touch for his debut, as Sobral would face former UFC Heavyweight Champion Maurice Smith. Sobral would score an upset victory, taking the fight by unanimous decision. Sobral would then go 2-1 in RINGS before returning to the UFC, where he’d lose to Kevin Randleman and then beat Elvis Sinosic, before having his highest profile UFC fight to date at UFC 40, when he faced Chuck Liddell.

As part of the biggest UFC PPV in years, it had, for the time, a big audience, and that audience saw Liddell score a highlight reel knockout win over Sobral, with Liddell landing a head kick that has been replayed countless times over the years.

Stepping away from the UFC, Sobral’s first fight post-UFC 40 saw him drop a unanimous decision to Chael Sonnen. After that, however, Sobral showed why he was considered one of the most underrated fighters in MMA, as he quietly amassed a seven-fight win streak, which included a unanimous decision win over Jeremy Horn and a submission win over future PRIDE and UFC legend Maurício Rua. It was this run that earned Sobral a spot back in the UFC, where he didn’t let up on the victories; Sobral tapped out Travis Wiuff, Chael Sonnen and Mike van Arsdale, to run his winning streak to ten-in-a-row.

Sobral had certainly bounced back from that loss to Chuck Liddell, but it was always a loss he wanted the chance to avenge. Sobral would get that chance when his run of victories put him at the top of the list for contenders to Liddell and the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship, and it was announced that at UFC 62, Sobral would get his chance at both revenge and glory when he challenged Chuck Liddell for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship.

Would Sobral make it 11-in-a-row, and avenge a highlight reel knockout? Or would Liddell cement his status as the best light heavyweight on the planet?

The Rest of the Card

The co-main event would feature a rematch of one of the most famous fights in UFC history, as Forrest Griffin would once again take on Stephan Bonnar. The two men had one of the classic fights of all time at the live TUF 1 finale in April 2005, a fight that is credited with putting the UFC on the map. The first fight was a classic, a real war, and it was only a matter of time before the two would face off again. It was a fight that the UFC had always intended to goback to eventually, and at UFC 62, the rematch of the most iconic fight in UFC history would finally take place.

Thiago Alves would face Josh Neer, Spencer Fisher would take on Jamie Varner, and a heavyweight slugfest was expected when Cheick Kongo battled Christian Wellisch.

Card Changes

Nick Diaz replaced an injured Thiago Alves against Josh Neer and Hermes Franca replaced Spencer Fisher against Jamie Varner.

UFC 62 (the preliminary fights)

After a typically workmanlike performance from Yushin Okami saw him scored a fairly comfortable unanimous decision win over Alan Belcher, we had a string of first round submission finishes. First, David Heath  tapped out Cory Walmsley and then Wilson Gouveia submitted Wes Combs, both victories coming by way of rear naked. In the final preliminary fight, Eric Schafer submitted Rob MacDonald  with an arm triangle choke.

UFC 62 (the main card)

Hermes Franca vs. Jamie Varner was a good fight, with Varner dominating in the stand-up and doing a lot of smothering on the ground to counter the submission game of Franca. Over the course of the second round, it looked like Varner was starting to tire and he did a lot of running away. The big tipping point in the fight, though, was in the second round when Franca caught Varner with a knee as Varner went in for a takedown. That’s when Varner really started to do a lot of running, even spitting out his mouthpiece, all of which saw John McCarthy take a point away from Varner. Franca really went for it in the third round, knowing he needed a stoppage and knowing he had a great chance at getting one. It appeared that Varner was going to be able to fend off a stoppage, and take the decision victory, when he took Franca down and was literally holding on, but Franca threw his legs up to catch Varner in an armbar and he managed to twist the arm of Varner enough to get a tight armbar and force the submission at 3:31 of third round. This was the first loss of Varner’s career.

They air a video package to promote UFC 63 and the main event between Matt Hughes and BJ Penn for the UFC Welterweight Championship, and they also interview Hughes. It’s a good package and interview.

Cheick Kongo vs. Christian Wellisch saw Wellisch have great success at the outset, as he took Kongo down, mounted him, and had an armbar really close to being on tight. But Kongo escaped the armbar, got back to his feet, and took over the fight, tagging Wellisch with punches, kicks, and knees to the ribs. It was the knees that doomed Wellisch, as he took several hard ones before finally getting dropped and it was enough for the referee to stop the fight because Wellisch was done by that point. Kongo did well to survive getting mounted and getting armbarred, and he looked very dangerous with his striking. Despite his problems in the beginning, Kongo came back to look very dangerous with his striking. Combine that with his look, and you can understand why Kongo was pegged as a possible top line player in the heavyweight division, because he looks like he should be a star.

Nick Diaz vs. Josh Neer saw Diaz put in a great showing, overwhelming Neer with volume punches and constant pressure. This was early in Diaz’s career; he’s only 23 years old here, so he’s not quite the Nick Diaz we’ve come to know and, well, know. But you can see most of the traits that would make him famous in MMA.

They aired a great video package before the Bonnar vs. Griffin rematch, and they had Randy Couture, who was one of the coaches on TUF 1, doing a stand up with Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan, with Couture also joining them for commentary.. They were really pushing this rematch hard, and they should because their first fight was not only one of greatest fights in UFC history, but, historically, one of the most important.

Stephan Bonnar vs. Forrest Griffin was a solid fight but one where your opinion on it is likely going to be influenced by the first fight and the expectations it generated. If you were expecting and wanting a war like we saw in that first fight, you were disappointed because this was a lot more technical, less wild, with both Bonnar and Griffin showing a lot of patience. Technically speaking, it was a better fight, but it also didn’t have the excitement, because neither Bonnar nor Griffin were going balls out like they did before and were far more methodical.

This fight was almost as close, but it was clear that Griffin was a better than Bonar in just about every department, and he had made more improvements to his game. That was reflected in the scoring, with all three judges scoring it 30-27 for Griffin. The fans booed the result, but that may have also been booing because it wasn’t the war people wanted it to be. In his post-fight interview, Griffin joked that he was suffering from an inflamed vagina, which was a knock on Tito Ortiz who, when they fought at UFC 59, immediately complained about injuries as being the reason he only beat Griffin by split-decision, whilst Griffin kept quiet on his own injuries that he went into the fight with.

Chuck Liddell vs. Renato Sobral II

Throughout the night, they had been showing Tito Ortiz, who was with Jenna Jameson, and it was obvious that the UFC were setting up the rematch between Liddell and Ortiz, even though Ortiz was scheduled to face Ken Shamrock in two months.

If you wanted the main event to be The Chuck Liddell Show, then you got exactly that; about a minute in, Sobral had the bright idea of charging in at Liddell. Why on earth would you do that against any top striker, let alone a counterpuncher like Chuck Liddell? It went about as well as you’d think, with Liddell throwing counterpunches and dropping Sobral with a well timed uppercut. Sobral managed to get back up but Liddell was throwing a ton of punches, measured punches, and he dropped Sobral again. Sobral was on his back and Liddell was laying into him like the guy stole his lunch money and John McCarthy finally stepped in at 1:35.

The fans were going crazy as the heavy hitting UFC Light Heavyweight Champion had delivered the goods and provide another spectacular performance and highlight reel finish.

Sobral was so out of it he was trying to tackle the referee.

They interview Liddell and he is quick to point out Ortiz in the audience and starts knocking him, saying they can fight right now. Ortiz enters the cage and says they can wait till December when Liddell will have lost ‘some of that belly’, and Ortiz pats Liddell on the stomach and walks out, although he quickly returns to congratulate Liddell before leaving again, for good this time.

For some reason, Joe Rogan asks Liddell if he wants to fight Wanderlei Silva, breaking the cardinal rule of promotion in that he teased a fight that the UFC didn’t have the power to deliver. It was a fight that the UFC tried to make, and they had teased Silva fighting both Liddell and Randy Couture a number of times, but on none of those occasions was the fight actually signed, and it’s strange that the UFC kept falling for PRIDE’s tricks of using them purely for publicity.

In any event, Chuck remains the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, and the UFC’s next big money fight, Liddell vs. Ortiz II, is starting to loom on the horizon. All that remains is to se of Ortiz can get past Ken Shamrock.

The Aftermath

There would an unfortunate black eye for the UFC and one of its main stars when Stephan Bonnar failed a post-fight drug test. Bonnar tested positive for boldenone, an anabolic steroid. Bonnar was suspended for nine months by the Nevada State Athletic Commission and received a fine of $5,000.

Other Notes for August 26th

Shooto: To The Top 7 (August 26th 2001)

The main event here saw Anderson Silva challenge Hayato Sakurai for the Shooto Middleweight Championship. In Shooto, the weight limit for middleweights is 169.8lbs. It was Silva’s eighth fight and Sakurai’s twenty first, so it was something of an upset when Silva defeated Sakurai by unanimous decision to claim the Shooto Middleweight Championship. Silva would never defend the title, as he would vacate it on January 9th of the following year when he signed with PRIDE.

Extreme Challenge 70 (August 26th 2006)

Chad Reiner is best known for being the first victim of Anthony Johnson in the UFC, with Johnson KO’ing Reiner in 13 seconds in Johnson’s UFC debut. Tonight, Reiner was in the main event against Dustin Hazelett, and he showed early flashes of that stunning showing as Hazelett dropped and stopped Reiner just 7 seconds.

Bellator 160: Henderson vs. Pitbull (August 26th 2016)

The main event was Benson Henderson’s first fight in Bellator’s lightweight division. Henderson had debuted in Bellator challenging Andrey Koreshkov for the Bellator Welterweight Championship, a fight which Henderson lost by unanimous decision and was fairly one-sided.

Henderson would be taking on Patricio ‘Pitbull’ Freire in a lightweight title eliminator. For Patricio, the title shot was as much about revenge as the chance for gold; the lightweight champion in Bellator was Michael Chandler, and Chandler had knocked out Patricio’s brother, Patricky, to claim the vacant Bellator Lightweight Championship.

Also on the main card, in a fight that had been bumped from the co-main event slot to the preliminary card and then moved back again due to fan pressure, former NCAA Division I Wrestling Champion Bubba Jenkins would face Georgi Karakhanyan. This would be a rematch, one that Jenkins wanted, as Karakhanyan had submitted Jenkins in 1:49 back at Bellator 132.

This show was also set to feature the debut of Kevin Ferguson Jr., the son of Kimbo Slice, but Ferguson withdrew from his fight due to injury.

The main card started with AJ McKee, whose father, Antonio McKee, is also an MMA fighter, gaining a second round submission win over Cody Walker. Bubba Jenkins wouldn’t get the revenge he wanted as Georgi Karakhanyan needed just 53 seconds to knock Jenkins out. And Derek Anderson defeated Saad Awad by unanimous decision.

The main event between Benson Henderson and Patricio Freire wasn’t bad but it ended in disappointing fashion, as Freire injured his leg half way into the second and was unable to continue. It wasn’t the kind of victory that Henderson wanted in his lightweight debut in Bellator, but it was the victory he needed to gain a shot at Michael Chandler and the Bellator Lightweight Championship.

There will be three shows to talk about tomorrow; PRIDE: Bushido 12, UFC 134: Silva vs. Okami and UFC on FOX 21: Maia vs. Condit.

[Noah Southworth]

As there is so much to talk about in the final few days of August, there is a good chance that the next few updates will be delayed. I wanted to let people know ahead of time so that if there is a delay, nobody thinks I've given up on this.

[jimufctna24]

1 hour ago, Noah Southworth said:

As there is so much to talk about in the final few days of August, there is a good chance that the next few updates will be delayed. I wanted to let people know ahead of time so that if there is a delay, nobody thinks I've given up on this.

Do what you can mate. No rush. 

I forgot to mention yesterday on the subject of 2007 and flash in the pans. For a good few months, Kendall Grove looked like the business. His win over Alan Belcher signified that he was a serious prospect at Middleweight, yet he never shone that brightly again. Still, it was mild surprise when Cote whacked him (as stated). People didn't expect that at the time, even if it seemed like the obvious result in retrospect. 

[Noah Southworth]

On This Day in MMA History (August 27th)

PRIDE: Bushido 12 (August 27th 2006)

This show opened with the usual PRIDE video package, followed by a fire show that was modest by PRIDE standards, and then the fighters being brought onto the stage, one at a time. I keep saying it but it bears repeating; this is something I’d love to see more of in the US, especially in the UFC for their major shows. For some reason, there is no commentary during any of this.

It should be noted that this show was produced after PRIDE’s problems with the Yakuza became public knowledge. As a result, the production throughout the show was below the usual PRIDE standards. There were replays of the finishes and fight highlights, but no video packages or interviews, or even entrances shown; as soon as one fight was over, we cut right to the next fight, with the fighters already in ring and getting introduced.

The fights on this show included the four quarterfinal fights in PRIDE’s Welterweight Grand Prix, making for a 14 fight card, which is pretty long.

In the Grand Prix fights;

Denis Kang vs. Amar Suloev was fairly even until Kang caught the leg of Suloev off of a kick and decked him with a counterpunch; once Kang had Suloev down, it was all Kang, who controlled Suloev on the mat before finshing him off with a rear naked choke. Ryo Chonan vs. Paulo Filho was another quick fight, with Filho taking Chonan down and controlling him on the mat; Chonan just could not escape from under Filho, who, with little trouble, manoeuvred his way into an armbar for the submission.

Akihiro Gono vs. Gegard Mousasi had a decent fight; Mousasi looked a good 20lbs lighter than we’re used to seeing him. Gono did better when it was on the ground, Mousasi did better when it was standing, although late on, Gono did a good job of neutralizing the striking of Mousasi. It looked to be going the distance when Gono snatched a last gasp armbar submission. Dan Henderson vs. Kazuo Misaski was a decent fight, purely stand up with mostly boxing and a few kicks thrown. Henderson landed some nice punches and Misaki did well to take them. Rather strangely, the second round was without commentary for the first couple of minutes. The fight went the distance with Misaki getting the upset unanimous decision. Frank Trigg, who was doing colour commentary, wasn’t happy with the result.

In non-tournament fights;

Seichi Ikemoto vs. Daisuke Nakamura was a ‘Bushido Challenge match’, which meant it was contested under two round of five minutes each. It didn’t last that long; when they fight hit the ground, Nakamura got the right arm of Ikemoto and never let go, Nakamura eventually working his way into the armbar and getting the tap. Hiroyuki Abe vs. Naoki Matsushita Matsushita was making his PRIDE debut against Abe, in this, another ‘Bushido Challenge match’. It went the distance and was fairly unremarkable, and was ruled a draw. Jeff Curran vs. Hatsu Hioki, in what was the PRIDE debut for both, was an OK fight, with the two ground specialists keeping it standing for the most part. Hioki won by unanimous decision.

Shinya Aoki vs. Jason Black saw Aoki make a successful PRIDE debut, showing his legendary flexibility and his ability to slap on a submission with almost no warning. Black was just about in the half-guard of Aoki when Aoki, in a flash, had his legs up and wrapped around Black for a triangle choke, first on one side and then the other. Black tried to fight it but Aoki was holding on tight and Black was forced to tap out. It really is something watching Aoki work off of his back. Gilbert Melendez vs. Nobuhiro Obiya had Melendez looking really good here, pushing the pace hard and using a mixture of wrestling and boxing to dominate the fight. Obiya had his moments, and there was a wild exchanges of punches late in the first round, but this was fight dominated by Melendez, who easily got the unanimous decision victory.

Chris Brennan vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri was over in the blink of an eye, with Brennan getting rocked by a punch and then dropped by a knee to the gut. Kawajiri got in a few punches before the referee stormed in to stop the fight. Mitsuhiro Ishida vs. Cristiano Marcello was one for the purist, as much of the fight was contested with Ishida in the guard of Marcello; there was a constant battle for positioning and submissions attempts, so it wasn’t like nothing was happening, but these types of ground battles don’t always go over well with the more casual fan. It was really good, though, and at one point, with Ishida in his guard, Marcello goes for one of the most ‘out of nowhere’ armbars I’ve ever seen. You really need to watch this fight for that spot if nothing else. It goes the distance and Ishida gets the unanimous decision.

Luciano Azevedo vs. Hayato Sakurai was pretty boring because Azevedo was in the guard of Sakura for much of this fight, but unlike in the previous contest, Azevedo did little to advance his position or work for a submission. When the fight stood up is when things finally got exiting, with Sakurai taking control; he landed a knee to the chin of Azevedo from a standing position, and Azevdedo responded by going for a takedown, which Sakurai defended against. Somewhere in there, Azevedo suffered a big cut under the eye; a replay showed that it was the knee from Sakurai that opened him up. Despite the positioning of the cut being below the eye, the fight was called off because of the cut, with Sakura winning by doctor stoppage.

Butterbean vs. Ikuhisa Minowa was our freakshow fight of the night, a staple of the PRIDE promotion. Minowa opens up with a pair of dropkicks, and Butterbean ends up on top of Minowa after the second one. Butterbean doesn’t do much and Minowa is able to get out from Butterbean and Butterbean is on his back with Minowa on top. Minow eventually transitions into an armbar for the submission. It was a total nothing of a fight. David Baron vs. Takanori Gomi was the main event and whilst it wasn’t quite a one-sided fight, it wasn’t as if Baron put up any meaningful offense against the reigning PRIDE Lightweight Champion. Gomi won with a rear naked in 7:10.

As a card, it was OK, but as a presentation, it was very numbing to watch because it was constant fights with nothing to break things up.

UFC 134: Silva vs. Okami II (August 27th 2011)

The UFC would return to Brazil as the UFC Middleweight Champion, and consensus greatest fighter of all time Anderson Silva, would defend his title against the last man to ever defeat him, albeit under controversial circumstances, Japanese fighter, Yushin ‘Thunder’ Okami’.

Anderson Silva vs. Yushin Okami II (the build)

Anderson Silva entered the UFC with a bang, taking on the ultra-tough and very durable Chris Leben, with Silva completely taking him apart in just 49 seconds. The ease and decisiveness of the win surprised a lot of people; Silva’s striking was known to be good, but nobody knew it was this good, with Silva showing the kind of power and precision rarely seen in MMA at the time. The win earned Silva a shot the UFC Middleweight Championship, and when Silva challenged Rich Franklin at UFC 64, people knew Franklin could be in trouble, but few of them expected Silva to dismantle Franklin with no trouble and take just 2:58 to finish Franklin, with Silva breaking Franklin’s nose in the process.

The UFC had a new middleweight champion it seemed like Anderson Silva would be champion for a long time to come. After a title defence against Travis Lutter had to made non-title due to Lutter missing weight, Silva reeled off a series of spectacular and dominant showings to retain his title against the likes of Nate Marquardt, Rich Franklin in a rematch, Dan Henderson, Chael Sonnen and Vitor Belfort. There were a few clunkers; Silva’s fights with Patrick Côté, Thales Leites and Damian Maia were infamously bad. But Silva’s run as middleweight champion, as well as a couple of forays in the light heavyweight division, made it clear that Silva was one of the very best in the sport, and that it would take something special to take the UFC Middleweight Championship away from him.

At UFC 134, the next man tasked with doing the seemingly impossible, beating Anderson Silva, was the last man to actually do that, the seemingly impossible, and beat Anderson Silva. However, it was a victory that had a major asterisk against it.

Yushin Okami was one of Japan’s premier fighters and one of the best middleweights in the worlds, and he entered the UFC with a 16-3 record. Okami won his first four fights to earn a fight against Rich Franklin in the main event of UFC 72, with the winner to get a shot at Anderson Silva and the UFC Middleweight Championship. Okami was known for fighting conservatively and this style ended up costing him here, as he only came on strong in the third; he won the round convincingly, but had already lost the first two rounds, so he lost the fight by unanimous decision.

Okami again racked up the victories, winning three in a row before falling short to Chael Sonnen at UFC 104 by unanimous decision. To his credit, Okami learned from the loss in the best possible way, flying out to Oregon to train with Sonnen, the man who had beaten him, to shore up his game. Okami won two more fights before getting put into another title eliminator at UFC 122 in Germany. Okami was to face Vitor Belfort, but Belfort withdrew, citing injury, and he was replaced by Nate Marquardt.

Okami and Marquardt had a good fight, very tough, but Okami edged Marquardt out for the majority of the contest and earned a hard fought unanimous decision victory. It was the win Okami needed to finally secure the title shot he had long wanted, and at UFC 134, Okami would face the challenge of taking on the fight widely regarded as the best of all time.

And there was the added backstory that the last person to defeat Anderson Silva was Yushin Okami. The two met at Rumble at the Rock 8 in January 2006, as part of a welterweight tournament. A few minutes into the fight, Okami was in the open guard of Silva, and Okami was kneeling, which is important to note because Silva blasted Okami with an upkick and knocked him silly. The commentary of this was beyond atrocious, with neither announcer having a clue about the rules of MMA and it takes forever for them to realize the kick was illegal. Silva is eventually disqualified, giving Silva his fourth career loss and the last one he would suffer before joining the UFC.

The Rest of the Card

The co-main event would be a rematch four years in the making, as TUF 1 winner and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Forrest Griffin would take on Mauricio Rua, himself a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. These two had first fought back at UFC 76, with Rua making his UFC debut against Griffin. Rua was considered to be one of the best light heavyweights in the world and his fight against Griffin was unofficially a light heavyweight title eliminator, with the expectation going in that Rua would defeat Griffin and then challenge Quinton Jackson for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship.

Instead, Griffin shocked the world by not only dominating Rua but scoring a dramatic third round submission. It was a stunning upset that nobody expected, with Griffin going on to not just face Jackson but defeat him to become the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion.

Griffin would lose the title to Rashad Evans in his first defence, before getting knocked out in embarrassing fashion by Anderson Silva, in a fight where Griffin tested positive for Xanax, an anti-anxiety medication in the post-fight drug test. Griffin rebounded with a split-decision win over Tito Ortiz and a unanimous decision win over Rich Franklin.

Meanwhile, Rua would score wins over Mark Coleman and Chuck Liddell to finally challenge for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship, but his title fight with Lyoto Machida saw Machida get a controversial unanimous decision victory. An immediate rematch was ordered and this time, Rua left nothing to chance as he knocked Machida out in the first round to claim the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship and give Machida his first ever loss. Yet Rua would suffer the same fate as Griffin, as he lost the title in his first defence, Rua defending against the hottest young fighter in the UFC, Jon Jones.

Griffin and Rua were now at a career crossroads; whilst their best days were behind them, they still had plenty to offer, but after UFC 134, only one of them would get a chance to see how much they really had left, with a win putting them back up the ladder of a division where major fights were always around the corner.

A top lightweight clash would see Edson Barboza face Ross Pearson, whilst former PRIDE Heavyweight Champion and former interim UFC Heavyweight Champion, Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira would fight in his home country of Brazil for the first time in his career, as he would face TUF 10 finalist Brendan Schaub. And the main card would open with a light heavyweight affair, with Luiz Cane vs. Stanislav Nedkov.

Card Changes

Maiquel Falcão was to face Tom Lawlor, but was released by UFC in regard to a 2002 assault charge. Lawlor was then rebooked against Chris Weidman at UFC 139. Antonio Carvalho replaced an injured Mackens Semerzier was against Yuri Alcantara, but was then himself forced out of the fight due to injury, with newcomer Felipe Arantes taking his place. Dan Miller replaced Alexandre Ferreira against Rousimar Palhares.

Mike Swick was set to make his return to the UFC at this event after a lengthy absence due to injuries and other ailments, where he’d take on Erick Silva. But Swick was sidelined after suffering another injury, and he was replaced by Luis Ramos, and Silva and Ramos would both be making their UFC debuts.

UFC 134 (the preliminary fights)

After Yves Jabouin edged past Ian Loveland by split-decision and Iuri Alcantara scored a fairly comfortable unanuimous decision win over Felipe Arantes, we had a fight between Luis Ramos and Erick Silva that was touted as a battle of the champions, with the Ramos billed as the champion from Shooto Brazil, against Silva, the Jungle Fight champion. Ramos wasn’t actually a champion anymore, as he’d been stripped of the title when he signed with the UFC. Not that he’d have helped his cause, as Silva rocked, dropped and finished Ramos in 40 seconds. Ramos tried to protest the stoppage but given that he could barely stand, I’m thinking the stoppage was the right call. The Facebook preliminary fights ended with Raphael Assunção and Paulo Thiago scoring unanimous decision wins over Johnny Eduardo and David Mitchell respectively.

On Spike, everyone’s favourite headcase, Rousimar Palhares dominated Dan Miller, even scoring a 30-25 on one scorecard, before Thiago Tavares knocked out Spencer Fisher in the second round.

UFC 134 (the main card)

Luiz Cane vs. Stanislav Nedkov; was a scrappy fight with an exciting finish. Cane had started to pick Nedkov apart with his boxing, putting Nedkov on the backfoot and having him in trouble. It seemed like Cane was set to get a very popular win in front of a raucous crowd. Then, right after the commentary talked about Cane having his hands low, Nedkov landed an overhand right that rocked Cane and now he was the one backing up. Smelling blood, Nedkov pressed forward and dropped Cane. Mario Yamasaki was well out of position and he took forever to get in the right position, and he still let Cane take far too many punches before deciding to stop the fight. The raucous fans went silent, then booed, then there was some light applause, and then they started booing again.

Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Brendan Schaub; was a decent enough fight, purely a boxing match, and it was fairly even until Nogueira tagged Schaub with a good right hand. This stunned Schaub just enough for Nogueira to start landing a few more punches, and Nogueira, not known for having knockout punching power, had Schaub face planting into the canvas with a short left jab and that was enough to end the fight. The fans exploded, going completely bananas, jumping up and down like they’d just seen the greatest fight of all time.

Edson Barboza vs. Ross Pearson; had a hard fought, very competitive fight. There was constant action with the pace never slowing down. Barboza landed the harder shots, even dropping Pearson in the second round with a good punch, whilst Pearson was more about volume, and his strikes never seemed to trouble Barboza. The fight went to the scorecards and Barboza won by split-decision. I’m not sure where Pearson won a round, let alone two.

Forrest Griffin vs. Mauricio Rua; didn’t last long, with Rua clipping Griffin during an exchange, dropping Griffin; Rua swarmed all over Griffin with punches and Griffin took several before the referee stepped in stop the fight in just 1:53. It was the result the fan wanted and the revenge Rua wanted. Griffin, though, would have bigger things to worry about as he’d rush back home right after the fight to be with his wife as she prepared to give birth.

Anderson Silva vs. Yushin Okami II

Okami walks out to the instrumental song “Battle Without Honor or Humanity”, which most people would recognize from the movie Kill Bill, and was also used as the entrance music for Makai Club in New Japan. It’s actually left intact on Fight Pass, as was Forrest Griffin’s usual walk-in music of “I'm Shipping Up to Boston”, and notable music like that is usually dubbed over, and poorly so, it’s nice to see it kept on. You try not to read too much into such things, but Okami certainly looked anxious when he walked out, although you can’t really blame the guy.

During Okami’s walk-in, commentary mentions that Okami moved his training to Oregan for this fight, and Kenny Florian notes that Chael Sonnen laid out the blueprint of how to beat Anderson Silva. And regardless of the fact that Sonnen ended up losing that fight, he was completely dominating Silva until he lost, so it’s a fair point to make.

Curiously, there was no touch of the gloves before the fight started.

The fight itself is pretty boring in the first round because Silva shuts the fight down until right at the end, so virtually nothing of note happens. In the second, though, Silva decides to fight and it doesn’t take long for him to start picking Okami apart in the stand up, dropping him twice, with Silva going for the kill on the second time Okami is dropped and finishes him with strikes. The fans go bananas, cheering wildly, and a decent UFC show ends on a high note for the local fans.

UFC on FOX 21: Maia vs. Condit (August 27th 2016)

This would be the first FOX network event to be held in Canada, and it would be headlined by a major fight in the welterweight division, one that could have major implications on the title picture in the UFC.

Damian Maia vs. Carlos Condit (the build)

Damian Maia entered the UFC with a 6-0 record and a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Maia reeled off five straight victories, all by submission, and it was a run that included one of the sweetest takedowns into a submission you will ever see when he submitted Chael Sonnen at UFC 95. Maia hit his first stumbling block at UFC 102 when he suffered the first loss of his career at the hands of Nate Marquardt, with Marquardt catching Maia with a punch in just 21 seconds when Maia leapt at Marquardt to deliver a punch.

Despite this, Maia’s next fight, a win over Dan Miller at UFC 109, was enough to gain Maia a shot at UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva in the main event of UFC 112. It was a golden opportunity for Maia but his day in the sun turned into a night to forget when Silva shut the fight down from practically the very beginning. For whatever reason, the champion refused to engage, refused to take action, and there wasn’t a single thing Maia could do about it. It resulted in one of the worst title fights in UFC history, a fight so bad that, for the first time ever, Dana White refused to strap the title belt around the waist of a victorious champion; White simply tossed the belt to Silva’s manager, told him to do it instead, and walked out of the octagon.

Undeterred, Maia plugged away, going 3-2 before making the move down to welterweight. Maia’s first fight at welterweight saw him score an unconventional win over Dong Hyun Kim, with Kim suffering from back spasms less than a minute into the fight. Maia’s next fight was in his home country of Brazil and Maia delivered one of the more memorable submissions in UFC history, gaining a neck crank submission over Rick Story; what made the visual so memorable was the sight of blood spurting out of Story’s nose as Maia cranked on the hold.

A unanimous decision win over Jon Fitch was followed by close losses to Jake Shields and Rory MacDonald, before Maia hit his richest vein of form in years with five wins on the bounce, including a one-sided unanimous decision win over Gunner Nelson and a submission over Matt Brown in Brazil. It was the run that Maia needed to put him near the top of the welterweight ladder, and Maia’s next opponent would be a former title holder and challenger, and a win over him would Maia in the mix for possible title contenders.

Carlos Condit arrived in the UFC with a 23-4, off the back of a run in the WEC that saw Condit become WEC Welterweight Champion and defend the title three times before the WEC was folded into the UFC. Condit debuted with a split-decision loss to Martin Kampmann before scoring four wins straight, a run of results which included a spectacular knockout of Dan Hardy and an even more spectacular knockout of Dong Hyun Kim. This success was why Condit was match against Nick Diaz at UFC 143 to decide the interim UFC Welterweight Champion, a title created to fill the void whilst the main champion, Georges. St. Pierre recovered from a knee injury.

Condit went into the fight as the underdog so he shocked a lot of people, especially Nick Diaz, when he scored a fairly comfortable unanimous decision victory to claim interim gold. Once GSP returned to action, the two squared off at UFC 154 to unify the titles; despite dropping GSP in the third round, and having him in trouble, GSP would not only recover but resume his total domination of Condit to score a clear unanimous decision victory.

Condit would go 2-1 in his next three fights, and it was the third fight, against Tyron Woodley that would see Condit suffer a grievous injury when he tore his ACL and partially tore his meniscus. Condit would be sidelined for over a year before returning to action in May of 2015 with a TKO win over Thiago Alves. It was a great win for Condit and it saw him rewarded with a shot at UFC Welterweight Champion Robbie Lawler at UFC 195. Condit and Lawler had one of the fights of the year, a genuine classic; it went down to the wire, going to a split-decision, but it would be Lawler who walked out the victor and still the UFC Welterweight Champion.

Condit, despite this loss, was still a top-of-the-line welterweight and his next fight could very well be a contender fight as he was matched against the surging Damian Maia in one of the most eagerly anticipated non-title welterweight fights in a long time. Their contest was originally set to be the co-main event of UFC 202, but with UFC on FOX 21 scheduled the following week and in need of a main event, the fight was moved back a week.

Damian Maia vs. Carlos Condit would now take place in front of a bigger audience, on the FOX network, but which one of them would find themselves staying among the top ranked welterweights in the UFC?

The Rest of the Card

The co-main event would see former UFC Lightweight Champion Anthony Pettis making his featherweight debut, as he’d be taking on Charles Oliveira. Pettis had seemed set to have a long reign as UFC Lightweight Champion after submitting Benson Henderson to win the title and then submitting Gilbert Melendez to retain the title, becoming the first fight to ever achieve that feat against either man. But Pettis dropped the title in a shocking one-sided unanimous decision loss to Rafael Dos Anjos at UFC 185. Pettis then lost a split-decision to Eddie Alvarez before losing by unanimous decision to Edson Barboza. Pettis was sinking down the lightweight ladder fast, but before the slide became too much, Pettis decided to try his luck at a lighter weight class.

Charles Oliveira seemed like a fighter who had the potential to be a real force in the featherweight division, but who always seemed to falter against the top level fighters in that weight class. Oliveira put together a four fight win streak before suffering an unfortunate fight ending injury against Max Holloway. Oliveira’s next fight saw him submit Myles Fury, although it was a win that had an asterisk against it because Oliveira missed weight. Nevertheless, it was enough to raise Oliveira’s stock and put him in the role of welcoming Anthony Pettis to the featherweight division.

The other fights on the main card would see Paige Van Zant take on Bec Rawlings. Van Zant’s profile had never been higher after he run on Dancing with the Stars, so the UFC put her on the FOX show, against a beatable opponent, to try and make her more of a star. And the opener to the main card would see Jim Miller take on Joe Lauzon, in a rematch of their fight of the year contest at UFC 155.

Card Changes

The Ultimate Fighter: China Featherweight Tournament winner Ning Guangyou was set to face Marlon Vera at UFC 202. However, due to an out-of-competition failed test by Ning, the bout was postponed. An investigation concluded that Ning had ingested the substance without fault or negligence, and the bout was moved to this event. But alleged visa issues result in the fight once again being postponed.

Josh Emmett was expected to face newcomer Jeremy Kennedy. However, Emmett pulled out of the fight duet to an undisclosed injury. Kennedy would instead face fellow promotional newcomer Alessandro Ricci.

The Ultimate Fighter Nations Welterweight Tournament winner Chad Laprise missed weight for his fight at lightweight, coming in at 159lbs. As a result, Laprise was fined 20% of his fight purse, which went to his opponent Thibault Gouti. A middleweight fight between UFC newcomers Adam Hunter and Ryan Janes was cancelled after the weigh-ins, due to a potential USADA violation stemming from a Hunter's pre-fight out-of-competition drug test. Janes was still paid his "show" money, however.

Hunter subsequently received a two-year suspension, having failed his pre-fight drug test for five different prohibited substances; tamoxifen metabolites, boldenone metabolites, methandienone metabolites, drostanolone metabolite and clenbuterol.

UFC on FOX 21 (the preliminary card)

After Jeremy Kennedy vs. Alessandro Ricci saw Kennedy clinch and grind his way to a unanimous decision victory, Chad Laprise vs. Thibault Gouti had a first round finish with Laprise catching Goulti coming in with a straight right before pounding the resistance out of Gouti to get the TKO win.

Shane Campbell vs. Felipe Silva; was slowly developing into a real striking battle when Silva dropped Campbell with a good body shot, Silva then following up with a barrage of punches before Herb Dean stepped in at 1:13. Alessio Di Chrico vs. Garreth McLellan; had flashes of excitement, most of them in the second round, but this was an otherwise gritty fight, not one with a lot of flash or flair. Chrico bloodied up McLellan with an elbow in the second round, sparking off most of the excitement the fight would have. It was close and it went to a split-decision with Chrico getting the win. Enrique Barzola vs. Kyle Bochniak; was another fight that will fade from memory seconds after you’ve watched, with nothing bad but nothing that stands out. Bochniak won by split-decision. Sam Alvey vs. Kevin Casey; had a terrible first round where virtually nothing happened. Things only picked up two-minutes into the second round, when Alvey started to land his punches. Casey tried swinging back but he couldn’t land anything. Casey got dropped twice, and after the second time, Alvey pounced on the chance, pounding away on Casey and getting the stoppage with just four seconds left in the round.

UFC on FOX 21 (the main card)

Joe Lauzon vs. Jim Miller had a real simple story; Lauzon did OK when they were on the ground, but Miller did great when they were standing. Miller was landing some nice kicks and really heavy punches throughout the fight, with Lauzon’s strikes not packing nearly the same punch, as it were. It wasn’t on the ground much but when it was, Lauzon looked the better although not impressively so. It went to a split-decision, with Jim Miller getting the win. There was booing and Joe Lauzon looked a little stunned, but Miller did win the fight, and I’m not sure where Lauzon won one round let alone two.

Bec Rawlings vs. Paige Van Zant really wasn’t much of a fight, outside of a highlight reel finish that you’ll be seeing for years to come, and deservedly so. Almost immediately at the start of the second round, PVZ nailed Rawlings with the Karate Kid, jumping crane kick. It dropped Rawlings and PVZ pounced on Rawlings to deliver a series of hammerfists before the referee jumped in stop the fight. Before the finish, there was nothing about his fight or teh fighter that made any kind of impression.

Charles Oliveira vs. Anthony Pettis was really good, with Pettis impressing on his featherweight debut with a stout takedown defence, and when Oliveira did take him down, Pettis made it very difficult for Oliveira to get anything done before Pettis escaped or otherwise got back to his feet. Pettis’ striking superiority was evident as well, landing numerous big kicks to the chest of Oliveira and really lighting him up. The end came at 1:49 of the third round, with Oliveira going for a takedown and Pettis countering with a guillotine choke that soon had Oliveira tapping out.

Damian Maia vs. Carlos Condit

There was a lot of intrigue about this fight, because Maia’s ground game is one of the best in the sport, perhaps the very best, and when he gets you to the ground it’s usually all over. Yet Condit is a more complete fighter, better in more areas than Maia and possessing more tools to win, with the better striking, but nowhere close to being as good on the ground as Maia is. It was a fight that would be decided by who could dictate where the fight went, because if it was kept standing, Condit would assuredly win, yet if the fight was on the ground, likewise, Maia would assuredly win.

In a rather shocking turn of events, Maia walked right through Condit in just 1:52. Maia took him down almost right away and the fight played out as if Condit had never had to fight off of his back before. Or just didn’t know how to. Because he offered absolutely no defence as Maia mounted him, manoeuvred his way into taking his back, and then sunk in the rear naked choke. It was as if Condit didn’t even try to fight. There had been talk from Condit that he was considering retiring if he didn’t get a title fight again, as he felt he had won the Lawler fight, so it’s very possible that Condit was fighting like a guy with one foot out of the door and fighters in that mindset tend to lose and lose easily.

It’s been a year since the fight and there has been no more talk about Condit fighting again. Indeed, the most recent news about Condit was his decision to enter the craft coffee business. It certainly looks like Condit has stepped away from MMA, if not permanently then for the foreseeable future.

For Damian Maia, it pushed his winning streak to six-in-a-row, and at the time, it put him behind only Stephen Thomson for the longest winning streak in the welterweight division. The victory, and the ease with which it was obtained, really put Maia at the forefront of title contenders and it was a title shot that Maia had deserved for quite some time.

Our next entry will cover four events; PRIDE Shockwave Dynamite!, PRIDE FC: Final Conflict 2005, UFC 118: Edgar vs. Penn II and UFC Fight Night 27: Condit vs. Kampmann II.

[wandshogun09]

Palhares vs Miller from UFC 134 was both really entertaining and really odd. That was the fight where Palhares dropped Miller with a headkick and thought he'd won by KO, jumped on the cage and started celebrating. This was years before Anderson Silva did the same in the Bisping fight and k think it was the first time it had happened. Really good fight that was though from what I remember of it. Dan Miller wasn't as exciting as his brother but he did have a few fun fights himself. 

[Noah Southworth]

Kendall Grove is a guy who really should have had a good run, especially with his frame; a 6’6 guy at middleweight had all sorts of physical advantages over most of the rest of the division, and if Grove could have put it all together, he would have been a star.

Dan Miller had the unfortunate luck, at least one presumes it was luck, of facing a trio of really tough opponents and it killed his momentum. Miller won his first three fights in the UFC, but then, in turn, faced Chael Sonnen, Demian Maia, and Michael Bisping. That’s a run that only the top guys could have gone through unscathed.

[Carbomb]

Great to see you're keeping this stuff up, Noah. At some point am going to go through this entire thread and upvote each post.

[jimufctna24]

R:E UFC 62.

I could forget that Griffin vs Bonnar 2 even existed. It wasn't a clunker or anything; it was just a normal fight. I was never a massive lover of their first fight either. Don't get me wrong, it was a nice brawl, and has historical value. However, it isn't a fight that I particularly hold dear. I much preferred Hughes vs Trigg 2, which was discussed on a previous page. Shogun vs Lil Nog was much better than it as well. Forrest came out of the rematch with another win under his belt, and was nudging his way into the title picture. Despite losing to Tito previously, his stock actually went up in defeat. It was a mild surprise when Jardine stunted his momentum at the end of the year. Bonnar went back to being a Spike headliner and PPV curtain jerker; his natural home. 

Babalu fought like an idiot against Chuck. It was a crying shame, as he'd amounted an impressive record since they fought the first time. He'd beaten Horn, a young Shogun, Sonnen, Pele, Prangley, etc. For the standards of the time, that was a very impressive resume; especially for someone who never fought in Pride. Going into the bout, I felt that Babalu might have a chance. In retrospect, Chuck was probably a nightmare match-up for Babalu. Still, I think had he fought more sensibly, Babalu could have lasted a few rounds at least. He didn't do himself justice that evening. 

[Noah Southworth]

10 hours ago, Carbomb said:

Great to see you're keeping this stuff up, Noah. At some point am going to go through this entire thread and upvote each post.

Thanks. Free time has been at a premium this week so I haven't been able to write as much as I would like to, but we'll be good to go tomorrow.

3 hours ago, jimufctna24 said:

Babalu fought like an idiot against Chuck. It was a crying shame, as he'd amounted an impressive record since they fought the first time. He'd beaten Horn, a young Shogun, Sonnen, Pele, Prangley, etc. For the standards of the time, that was a very impressive resume; especially for someone who never fought in Pride. Going into the bout, I felt that Babalu might have a chance. In retrospect, Chuck was probably a nightmare match-up for Babalu. Still, I think had he fought more sensibly, Babalu could have lasted a few rounds at least. He didn't do himself justice that evening.

Once he got that red mist, Babalu's good judgement went flying out the window. With more self-control, there is a very good chance he would have had a long run in the UFC.

[jimufctna24]

After Dana kicked him out after the Heath incident, he did have a semi-decent run outside of the UFC, which I seem to have forgotten about. I had to check his Sherdog record, but he notched up wins over Whitehead, Southworth, Soku, and Lawler. I only the bout with Southworth, where he won the Strikeforce title. Southworth retired afterwards (what an unlikable prick he was)

He lost to Mousasi in a fight I don't remember. I do remember him getting lamped by Hendo, which was his last high profile bout. I also remember him having words with Tito Ortiz at an Affliction, and Babalu gesturing for them to take it outside. He was a bit crazy.