On Saturday Feb. 21st, '09 the UFC brought their 95th numbered event to Spike TV. As is becoming the pattern for these free Spike shows, the live event was in England and there were no title fights or even top contender play offs. But Hey -- there was no pay per view bill either and the contestants were recognizable, so it was a pretty good deal anyway.
The main event pitted two former "The Ultimate Fighter" show, AKA "TUF" winners, both of whom had dropped weight and fights since their glory days on reality TV. Joe "Daddy" Stevenson had dropped from being a welter weight on the show, to a light weight, got his light weight title shot and was overwhelmed by B. J. Penn. Diego "Nightmare" Sanchez had already dropped from middleweight to welterweight in search of a title and on that evening was dropping yet again, this time all the way to lightweight, in hopes of garnering a title strap. Sanchez has a strong wrestling background and on TUF displayed high level submission skills. Stevenson is a Brazilian Jujitsu black belt who is noted for his slick and powerful ground finishes. Both men had been working on their stand up skills though and unfortunately that is what they decided to showcase at UFC 95.
The first round saw Joe "Daddy" stalking with some ineffective boxing techniques. Meanwhile "The Nightmare" backed up and countered with a wider variety of striking methods and was somewhat more effective than his antagonist. The second round was highlighted by a Stevenson guillotine choke attempt and Sanchez power slamming "Daddy" into the canvas and shaking his way out of the strangle. Other than that, the 2nd round mimicked the first round's stand up .... action, but was even less effective on both fighter's parts. The 3rd round returned to the all stand up routine of the 1st round,but "Daddy" had figured out "The Nightmare's" counter strike strategy and nullified enough of it to make a pretty even round. Diego Sanchez won a clear cut decision in a "who cares?' match. It wasn't quite the classic Ken Shamrock vs. Dan Severn in the coma inducing slowest most boring match in MMA history, but it was yet another case of good grapplers showcasing their less than stellar striking skills. I doubt that either of these guys represent a serious threat to lightweight champion B. J. Penn ... or top contenders Kenny Florian and former champ Sean Sherk either.
In the upset of the year --- so far --- welterweight contender and former TUF star Josh Koscheck took on the unknown, but also undefeated Brazilian Paulo Thiago. Koscheck, the former NCAA Wrestling champion tore after the Brazilian police officer like a character from the HBO prison epic OZ. Koscheck had won his previous encounter with a devastating KO punch and was out to repeat that feat. His lead right hands looked powerful and on the mark ..... until Thiago dropped him with a picture perfect uppercut, hook combination. Koscheck hit the canvas Hard and bounced his head off the padded floor, so the ref stepped in and stopped the action before the Brazilian could jump on the fallen warrior and finish him off. This gave Paulo Thiago his 11th win against no losses with a 1st round TKO and gave Josh Koscheck a bit of a temper tantrum which was perhaps justified as his eyes seemed to stay clear throughout the ending of the match. Thiago probably would have hurt Koscheck bad enough to keep him out for a few months, had he been able to ground and pound the probably stunned (clear eyes or not)star, but at least it would have been a conclusive ending with out residual whining. I think the ref should have let the Brazilian continue his attack.
Chael Sonnen came to the UFC fresh from his win over the former WEC middleweight champion Paulo Filho. Unfortunately he didn't bring the title with him as Filho failed to make weight for their match. Waiting to meet him from the UFC middleweight ranks was undefeated and streaking Brazilian Jujitsu star Demain Maia. Maia was 10 - 0, had been displaying true jujitsu wizardry in his last few matches and had no intentions of impeding this flow ---- nor did he. In less than a single round, Maia had Sonnen in a near perfect triangle choke and tapped him out for Maia's 11th straight win and yet again with another spectacular submission.
Middle weight veteran Nate "The Great" Marquardt kept working towards a rematch with champion Anderson "The Spider" Silva with a 3rd round TKO win over top ranked Brazilian middleweight Wilson Gouveia. The match stayed pretty close until Marquardt exploded in the third round with a flurry of knees and hard right hands that cut and dropped his opponent for the stoppage. With both "M Boys", Marquardt and Maia on the rise, perhaps there is serious competition out there for Anderson Silva after all.
Jr. Dos Santos proved that his knock out of heavyweight contender Fabricio Werdum was not a fluke by KOing new comer Stefan Struveziyrs in 54 seconds flat and Liverpool's own Terry Etim took out a substitute named Cobb in the 1st round, to the joy of the English crowd.
In the fight of the night Nottingham's notorious warrior, the flamboyant fighter, mohawk haired, Dan Hardy knocked out Militech Camp veteran Rory Markham in one minute and nine seconds of the 1st round. Both of these guys carried skillful stand up techniques and KO power into the ring, so this one was all excitement --- as long as it lasted.
UFC 95 was a wonderful display of tenacity, skill, technique and power ---- right up until the main event. Next up is UFC 96 on March 7th. Its a pay per view and features "Rampage" Jackson vs. Keith Jardine, with the winner most likely getting a shot at lightheavy weight champion Rashad "Sugar" Evans and Brazilian powerhouse Gabe Gonzaga facing the heavyweight division's newest star Shane Carwin. Till then -----
Good Night - Good Fight,
Frank "The Snake"
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
"A Good BIG MAN Will Always Beat A Good SMALL MAN - UFC 94
UFC 94 featured the Lightweight Champion challenging the Welterweight Champion for the Welterweight Title. On paper this match up looked to be a war for the ages as Lightweight Champ Baby Jake Penn was a former Welterweight Champion and had battled Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre to a close fought split decision loss in their one previous meeting. B. J. Penn had even publicly stated his post fight intentions to defend and hold both the lightweight and welterweight belts. What a fight looks like on paper and what actually happens on fight night are often two completely different scenarios though and adding cliche upon cliche, the reality of this match played out to simply fortify the ancient adage that states, "A Good Big Man will always defeat A Good Small Man."
This Superbowl Weekend Saturday Night Extravaganza was billed as a momentous historical event for the UFC and a potential fight of the year. Much was made of B. J. Penn having a new training ethic and regimen and that his previous weakness of skills over stamina would not be in evidence on this night. Both combatants entered the octagon at a supreme level of fighting fitness, but it was immediately evident that the Canadian was the bigger man. The first round was pretty even as they matched and neutralized each other's stand up skills and the lightweight champion managed to avoid the bigger man's takedown attempts. St. Pierre's strength and weight advantages began to come into play in the second round as he took Penn down, controlled him on the ground and opened a cut on the lightweight champion with an effective ground and pound attack. B. J. Penn looked tired as he emerged from his corner for the third round and apparently he was as the third and fourth rounds featured the same Georges St. Pierre take down and ground and pound skills as the second round had. Baby Jake's submission skills seemed to have deserted him and his strength and stamina were quick to follow. At the end of the fourth round Penn returned to his corner as an exhausted, battered and beaten fighter. Noting this one of B. J's brothers (they are all named Jake)who was working the corner pulled the plug, leaving GSP with his title and saving Baby Jake from further punishment. After the match, St Pierre exchanged pleasantries with Thiago "Pitbull" Alves, who will next challenge St. Pierre for the welterweight title. At least The Pitbull looked to be the same size as The Champion so it won't be another case of "A good small man and a good big man", but can anyone beat St. Pierre at welterweight or eventually will he have to move up to middleweight to find competition?
At 13 - 0 each, Lightheavy weights,Lyoto Machida and Thiago Silva looked to be another classic match up --- and this one proved to be just that. Their styles were made for each other and for an exciting fight. Silva began his training at the famed Chute Box Academy in Curibita Brazil and still primarily uses their classic Thai Boxing style, although he has backed these skills up with extensive BJJ training. Lyoto Machida is half Japanese and half Brazilian and as his father is a long time master of Shotokan Karate, Loyoto has practiced that art since the age of three. He also has a blackbelt in BJJ and well rounded MMA skills, but he tends to use Shotokan's draw the opponent in and then counter his attack strategy. Thiago Silva's aggressive attacking Thai Kickboxing techniques were the yang to Machida's yin counter strikes. Throughout the first round Machida drew Silva into him. avoided Silva's heaviest strikes and caught him with crisp counter strikes. For his part, Silva kept advancing with a confidence that spoke of a coming change of scenario. Then suddenly, with the round almost over, Machida tripped Silva, pounced on him like a hungry cat and KO'd the kickboxer with one big punch, winning with one second remaining in the round. Lyoto Machida has put the UFC's talent laden 205 LB class on notice that there is a new sherif in town.
The show opened with three decision wins, the most exciting of which was new comer Jonny "Bones" Jones win over comebacking veteran Stephen "The American Psycho" Bonner. The 31 year old Bonner had been out due to injury for a full 15 months and his ring rust was evident. Facing him was an extremely athletic, outlandish, undefeated twenty one year old prospect. Jones only had seven fights under his belt to Bonner's 18, but the kid had no idea how to lose. Bonner was solid in the first two rounds, but over shadowed by the youngster's athleticism flashy speed and outstanding techniques like a beautiful spinning elbow score, a couple flashy kicks and amazing greco roman wrestling throws, including the ever popular suplex. Bonner's experience and very solid boxing skills came to the fore front in the third round, but it was too little too late and Jones walked away with the unanimous decision and his undefeated record in tact.
Welterweight vet Karo Parisyan took on the undefeated Korean Dong "Stun Gun" Kim. This match consisted of very even back and forth fence and ground control, equal take downs, unsuccessful submission attempts and ineffective striking. I saw it as a draw, but the official judges gave the split decision to Parisyan. Perhaps it was a consolation prize to make up for Joe Rogan blabing all over the air waves about Parisyan's problems with panic attacks ---- just what a fighter would want the entire MMA world to know --?? --!!
Welterweight standout Clay Guida faced the up and coming younger Diaz brother, Nate. This gave us an outstanding energy bunny wrestler against a Stockton street kid with enormous Brazilian Jujitsu skills, quick educated hands and a middleweight contender older brother to train with. Both these boys came to fight hard and they put on a good show. Diaz controlled the stand up war and the center of the cage with his crisp punching and effective kicking, but the energy laden wild carpenter scored the take downs, controlled the action against the cage and on the mat and even used the UFC's very first effective full nelson. Both these fighters looked good and should have earned future work, but the judges saw Clay Guida's wrestling skills as a bit more prevalent and gave him the split decision win.
UFC 94 might not have lived up to the hype of show of the year, but it was entertaining and well worth the pay per view cash.
Good Night - Good Fight,
Frank "The Snake"
This Superbowl Weekend Saturday Night Extravaganza was billed as a momentous historical event for the UFC and a potential fight of the year. Much was made of B. J. Penn having a new training ethic and regimen and that his previous weakness of skills over stamina would not be in evidence on this night. Both combatants entered the octagon at a supreme level of fighting fitness, but it was immediately evident that the Canadian was the bigger man. The first round was pretty even as they matched and neutralized each other's stand up skills and the lightweight champion managed to avoid the bigger man's takedown attempts. St. Pierre's strength and weight advantages began to come into play in the second round as he took Penn down, controlled him on the ground and opened a cut on the lightweight champion with an effective ground and pound attack. B. J. Penn looked tired as he emerged from his corner for the third round and apparently he was as the third and fourth rounds featured the same Georges St. Pierre take down and ground and pound skills as the second round had. Baby Jake's submission skills seemed to have deserted him and his strength and stamina were quick to follow. At the end of the fourth round Penn returned to his corner as an exhausted, battered and beaten fighter. Noting this one of B. J's brothers (they are all named Jake)who was working the corner pulled the plug, leaving GSP with his title and saving Baby Jake from further punishment. After the match, St Pierre exchanged pleasantries with Thiago "Pitbull" Alves, who will next challenge St. Pierre for the welterweight title. At least The Pitbull looked to be the same size as The Champion so it won't be another case of "A good small man and a good big man", but can anyone beat St. Pierre at welterweight or eventually will he have to move up to middleweight to find competition?
At 13 - 0 each, Lightheavy weights,Lyoto Machida and Thiago Silva looked to be another classic match up --- and this one proved to be just that. Their styles were made for each other and for an exciting fight. Silva began his training at the famed Chute Box Academy in Curibita Brazil and still primarily uses their classic Thai Boxing style, although he has backed these skills up with extensive BJJ training. Lyoto Machida is half Japanese and half Brazilian and as his father is a long time master of Shotokan Karate, Loyoto has practiced that art since the age of three. He also has a blackbelt in BJJ and well rounded MMA skills, but he tends to use Shotokan's draw the opponent in and then counter his attack strategy. Thiago Silva's aggressive attacking Thai Kickboxing techniques were the yang to Machida's yin counter strikes. Throughout the first round Machida drew Silva into him. avoided Silva's heaviest strikes and caught him with crisp counter strikes. For his part, Silva kept advancing with a confidence that spoke of a coming change of scenario. Then suddenly, with the round almost over, Machida tripped Silva, pounced on him like a hungry cat and KO'd the kickboxer with one big punch, winning with one second remaining in the round. Lyoto Machida has put the UFC's talent laden 205 LB class on notice that there is a new sherif in town.
The show opened with three decision wins, the most exciting of which was new comer Jonny "Bones" Jones win over comebacking veteran Stephen "The American Psycho" Bonner. The 31 year old Bonner had been out due to injury for a full 15 months and his ring rust was evident. Facing him was an extremely athletic, outlandish, undefeated twenty one year old prospect. Jones only had seven fights under his belt to Bonner's 18, but the kid had no idea how to lose. Bonner was solid in the first two rounds, but over shadowed by the youngster's athleticism flashy speed and outstanding techniques like a beautiful spinning elbow score, a couple flashy kicks and amazing greco roman wrestling throws, including the ever popular suplex. Bonner's experience and very solid boxing skills came to the fore front in the third round, but it was too little too late and Jones walked away with the unanimous decision and his undefeated record in tact.
Welterweight vet Karo Parisyan took on the undefeated Korean Dong "Stun Gun" Kim. This match consisted of very even back and forth fence and ground control, equal take downs, unsuccessful submission attempts and ineffective striking. I saw it as a draw, but the official judges gave the split decision to Parisyan. Perhaps it was a consolation prize to make up for Joe Rogan blabing all over the air waves about Parisyan's problems with panic attacks ---- just what a fighter would want the entire MMA world to know --?? --!!
Welterweight standout Clay Guida faced the up and coming younger Diaz brother, Nate. This gave us an outstanding energy bunny wrestler against a Stockton street kid with enormous Brazilian Jujitsu skills, quick educated hands and a middleweight contender older brother to train with. Both these boys came to fight hard and they put on a good show. Diaz controlled the stand up war and the center of the cage with his crisp punching and effective kicking, but the energy laden wild carpenter scored the take downs, controlled the action against the cage and on the mat and even used the UFC's very first effective full nelson. Both these fighters looked good and should have earned future work, but the judges saw Clay Guida's wrestling skills as a bit more prevalent and gave him the split decision win.
UFC 94 might not have lived up to the hype of show of the year, but it was entertaining and well worth the pay per view cash.
Good Night - Good Fight,
Frank "The Snake"
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