Amazing show. Terrible predictions.
This is what I love about Mixed Martial Arts. No matter how clear-cut something seems to be, there is always room for a huge surprise. Sometimes this can be an amazing thing, and sometimes, like we saw on Saturday night, it can be disappointing.
I predicted an epic encounter between Brandon Vera and Krzysztof Soszynski in the Octagon, and what we were witness to was two usually exciting and high paced fighters come out with their feet hovering about the brake pedal. While it was far from a boring fight, it failed to deliver the excitement that these two men bring into their fights. Vera quite literally picked apart Soszynski, who at times almost looked afraid to pull the trigger on his heavy aggression. While some might argue that avoiding rushing in with strikes looking for a finish was a smart game plan, due to Vera's much superior technique, one could also make the argument that the blazing guns style of fighting is exactly what's made Krzysztof successful in his three prior UFC bouts.
Vera wins by unanimous decision, and makes a case for including him on a long list of contenders in the UFC's Light Heavyweight division.
Where I expected fireworks in the first bout and a war of attrition in the second, it turned out to be quite the opposite. Nate Marquardt made quick work of jiu-jitsu ace Demian Maia with a stunning first round knockout. Maia came out early with a couple of kicks, allowing Nate to get the timing down, and when Demian came in for a third, Nate the Great was ready and waiting with a rocket of a right hand landing flush on the chin of his opponent. Marquardt handed Maia his first loss as a mixed martial artist, and then in the post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, Marquardt made mention of a potential rematch with 185 pound king Anderson Silva.
Marquardt, although impressive in his last three outings, is one name on a list of top Middleweights in the UFC that Silva has destroyed with his crisp striking. Not only did Silva defeat Marquardt in their first encounter, but he did so handily, outclassing Nate at every turn. The name that's been talked about as Anderson Silva's next challenger is Dan Henderson, and in my opinion, Henderson is much more deserving of a rematch with the Champ, after displaying that he could take down and control Silva in the first round of their fight.
Back to the show though, and up next is another Middleweight bout, this one between Chris Leben and Jake Rosholt. Leben, a native of Portland, had the crowd firmly in his corner for the fight and showed great patience in his attack without sacrificing any of the aggression that he's known for. Just like I predicted, Leben kept Rosholt at a distance with his striking, but the four time All-American showed a strong chin after getting hit with several big shots from The Crippler. Eventually, Rosholt got past Leben's striking in the second round and scored a big takedown. From there, he showed what he could do on the ground, but it wasn't until the third and final round that Rosholt finally finished the fight, as he did so with a textbook Arm Triangle that put Leben to sleep.
The one prediction that I almost nailed, was Thiago Silva's first round Technical Knockout of The Dean of Mean. I had called it as a straight KO for Silva, but a TKO is just as good. Jardine came out swinging, and keeping in the same tone as his previous fights, left his right hand down. This allowed Silva to sneak in with a big left hand to the chin that put Jardine on his back. Thiago attacked quick and hard with a one-two to the downed Jardine that saw his body just go limp. A third shot appeared to wake-up the fighter, but the fight had already been stopped, despite his quiet protest.
A very emotional Silva spoke to Joe Rogan, saying quite matter of factly that the UFC is his life. Silva shows a fire and respect for the sport that many past and some current Champions have also shown.
On that note, we move from a young budding star with a healthy respect for the sport, to two of the greatest and most well respected legends in mixed martial arts.
If there's one downside to a fight generating as much hype as Couture Vs Nogueira, or Penn Vs St. Pierre, or Lesnar Vs Couture, it's that there's always the danger of the fight not delivering to the increased expectations of the masses. Well, that was not the case on Saturday night, as both Randy Couture and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira showed that they are still two of the best and most exciting fighters in the sport.
For fifteen minutes, these two men went back and forth. On the feet, both men looked comfortable with their boxing. Big Nog seemed to get the best of that though, as he rocked Couture several times, including putting him down twice. That's not to say that Randy didn't land any good shots though, because it's far from the case. Couture hit Nogueira with some pretty big punches, but Minotauro was back to old form, took the blows and kept coming like a man on a mission.
Randy Couture had a few opportunities on the mat to do some damage, but just as he did on the feet, Nogueira absorbed those shots and turned it around. The Natural came close to being caught in a D'Arce Choke early in the fight, and later on Big Nog tried very hard to secure an Arm Triangle. Couture's resilience kept him in the fight though, and they ended up going the distance in what should go down as a classic match between a Hall of Famer, and a future Hall of Famer.
Also on the card:
Todd Duffee set a new record for fastest knockout when he gave Canadian Tim Hague a one-way trip to the mat. A quick left hand jab put Hague down on the canvas, and then some right hand hammer fists set up a brutal left hand punch that sent Hague's eyes rolling back.
Gabriel Gonzaga scored another impressive victory, absolutely demolishing Chris Tuchscherer in the first round of their fight. In a unique situation, it took them more than five minutes to get through the first round after Gonzaga (notorious for the power in his kicks) caught Tuchscherer with an inadvertant low blow while attempting a kick to the inside thigh. Tuchscherer would take his full five minute break, using it to writhe in agony, throw up, and seemingly have spasms when the doctors suggested possibly shutting it down. To his credit, Tuchscherer got right back into the fight.
Up next for the UFC: Melvin Guillard Vs Nate Diaz on September 16th, live and free on SpikeTV as a lead-in to The Ultimate Fighter 10: Heavyweights. Kimbo Slice, Wes Sims, Roy Nelson, several NFL alumni and more.
Then on the 19th, UFC 103: Franklin Vs Belfort.
That will be one hell of a week.
This is what I love about Mixed Martial Arts. No matter how clear-cut something seems to be, there is always room for a huge surprise. Sometimes this can be an amazing thing, and sometimes, like we saw on Saturday night, it can be disappointing.
I predicted an epic encounter between Brandon Vera and Krzysztof Soszynski in the Octagon, and what we were witness to was two usually exciting and high paced fighters come out with their feet hovering about the brake pedal. While it was far from a boring fight, it failed to deliver the excitement that these two men bring into their fights. Vera quite literally picked apart Soszynski, who at times almost looked afraid to pull the trigger on his heavy aggression. While some might argue that avoiding rushing in with strikes looking for a finish was a smart game plan, due to Vera's much superior technique, one could also make the argument that the blazing guns style of fighting is exactly what's made Krzysztof successful in his three prior UFC bouts.
Vera wins by unanimous decision, and makes a case for including him on a long list of contenders in the UFC's Light Heavyweight division.
Where I expected fireworks in the first bout and a war of attrition in the second, it turned out to be quite the opposite. Nate Marquardt made quick work of jiu-jitsu ace Demian Maia with a stunning first round knockout. Maia came out early with a couple of kicks, allowing Nate to get the timing down, and when Demian came in for a third, Nate the Great was ready and waiting with a rocket of a right hand landing flush on the chin of his opponent. Marquardt handed Maia his first loss as a mixed martial artist, and then in the post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, Marquardt made mention of a potential rematch with 185 pound king Anderson Silva.
Marquardt, although impressive in his last three outings, is one name on a list of top Middleweights in the UFC that Silva has destroyed with his crisp striking. Not only did Silva defeat Marquardt in their first encounter, but he did so handily, outclassing Nate at every turn. The name that's been talked about as Anderson Silva's next challenger is Dan Henderson, and in my opinion, Henderson is much more deserving of a rematch with the Champ, after displaying that he could take down and control Silva in the first round of their fight.
Back to the show though, and up next is another Middleweight bout, this one between Chris Leben and Jake Rosholt. Leben, a native of Portland, had the crowd firmly in his corner for the fight and showed great patience in his attack without sacrificing any of the aggression that he's known for. Just like I predicted, Leben kept Rosholt at a distance with his striking, but the four time All-American showed a strong chin after getting hit with several big shots from The Crippler. Eventually, Rosholt got past Leben's striking in the second round and scored a big takedown. From there, he showed what he could do on the ground, but it wasn't until the third and final round that Rosholt finally finished the fight, as he did so with a textbook Arm Triangle that put Leben to sleep.
The one prediction that I almost nailed, was Thiago Silva's first round Technical Knockout of The Dean of Mean. I had called it as a straight KO for Silva, but a TKO is just as good. Jardine came out swinging, and keeping in the same tone as his previous fights, left his right hand down. This allowed Silva to sneak in with a big left hand to the chin that put Jardine on his back. Thiago attacked quick and hard with a one-two to the downed Jardine that saw his body just go limp. A third shot appeared to wake-up the fighter, but the fight had already been stopped, despite his quiet protest.
A very emotional Silva spoke to Joe Rogan, saying quite matter of factly that the UFC is his life. Silva shows a fire and respect for the sport that many past and some current Champions have also shown.
On that note, we move from a young budding star with a healthy respect for the sport, to two of the greatest and most well respected legends in mixed martial arts.
If there's one downside to a fight generating as much hype as Couture Vs Nogueira, or Penn Vs St. Pierre, or Lesnar Vs Couture, it's that there's always the danger of the fight not delivering to the increased expectations of the masses. Well, that was not the case on Saturday night, as both Randy Couture and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira showed that they are still two of the best and most exciting fighters in the sport.
For fifteen minutes, these two men went back and forth. On the feet, both men looked comfortable with their boxing. Big Nog seemed to get the best of that though, as he rocked Couture several times, including putting him down twice. That's not to say that Randy didn't land any good shots though, because it's far from the case. Couture hit Nogueira with some pretty big punches, but Minotauro was back to old form, took the blows and kept coming like a man on a mission.
Randy Couture had a few opportunities on the mat to do some damage, but just as he did on the feet, Nogueira absorbed those shots and turned it around. The Natural came close to being caught in a D'Arce Choke early in the fight, and later on Big Nog tried very hard to secure an Arm Triangle. Couture's resilience kept him in the fight though, and they ended up going the distance in what should go down as a classic match between a Hall of Famer, and a future Hall of Famer.
Also on the card:
Todd Duffee set a new record for fastest knockout when he gave Canadian Tim Hague a one-way trip to the mat. A quick left hand jab put Hague down on the canvas, and then some right hand hammer fists set up a brutal left hand punch that sent Hague's eyes rolling back.
Gabriel Gonzaga scored another impressive victory, absolutely demolishing Chris Tuchscherer in the first round of their fight. In a unique situation, it took them more than five minutes to get through the first round after Gonzaga (notorious for the power in his kicks) caught Tuchscherer with an inadvertant low blow while attempting a kick to the inside thigh. Tuchscherer would take his full five minute break, using it to writhe in agony, throw up, and seemingly have spasms when the doctors suggested possibly shutting it down. To his credit, Tuchscherer got right back into the fight.
Up next for the UFC: Melvin Guillard Vs Nate Diaz on September 16th, live and free on SpikeTV as a lead-in to The Ultimate Fighter 10: Heavyweights. Kimbo Slice, Wes Sims, Roy Nelson, several NFL alumni and more.
Then on the 19th, UFC 103: Franklin Vs Belfort.
That will be one hell of a week.
