Issue 188
February 2020
UFC 81: February 2, 2008
Stories of heavyweight submissions headlined the UFC’s super weekend spectacular
Though one of the UFC’s biggest shows of the year featured a heavyweight title on the line at the top of the bill, the biggest draw was undoubtedly Brock Lesnar’s Octagon debut. Everybody wanted to know whether the pro wrestling superstar could cope with fighting for real. But that wasn’t the only highlight of UFC 81: Breaking Point. This was a true golden era for classic action and the supporting cast brought the audience to their feet long before the big guys began.
The Beast Unleashed
Lesnar had a tough maiden assignment. Former champion Frank Mir had struggled for form after a life-threatening motorbike accident, but was still dangerous. Despite becoming acquainted with Lesnar only weeks before, Mir still hyped up the fight by spitting some visceral smack talk. “I want to rip the skin off his face,” he said. “I want him to feel abused, I want his lungs to cave in, I want him to taste his own blood going down his throat, I want him to feel pain for stepping anywhere near me.” Yipes. Lesnar’s retort was less refined, but made his intentions just as clear. “I’m going to knock him on his ass and pound his head into the mat.” We had ourselves a fight. The 265lb giant got to work immediately and began to deliver on his pre-fight promise of violence. But his onslaught was halted when Steve Mazagatti stopped the fight for punches to the back of the head. The punishment began immediately after the restart, but Mir composed himself and caught a kneebar after 90 seconds. Experience prevailed, the beast was tamed and Mazagatti was off the Lesnar family Christmas card list for life.
Bonus king
After Chris Lytle lost a stinker to Matt Serra in the TUF 4 finale, he vowed never to have a boring fight again. A man of his word, he earned ‘Submission of the Night’ honors at UFC 73, ‘Fight of the Night’ at UFC 78 and also took $60,000 for this night’s best KO.
Booing Bonds
The night’s biggest jeers were not for Brock, but mailgned baseball home run king, Barry Bonds. Joe Rogan defended him, but wondered how he found a hat that fit his head.
Ragdoll
David Heath must have felt pretty confident. Here he was, a UFC veteran, fighting some guy who was competing with less than two weeks’ notice and was coming off a loss. Unfortunately, that man was Tim Boetsch and he had a failsafe plan for victory: throw the ‘The Headhunter’ face-first onto the canvas and punch his head until the referee said stop.
Back From The Dead
In the official main event, interim heavyweight hardware was up for grabs as the ‘full’ champion, Randy Couture, wasn’t on speaking terms with the UFC. The stage was set for some classic ‘Big Nog’ heroics. After taking his usual beating for two rounds, he turned the tables to submit Tim Sylvia and add another belt to his collection. “Every fight he’s in he gets his ass kicked for the first 10 minutes… Next thing you know he catches you,” a dejected ‘Maine-iac’ lamented.
Also throwing down at UFC 81
After an Octagon absence since 2002, Ricardo Almeida returned and made short work of Rob Yundt. It took just 68 seconds for the black belt ‘Big Dog’ to win by guillotine choke.
Tyson Griffin continued to impress and earn a reputation as one of the lightweight division’s best and most exciting fighters with a comfortable win against Gleison Tibau.
Though he was submitted by Nate Marquardt, Jeremy Horn’s return to the UFC was still remarkable – it was his 102nd professional bout.
