Issue 116
July 2014
The history of mixed martial arts retold through the pages of the FO archives. July 2006: Lyoto Machida, ‘Jacare’ Souza, Glover Teixeira: the top UFC fighters have always brawled first for lower-tier promotions – just as our flashback issue shows.
Nostalgia. It’s a wistful longing for the past. Looking back on the pre-fame talent-stacked regional fight cards reported on in our July 2006 issue, it seems crazy that once upon a time such a deep pool of soon-to-be-discovered talent could be found fighting with little fanfare week in, week out.
You read how, in April ‘06 in Brazil, future UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida main-evented Jungle Fight 6, after eventual Strikeforce king ‘Jacare’ Souza choked out current Bellator 185lb champ Alexander Shlemenko in 2:10 earlier that evening.
We also relayed how in California a few days later World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC), still several months away from being bought by the UFC’s parent company, had recent UFC title challengers Glover Teixeira and Eddie Wineland on the undercard, along with future Ultimate Fighter winner and UFC 155lb contender Nate Diaz. To name a few.
Small-time shows hosting fighters with big-time ability – and in such volume. In that 2006 issue, we commented how the WEC had a knack for finding future UFC talent and how “each fight seems to have implications on a fighter’s ability to take it to the next level.” Jungle Fight could, and can, boast similar credentials – a win on that April 2006 card earned jiu-jitsu wiz Thales Leites a UFC contract.
Undoubtedly, today’s less glamorous levels of mixed martial arts are home to a better quality of fighter overall. But is there the same concentration of truly special talent as in 2006?
Perhaps that post The Ultimate Fighter 1 reality show boom was really a brief lower-level golden age for the game that we’re profiting from today. A unique crossover in time between MMA hosting an abundance of skilled fighters dedicated to their craft and the sudden increase in opportunity that came with unprecedented interest in the sport after Stephan Bonnar and Forrest Griffin went to war and pulled in the ratings on live television.
But, that’s the benefit of hindsight. Time will tell how many future champions performed on 2014’s fight cards. Resurrection Fighting Alliance, Legacy FC, Cage Warriors, Titan FC – all have proven prime sources for UFC undercard talent. How many can follow through is the question?
This may be an unprecedented era of talent. Better even than 2006. Problem is, we won’t know until it’s over.
NOSTRADAMMAUS
Getting UFC fit
Another back issue, another accurate prediction. In 2006, we wondered aloud: “In 10 or 20 years’ time could we see flabby housewives and out-of-shape office workers in an aerobics studio in an expensive gym – sat in mount on their designer, pink, brand-name floor bags – throwing out combinations as a rash guard-clad fitness instructor shouts out encouragement?” Sounds pretty close to nearly all fitness and MMA gyms across the globe these days.
ELSEWHERE IN THE JULY 2006 ISSUE
SPIDER CATCHER
Judging by the prominence we gave to the news Anderson Silva had signed with the UFC, you’d think we were aware of the Hall of Fame career that would follow for the future UFC middleweight champion. Although we really were – having watched him enjoy a new lease of life in Cage Rage. Before the news of Strikeforce’s second-ever show and ‘Rampage’ Jackson’s first post-Pride fight, we revealed the UFC’s latest signing.
RICKSON VS. SAKURABA
Those of us who’ve been around MMA a while will remember the de rigueur superfight back in the day had nothing to do with Anderson Silva or Georges St Pierre, it was Rickson Gracie and Kazushi Sakuraba. In our July 2006 issue we shared reports the jiu-jitsu great and the Japanese fight hero were due to finally duke it out under K-1’s MMA umbrella. But just like Silva and St Pierre, they never did. History repeats itself even in MMA.
CHUCK ‘THE CLAIRVOYANT’ LIDDELL
We get all the exclusives – even the ones that are several years early. In 2006, legendary UFC knockout artist Chuck Liddell (then in his prime) told us his on-point plans for the future. “Somewhere down the road maybe a Tito (Ortiz) fight, just for fun. Other than that, I plan to just keep fighting and stay busy, and keep promoting the sport.”
He kept fighting all the way until 2010 when he was KO’d by Rich Franklin, who was a stand-in for an injured Ortiz. Since his retirement, Chuck has been on UFC ambassador duty, helping the profile of the sport and company.
