Issue 106
October 2013
Massive finishes, little finishes, non-finishes. What else could it be but another few weeks in the weird world of MMA?
FINISH HIM!
Frankie Edgar, UFC 162
We can all agree Frankie Edgar deserves a TKO victory by now, right? Half of his UFC lightweight title bouts were rematches, and (whether he should have or not) he got the short end of three consecutive judges’ decisions in a row recently. Then, at UFC 162 in July, Charles Oliveira has the indignity to go and be resilient in Edgar’s first three-round fight for nearly four years. There’s 145lb Edgar putting him on shaky legs throughout the scrap, and dusting him up with tasty combinations in tight to the body and head. Not to mention all those takedowns and heavy hits from on top. And does he get one measly extra stoppage win on his record? Nope, he does not – just a stinking unanimous decision. The plus side? It was bloody exciting.
BEST FIGHT
Leslie Smith and Jennifer Maia, Invicta FC 6
You know when cartoon characters fight and all you see is a cycle of limbs and heads poking out of a ball of dust? Leslie Smith fighting Jennifer Maia looked like that – and it was good. It’s no surprise Smith likes to throw a lot of strikes (her being a product of the same Cesar Gracie fight team that created well-known pressure fighters Nick and Nate Diaz) and at times Maia could only cover up for dear life as she tried to deflect a tornado of feet and fists at Invicta FC 6. But she was equal to everything from her flyweight opponent, and even survived a monsoon of punches in Smith’s mount to close the final round. Smith took the unanimous decision, but they both pocketed a $1,500 bonus each.
MOST PAINFUL KNEE STRIKES
Miriam Nakamoto, Invicta FC 6
It was Miriam Nakamoto’s third knee directly to Duda Yankovich’s face in the space of about 40 seconds that ended their fight. The bantamweights’ bout at Invicta FC 6 in July only lasted just over two minutes, and for most of it Nakamoto was dishing punishment in the clinch against the fence to Yankovich like it was going out of fashion. With Yankovich already dropped by a vicious knee hit once, Nakamoto landed punches from behind as the ‘Diamond’ was getting back to her feet and then ploughed two more knees through her visage for the finish. As if we needed any reminding the girls are just as destructive as the boys.
TARGET TERMINATED
Cris ‘Cyborg’ Santos, Invicta FC 6
Cris Santos needs more crushing stoppage wins like Georges St Pierre needs extra female admirers. She’s strung so many dominating early-round victories together people were wondering if she was a cardio-lacking terminatrix who couldn’t produce in the championship stanzas. So it’s beneficial she TKO’d Marloes Coenen in the fourth at Invicta FC 6 in July. Meeting at 145lb, the Brazilian bruiser got the better of the stand-up, and the ground after repeatedly reversing takedown attempts and also tripping Marloes from the body lock. Credit to Coenen though, who fearlessly went blow for blow with the heavy-handed ‘Cyborg.’ Having ground on Coenen nearly non stop, strikes from the top had John McCarthy end it at 19:02 and declare Cyborg the first Invicta featherweight champ.
BUZZER BEATER
Brian Melancon, UFC 162
What happens when your on-the-bell KO is on the undercard of one of the year’s most shocking fights? Nobody talks about it. Poor Brian Melancon; the welterweight announced himself on his promotional debut in the second fight at UFC 162 – which was headlined by Chris Weidman’s dramatic knockout of longtime UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva. The Strikeforce and Bellator veteran rocked and dropped TUF 11 alumnus Seth Baczynski prior to being stood over him when the first-round’s 10-second clapper sounded. About seven ticks later Melancon flung a big left, and some extras, into Baczynski’s mush, and as the horn sounded referee Yves Lavigne pushed him away. Any confusion about whether it was the end of the round or the fight was cleared up by Baczynski being KO’d on the floor. Time of the stoppage? 4:59.
BIGGEST UPSET/KNOCKOUT/FINISH/EVERYTHING
Chris Weidman, UFC 162
Upsets are the best thing about MMA. Ever since Chael Sonnen peeled back record-making UFC middleweight Anderson Silva’s veneer of invincibility by ground ‘n’ pounding him to near defeat at UFC 117 in 2010, the MMA world has been expecting someone at some point to rip it off entirely. Did they expect wrestler Chris Weidman to do it with a second-round knockout as Silva was showboating? No, they did not. Weidman had got a takedown early (as he was expected to), dropped some heavy leather and tried for a leg lock, then completely forgot about his grappling game plan as Silva goaded him into trying to knock his block off (as he always does).
Whether Weidman was winning or not entering the second round depends on who you ask, but what isn’t up for debate is Weidman caught Silva with a left hook as the Brazilian was attempting to slip his shots and did what no man ever has: knock out Anderson Silva. All hail King Chris.
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