Issue 083

December 2011

18

Number of UFC events in 2011 before we saw a finish via armbar. It wasn’t until UFC 135 when it looked like Nate Diaz would TKO Takanori Gomi, then finish him with a triangle, but it turned into what is, apparently, the almost extinct armbar.

7

Number of brutal lefts Jake Ellenberger landed after blasting Jake Shields with a knee at UFC Fight Night 25 in New Orleans. The blows prompted a TKO stoppage and marked Ellenberger’s fifth straight win in the UFC. Ellenberger is now in the welterweight title picture and told UFC matchmaker Joe Silva: “I’ll fight anybody I have to, to get my world title shot.”

364

We have to go back to 364 days before UFC 135 to find the last armbar in the UFC. It came courtesy of heavyweight Sean McCorkle at UFC 119. He started off the show by submitting Mark Hunt with a straight armbar. 

4

Prior to his victory over Jason MacDonald at UFC Fight Night 25 middleweight Alan Belcher had won four straight ‘…of the Night’ bonuses. ‘The Talent’ dominated MacDonald en route to a first-round stoppage, but thanks to Jake Ellenberger’s KO of Jake Shields and TJ Waldburger’s submission of Mike Stumpf, Belcher’s ‘…of the Night’ streak was snapped. He wasn’t too upset… (See ‘497’)

1,729

Speaking of rarities in the UFC, Jon Jones defended his light heavyweight belt at UFC 135 with a submission victory over ‘Rampage’ Jackson. It was 1,729 days removed from the last time a light heavyweight champ defended his title via a stoppage. The last time was UFC 66 in December 2006 when Chuck Liddell TKO’d Tito Ortiz. At that time Jones was just 19 years old and still about 16 months away from his MMA debut.

497

Number of days since Belcher last entered the Octagon. He suffered a career-threatening detached retina after his last victory, a ‘Submission of the Night’ rear naked choke over Patrick Cote at UFC 113. Luckily Belcher was able to recover and his win over MacDonald was his third straight in the UFC.

47

Number of fights in the UFC during an insane stretch of four straight weekends of fights. It started with UFN 25 on September 17th and ended on October 8th with UFC 136. This was the first time the promotion has put on fights four straight weekends in a row. However, it doesn’t quite match the output of the UFC in March and April of 2010 when the promotion did four shows in just 20 days.

329

Court McGee was on the shelf for 329 days before his victory over Dongi Yang at UFC Fight Night 25. The Ultimate Fighter season 11 winner was expected to fight in June, but a knee injury forced him off the card. McGee, known for literally coming back from death after an overdose some five years ago, recovered from the knee injury and fought an exciting back-and-forth third round against Yang to claim the decision victory. 

The Highs and Lows of Josh Barnett

Now a finalist in the Strikeforce heavyweight tournament, Josh ‘Warmaster’ Barnett has been battling against legends for well over a decade – and with significant success. Known for his ability to curtail opponents using both one-liners and near-inescapable submission holds, the 31-5 American catch wrestler is feared by his peers and lauded by fans. FO revisits the history books to relive Barnett’s best, and worst, moments…

1999

Having debuted two and a half years earlier, a 21-year-old Josh Barnett enters the Superbrawl 13 one-night tournament in Hawaii at 5-0 and leaves 8-0, having submitted two and decisioned one.

February 2000

Submits early UFC legend Dan Severn with an armbar in the fourth round at Superbrawl 16 in Hawaii.

November 2000

Makes his UFC debut against the 296lb Gan McGee at UFC 28 in the only super heavyweight bout in the company’s history. The 257lb Barnett TKO’s McGee in the second round.

2001

Fights Pedro Rizzo at UFC 30 (where he was announced as having a 24-0 record) and opts to stand and trade with the dangerous Brazilian. Barnett pays for his gameplan when he’s knocked unconscious at 4:21 of the second.

2002

After submitting Bobby Hoffman and Semmy Schilt in 2001, Barnett challenges Randy Couture for the UFC heavyweight belt in Las Vegas. He defeats Couture with strikes to win the belt, but tests positive for banned substances and is stripped of the title and later ejected from UFC.

2003

Barnett goes to Japan where he starts a pro wrestling career before re-igniting his MMA record with four stoppage wins and the ownership of the openweight King of Pancrase belt.

2004

Debuts for Pride FC with a record of 18-1 against successful crossover kickboxer Mirko ‘Cro Cop.’ Barnett submits at 46 seconds due to a shoulder injury caused while working himself out of Cro Cop’s guard. One year later he’s decisioned in a rematch.

Summer 2006

Submits both Aleksander Emelianenko and Mark Hunt in the early rounds of the Pride 2006 open-weight grand prix to advance to the final four.

September 2006

Slugs it out with ‘Big Nog’ for 15 minutes at Pride Final Conflict Absolute to take a split decision win and meet Mirko Cro Cop in the final. The Croatian’s strikes inside the guard make Barnett submit after an impact breaks his orbital bone.

2008

Goes 3-0 for the year: submitting Olympic judoka Hidehiko Yoshida, decisioning UFC vet Jeff Monson and knocking out Pedro Rizzo at Affliction: Banned in a rematch of their 2001 battle.

2009

Barnett is scheduled for a bout against then-heavyweight kingpin Fedor Emelianenko at Affliction: Trilogy. A positive steroid test 10 days out from the fight nixes the match-up and forces the cancellation of the card. Affliction opted out of the promotion business soon after.

2011

Competes in the Strikeforce heavyweight tournament, making the finals with arm triangle wins, first over Brett Rogers then Sergei Kharitonov.