Issue 075
May 2011
9
The always-entertaining Nick Diaz extended his win streak to nine after stopping Evangelista ‘Cyborg’ Santos at Strikeforce: Diaz vs Cyborg. Overall, the elder Diaz is now an impressive 24-7.
364
Number of days between former football star Hershel Walker’s MMA debut and his second effort in the cage. The 48-year-old Strikeforce star dominated an overmatched Scott Carson to go 2-0 on January 29th.
20
WEC alumnus Donald Cerrone made his UFC debut at 126 (a second-round submission of Paul Kelly) just 20 minutes after he learned of his grandfather’s passing. Joe Rogan talked about how it looked like Cerrone wasn’t into the bout. Afterward
we found out why.
1.85m
Average number of viewers that watched UFC: Fight for the Troops 2 in late January. Those viewers saw featherweight Mark Hominick blast George Roop, heavyweight Matt Mitrione TKO Tim Hague, and lightweight Melvin Guillard destroy Evan Dunham to announce his presence in the title hunt.
21:25
Length of time Andrei Arlovksi has spent in the cage in his last four fights. Three of those bouts have resulted in him being put to sleep. The last was a brutal grounded KO delivered by Sergei Kharitonov in the first round at Strikeforce: Fedor vs Silva. Arlovski has now lost four in a row and is 15-9 overall.
42
After his impressive victory over Ryan Bader at UFC 126, Jon Jones was offered and accepted a title shot against Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua, due to a Rashad Evans knee injury. It gave him just 42 days prepare – a tough turnaround for a title fight.
10
At Strikeforce: Fedor vs Silva it took ten minutes to witness the end of an era. Fedor Emelianenko slugged away in the first round, marginally survived a horrible second round, then saw his fight waved off before the third due to a damaged right eye.
3,688
Fedor’s career went 3,688 days before suffering his first real loss in MMA at the hands of Fabricio Werdum last summer. It was then just another 240 days before Emelianenko took his second loss in what was his 35th, and possibly final, fight.
The Highs and Lows of Forrest Griffin
He’s the original ultimate fighter who wears his heart on his sleeve: Forrest Griffin has secured himself as a firm fan-favorite with his courageous fighting style. From sporting the light heavyweight belt to shedding tears, Griffin’s career has certainly been an emotional affair...
April 2001
Makes pro debut at 21 years old in Reality Superfighting 5: New Blood Conflict. Griffin loses via unanimous decision against legendary veteran Dan Severn.
October 2005
Credited by Dana White as “the most important fight in UFC history,” Griffin beats Stephan Bonnar in The Ultimate Fighter 1 finale and explodes into the UFC.
April 2006
Faces former light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz at UFC 56. Although losing via a controversial split decision, Griffin’s heart and tenacity earns him a growing fan base.
August 2006
In their next meeting, Griffin defeats Bonnar for the second time at UFC 62.
December 2006
At UFC 66, Griffin is defeated by The Ultimate Fighter 2 semi-finalist Keith Jardine via TKO in the first round. Following the emotional loss, Forrest is filmed in his corner crying.
September 2007
Beats Pride’s 2005 Middleweight (205lb) Grand Prix champion Shogun Rua at UFC 76. The hotly rated Rua is rated by several MMA publications as the worlds number-one 205lb'er, but still Griffin secures a rear naked choke at 4:45 of round three.
April 2008
Spike TV Premiers The Ultimate Fighter 7. With an impressive coaching performance Forrest sees six of his fighters advance into the semi-finals in contrast to Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson’s two.
July 2008
With a series of brutal leg kicks, Griffin neutralizes Rampage’s attack and goes on to win via unanimous decision becoming the UFC light heavyweight champion.
December 2008
In his first title defense, Griffin loses to the then unbeaten Rashad Evans at UFC 92.
August 2009
Griffin is matched against UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva to test ‘The Spider’s skills at light heavyweight. The champ passes, knocking Griffin down three times in the first round before going on to score the TKO at 3:23 of round one.
November 2009
Determined to make a comeback following his embarrassing loss to Silva, Griffin avenges his loss to Tito Ortiz, winning by split decision at UFC 106
2011
After over a year out, Griffin's ring rust doesn't show as he grinds out an impressive unanimous decision win against Rich Franklin at UFC 126, entering 2011 in dramatic fashion.
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