Issue 073
March 2011
4.51
The final three fights at Strikeforce: Henderson vs Babalu lasted less than one round combined: four minutes and 51 seconds. Each bout ended in out-of-your-seat fashion. Robbie Lawler KO’d Matt Lindland, Paul Daley brutally dropped Scott Smith on his face and Dan Henderson unleashed mounted bombs on Renato ‘Babalu’ Sobral.
58*
Number of jabs landed by Georges St Pierre on Josh Koscheck at UFC 124 in Montreal. The combined effect was a horribly swollen right eye for Koscheck and another dominating win for the welterweight champ, GSP.
122:66*
Nam Phan connected with 122 strikes in his bout at The Ultimate Fighter 12 Finale against Leonard Garcia. The latter landed 66.
8,000
Despite landing nearly twice the number of strikes, Nam Phan was the hard-luck loser. The judges gave Garcia the nod, much to the fans’ dismay. Dana White shared the sentiment and gave Phan his $8,000 win bonus anyway
63
Number of seconds left in the life of the World Extreme Cagefighting when Anthony Pettis shocked us with his crazy, Matrix wall kick against Ben Henderson. The jaw dropper helped Pettis claim the WEC lightweight belt and send the promotion out with a serious bang.
2
The insane kick earned the number-two spot on ESPN SportsCenter’s Top 10 Plays.
6
Jim Miller coaxed his sixth UFC win in a row after tapping out Charles Oliveira with a kneebar at UFC 124. The New Jersey native believes he should be in the title picture and it’s hard to argue. At 19-2 overall his only losses were decisions to Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard.
3
When Henderson and Babalu touched them up on December 4th it had been just over a decade since their first meeting, at the Rings King of Kings Finals 1999 in Japan. On that night, Hendo pulled off the unthinkable by beating three opponents: Gilbert Yvel, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, and Babalu. For 'Big Nog' and Babalu, the losses were the first of their now-storied MMA careers.
The Highs and Lows of Urijah Faber
Of all the UFC’s flashy and new WEC imports, Sacramento native Urijah Faber is the biggest draw. Every WEC event ‘The California Kid’ touched inflated in pay-per-view buys and viewing figures, aided no end by his Duracell-bunny pace and eye-catching chin curvatures. Grabbing the WEC featherweight strap early in his 24-4, eight-year career, Faber is one to watch in the UFC’s bantamweight division.
2003
Faber has a successful MMA debut, winning by guillotine in 1:22 of the first. The same Gladiator Challenge card also features Chael Sonnen, Chris Leben, Scott Smith and Antonio McKee.
June 2004
Eight months after his pro debut, in only his third fight, Faber wins the Gladiator Challenge lightweight championship by unanimous decision.
November 2004
After going 5-0 ‘The California Kid’ challenges for the King of the Cage bantamweight belt. He wins after forcing Eben Kaneshiro to tap to strikes in the third round.
2005
Faber suffers his first loss to future UFC veteran Tyson Griffin by TKO early in the third round. As a result Faber drops his King of the Cage belt.
January 2006
He fights for the first, and thus far only, time outside of the US against MMA warhorse Ivan Menjivar in Canada. Faber takes the disqualification ‘W’ due to being kicked by Menjivar while on the ground.
March 2006
Debuts for a pre-Zuffa WEC against Cole Escovedo for the promotion’s featherweight belt. He takes the title after Escovedo’s corner stop the bout at the end of the second round.
July 2006
Beats Japanese fighter Naoya Uematsu by second-round (T)KO in Faber’s hometown to snare the Gladiator Challenge bantamweight championship. The win means Faber holds three belts simultaneously between WEC, King of the Cage and Gladiator Challenge.
2007
After making a permanent move to the WEC following the Zuffa buyout, Faber successfully defends his featherweight title four times, submitting Joe Pearson, Dominick Cruz, Chance Farrar and Jeff Curran.
2008
Defeats Jens Pulver in a ‘Fight of the Night’ performance at WEC 34 in June, before being (T)KO’d for the featherweight belt by Mike Brown inside three minutes in November’s WEC 36 – one of the upsets of the year.
2009
Faces exactly the same opponents as 2008, this time submitting Jens Pulver in the first round at WEC 38 then rematching Mike Brown for the belt in June. Faber injures both hands early before dropping a unanimous decision.
May 2010
Suffers a leg-kick clinic, at the hands of José Aldo, trying to regain his WEC featherweight belt at WEC 48. He takes significant damage to his lead leg and loses a decision.
November 2010
He drops to bantamweight and takes on feisty scrapper Takeya Mizugaki. Faber wins by rear naked choke in the first round after Mizugaki fails to tap and passes out.
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