Issue 040
August 2008
Sometimes the name given to a UFC event can be creepily appropriate.Bedlam is a tad strong, but there were few sane moments in either the run-up to this show or the fights themselves.
From a string of pullouts that surely left the promoters wondering if the O2 Arena was built on an Indian burial ground, to the controversial refereeing and upset wins that took place in the Octagon, this was no ordinary event.
Over 15,000 fans were given a main event that at first glance may not have quite lived up to the original bill. Chuck Liddell was first slated to fight Shogun, then Rashad Evans. After suffering a horrendous leg injury, Liddell was left on the sidelines and Evans without an opponent. Up stepped Matt Hughes and Thiago Alves in a welterweight fight, that while not exactly a defining moment for the welterweight division, certainly defined some important points in each of their careers.
In a tepid fight that threatened to be a snoozer thanks to Hughes’s insistence on grappling, Alves stunningly KO’d his foe in the second round with a flying knee, followed by two vicious punches. It looked a matter of time until this would happen – until that point Hughes looked old, slow and scared.
At 34 years old, Hughes is one of the longest serving veterans in the UFC. A future hall of famer, he may not possess the physical capabilities or rounded skill-set to compete in the modern age of elite-level MMA. Once dominant in the Octagon, his fighting skills now appear mostly impotent, especially when stacked against the hungry new breed of fighters such as St Pierre and Alves. A final fight in the UFC with Matt Serra seems a given and will without doubt be a major attraction given their blatant disdain for each other.
Alves missed weight by four pounds thanks to a sprained ankle picked up ten days before the fight. He came as close as he could to the 170lb limit, but was fined ten percent of his purse for his failure to make weight. Begging Dana White for a title shot following his win, he drew nothing but a scornful look, with White dodging questions on the matter in the post-fight press conference.
Michael Bisping looked unstoppable against Jason Day, walking through the Canadian inside the first round in what he described as the “the way I used to fight”. Bisping’s training over the last few months has been instrumental in his development. Lengthy periods in the USA have made him a sharper fighter with the takedown defence and all-round ability to not only compete in the UFC middleweight division, but thrive. Two fights on at 185lb, he’s still got a long route ahead of him to title contention, but has asserted his desire to compete at the highest levels he can - until the day he is ready for a shot at Silva.
FULL RESULTS
Antoni Hardonk def Eddie Sanchez via TKO 4:15 Rd2
Paul Taylor def Jess Liaudin via Split Decision
Luis Arthur Cane def Jason Lambert via TKO 2:07 Rd1
Kevin Burns def Roan Carneiro via Submission (triangle choke) 2:53 Rd2
Matt Wiman def Thiago Tavares via KO 1:57 Rd2
Martin Kampmann def Jorge Rivera via Submission (guillotine choke) 2:44 Rd1
Fabricio Werdum def Brandon Vera via TKO 4:40 Rd1
Thales Leites def Nathan Marquardt via Split Decision
Mike Swick def Marcus Davis via Unanimous Decision
Michael Bisping def Jason Day via TKO (punches) 3:42 Rd1
Thiago Alves def Matt Hughes via TKO (knee and punches) 1:02.Rd2
INTERNATIONALFIGHT REPORTS
EliteXC on CBS: Newark, New Jersey, May 31st 2008
Few expected heavyweights Kimbo Slice and James Thompson to fight for long. Thompson’s chin and stamina have let him down before and Kimbo was yet to face any kind of test in his short career. Surprisingly, they battled into the third round of a mauling, sloppy contest where Slice was lucky to last the second round as Thompson bashed away with elbows on the cage. Saved by Thompson’s fatigue and some generous officiating, Slice came out for the third, stopping the Englishman after grotesquely splattering his bulging cauliflower ear and landing a few good punches. Sadly, referee Dan Miragliotta’s intervention seemed early and a stirringly wild fight ended in controversy that left the crowd vocally unhappy. For all his mushrooming popularity and the fight’s TV ratings triumph (well over 6 million viewers) this firmly proved Kimbo is a long, long way from anything near a top class fighter.
Robbie Lawler’s EliteXC middleweight title defence against Scott Smith was a stop-start affair that stuttered between inactivity and some furious, entertaining exchanges. Scheduled for five rounds, this abruptly finished in the third after a couple of Lawler’s fingers accidentally strayed into Smith’s eye. Smith received some time to recover but after repeatedly telling a doctor he couldn’t see, the fight was waved off as a messy, confusing and deeply unpopular no contest. Both asked for a rematch to settle things and with luck the situation will be cleared up before long.
WEC: Sacramento, California, June 1st 2008
The biggest, most expertly hyped fight in the WEC’s short history pulled over 12,000 fans to see hometown boy Urijah Faber retain his featherweight title against Jens Pulver. A massive success in business terms, it delivered even more as a fight. The pair battled for a full five rounds, maintaining a relentless pace and earning several standing ovations. Faber was undoubtedly the winner (50-45 and a pair of 50-44 scores) and came close to finishing things in the second, but Pulver always battled back, displaying the incredible will that has defined his entire career. An inspiring spectacle from start to finish, this is one of the year’s must-see fights and cemented Faber’s status as North America’s only 145lb superstar.
WEC bantamweight champ Miguel Torres also retained his belt against Japan’s Yoshiro Maeda in the night’s other ‘Fight of the Year’ candidate. One of those fights where both men’s reputation is enhanced, this was an absolute joy to watch. From Torres’ wild head-hunting in the first, to an extraordinary sequence of submission attempts by both men in the second, the action never stopped. The furious pace took its toll but Torres rallied and pounded Maeda’s right eye shut, leaving him unable to come out for the fourth round.
Sengoku III, Tokyo, Japan, June 8th 2008
With their oddball mixture of ageing Japanese stars and foreign fighters Sengoku is hardly packing in the crowds or setting Japanese MMA on fire. Generally, their shows have all the atmosphere and entertainment value of a rainy Thursday afternoon at the local old people’s home. Their third event was no exception. In somewhat notable action, Travis Wiuff achieved what would have seemed impossible a few years ago – he KO’d the iron-headed punishment-sponge Kazuyuki Fujita, while Hidehiko Yoshida neck cranked a submission out of ancient MMA pioneer Maurice Smith in a fight that seemed to have emerged from some kind of 1997 timewarp.
EliteXC, Honolulu, Hawaii, June 14th 2008
A heavy favourite with the Hawaiian locals, KJ Noons came into his EliteXC lightweight title defence as the underdog. He left as a young man with a glaringly bright future and a clear career path after the small matter of obliterating tough, talented veteran Yves Edwards was done with.
Edwards is a quality fighter but admitted to “getting my ass kicked” by ferocious former sparring partner Noons in just 48 thrilling seconds. But the real fun and games started after the fight. Fresh off a somewhat impressive TKO over Muhsin Corbbrey earlier in the evening, Nick Diaz challenged Noons to a rematch for the vacant belt they fought over last November (Noons won impressively, albeit on cuts). Staking his rematch claim in inimitable Diaz style, the Californian provoked a chaotic brawl with half the Noons family and left the arena, little brother Nate in tow, as one of Hawaii’s most hated men. So long as it’s held in Hawaii, their rematch should do great business.
DREAM.4, Yokohama, Japan, June 15th 2008
Submission artist Shinya Aoki joined Eddie Alvarez, Caol Uno and Tatsuya Kawajiri in the finals of DREAM’s lightweight Grand Prix by submitting one-dimensional wrestler Katsuhiko Nagata with a stunning gogoplata. Aoki controlled the entire match before ending things with a rare and crowd-pleasing gogoplata from the mount. One of the sport’s most gifted and consistently entertaining grapplers, Aoki seems to be developing into what Japanese MMA has been crying out for – a young native star who can actually win big fights against genuine opposition. Much of DREAM’s future success or failure may well rest on his slender shoulders. Both the semis and the finals take place on 21st July in Osaka.
Putting the middle-aged, half-crippled, walking-disaster-waiting-to-happen Kazushi Sakuraba in the ring with the fearsome Melvin Manhoef was a repellent, foolish piece of matchmaking. Quite why the people behind this promotion wanted to see Sakuraba destroyed in Manheof’s rapid and clinically animalistic style is a complete mystery. A depressing event for the Sakuraba fanbase, this went a predictably one-sided 91 seconds as Manhoef floored the legend with a high kick and went to town with knees, punches and hammerfists. An ugly spectacle that everyone except the terrifying Manhoef should be ashamed of their role in.
