Issue 047

March 2009

Submission of the Month

Shinya Aoki vs Eddie Alvarez

It only took one slip-up from Alvarez for Aoki, one of the finest grapplers in MMA, to catch him in a heel hook. Alvarez was left screaming in pain after submitting.  

KO of the Month

Rampage Jackson vs Wanderlei Silva

Though he got off to a slow start, Rampage put things to rest between him and Silva by emphatically knocking out the Brazilian with a textbook left hook. Rampage’s technical boxing was the perfect antidote to Silva’s aggressive swinging.  

Most Lacklustre Performance

Kazushi Sakuraba

It’s hard to believe Sakuraba is still fighting. Please, please, please just retire, we have fond memories of you as one of the most exciting fighters ever to step into a ring, please don’t sully things by competing until you’re a dried-out husk of a fighter. It’s just not right.  

Hairdo of the Month

Ryo Chonan

Ryo Chonan, who spends most of his time training at Team Quest in California, has obviously been spending far too much time around Mayhem Miller, at least if his hairdo is anything to go by. The Japanese fighter had the red ‘rising sun’ design stencilled on a blonde crop. Barmy.  

Shock Result of the Month

Melvin Manhoef knocking out Mark Hunt

Who would have thought the Dutch middleweight, giving up over 25kg in weight to Hunt, would be the first man to ever knock out the ‘Super Samoan’? Taking the fight on extremely short notice, due to Jerome Lebanner catching the flu, Manhoef showed he is still among the most exciting of fighters with this 18-second KO.  

Domination of the Month

Frank Mir vs Minotauro

For the fans who have followed Minotauro’s career throughout the days of Pride, it came as a terrific shock to see Mir beat the Brazilian so soundly. Minotauro had never been stopped in his career (which is even more impressive considering he had fought Fedor three times) yet Mir toyed with him, landing shots at will and dropping him a number of times in the first round of their fight. Was it a case of Frank simply having a good day, or Minotauro having an off night? Who knows? But that won’t change the result.  

Most Interesting Statistic

It was much to our surprise that UFC 92 featured not one single submission all night. Of the ten fights, eight were finished by either KO or TKO, with the remaining two contests going to a decision.