Issue 056

November 2009

With so many events taking place around the world it’s impossible to feature them all, but here is our selection of outstanding moments from recent action.

Fight of the Month

Randy Couture vs. Minotauro

Showing that it’s not just the lightweights who can go balls-out for a full 15 minutes, Randy Couture and Minotauro put on an excellent fight in front of a hyper-excited, 

sold-out Portland crowd. It was a slugfest, a technical grappling match and a dramatic, entertaining bout all at the same time. It’ll go down in history as one of the best fights to show non-MMA fans exactly what this sport is about.  

Tightest Chokehold

Jake Rosholt

Securing a fight-finishing choke is memorable enough. When it puts your opponent to sleep and sees them flopping around on the Octagon canvas like a fish out of water, how can it not get ‘submission of the night’?  

Biggest Right Hand

Nate Marquardt

With one punch, Nate Marquardt showed Demian Maia where he could stick his ‘world- class grappling credentials’. A BJJ black belt himself, Marquardt let go one of the heaviest right hands the Octagon has ever seen, sending Maia flying through the air. Even better was that Marquardt knew Maia was done and refrained from pouncing on the unconscious Maia and saving him from further injury. Well done Nate for being such a good sportsman.  

Most Controversial Moment

Thiago Silva over Keith Jardine

Brock Lesnar received a huge backlash from critics and fans alike after taunting the bloodied and battered Frank Mir. So how come the actions of Thiago ‘I’m a very bad man’ Silva, who stood over an incapacitated Keith Jardine until he had to be led away by the referee, gets no attention at all? 

Biggest Reception

Randy Couture

Wanderlei raised the roof in Germany. Gina did the same in San Jose. But neither came close to comparing to ‘The Natural’s’ homecoming.  

Best Debut

Todd Duffee

What better way to make your UFC debut than to go in and break the record for the fastest KO? American Top Team product Todd Duffee, a 6’1” 250lb slab of muscle, went in and smashed the record with a series of punches to Tim Hague’s face. That’s one way of making sure people remember your name!  

Nastiest Nut Shot

Gabriel Gonzaga vs Chris Tuchscherer

We wince every time we see a low blow, but we genuinely felt sorry for Chris Tuchscherer, who was left retching on the floor after eating a stray inside leg kick in the opening seconds of the very first round of his fight with beefy Brazilian heavyweight Gabriel Gonzaga. With 250lb of angry Brazilian behind that kick, it’s no surprise Tuchscherer went down. What is surprising is that he got back up to fight on, and even though he ultimately lost by TKO, he gets our admiration for sucking up his pain and getting back into the fray. It’s more than we would have done.

Worst Injury

Ed Herman

He tore his knee in the first round but stubbornly refused to give up and limped back to his corner. Shutting out the pain, Herman went back at opponent Aaron Simpson and misguidedly threw a kick, twisting his already-injured knee further round and ripping his ACL to shreds. He’ll have felt that in the morning alright!