Issue 114

May 2014

In a world dominated by one promotion, so many great fights go unnoticed. In our ceaseless bid to bring you the best in MMA knowledge, here are some of history’s finest you may have missed

With the sport of mixed martial arts growing at a rapid rate, and so many events being held across the globe, it is becoming increasingly difficult to keep up with all the action. The UFC continues to rule the landscape and hold the attention of most fans and media.

Whether it be due to ignorance, disinterest or lack of internet access, there is a wealth of spectacular fight entertainment going on that is, sadly, slipping under most people’s radar. Fighters Only looks at some lesser known battles that prove you don’t have to be on the biggest stage to put on a good show.

AGAINST THE ODDS

Michael Chandler vs. Eddie Alvarez, Bellator 58 (November 2011)

Despite coming into the fight with a perfect 8-0 professional record, not many people gave the young Michael Chandler a chance against the defending Bellator lightweight champion, Eddie Alvarez.

Having himself gone undefeated since winning the title in 2009, Alvarez was considered by many to be one of the very best 155lb fighters in the world, and arguably the very best fighting outside the UFC.

But anything can happen in a fight, and the heavy favourite was rocked by the challenger in the opening seconds. As the two warriors went at it, commentator Jimmy Smith proclaimed: “Eddie gets rocked in every fight and manages to come back,” a testament to the resilience and championship spirit of Alvarez.

The heart-racing battle continued at an exhaustive pace, with Chandler putting his opponent in danger on several occasions in the bout before Eddie came back strong in the third, badly bloodying the then Xtreme Couture-trained lightweight and almost finishing the fight.

Yet the most shocking moment of the evening was yet to come, as in round number four, Chandler, having taken a serious beating only minutes earlier, took down Bellator’s lightweight king and submitted him with a rear naked choke, winning the lightweight gold in a massive upset.

Although it was the biggest win of Michael Chandler’s career and undoubtedly a ‘Fight of the Year’ candidate, Bellator’s shining night was somewhat dampened by another event, and more specifically another fight, which took place on the same evening. The epic clash between Dan Henderson and ‘Shogun’ Rua at UFC 139 stole the headlines, leaving this stellar contest in the shadows.

A BITTER END

Jamie Varner vs. Donald Cerrone, 

WEC 38 (January 2009)

Before he became the 2011 Fighters Only World MMA Awards ‘Breakthrough Fighter of the Year’ and top UFC lightweight contender, Donald Cerrone was fighting for the gold on the smaller stage of the WEC.

In January 2009, ‘Cowboy’ challenged then-reigning champion Jamie Varner for his 155lb title. The fight, which reached 700,000 viewers in the US on the Versus network, was an exciting, back-and-forth affair that saw some charging takedowns and brutal ground ‘n’ pound from Varner, only for Cerrone to repeatedly get back to his feet and relentlessly walk-down the champion, picking apart his opponent in the stand-up game with superior technique.

Both men were game for a gruelling fight and showed great respect for each other’s skills, even pausing to embrace at the beginning of round three after 10 highly competitive minutes of action.

The contest continued until late in the fifth round when Cerrone landed an illegal knee strike. After Varner was unable to continue, the fight went to the judges. Two of them scored it for Varner, with the third favouring Cerrone, ending the bout in a technical split decision victory for Varner.

The defending champ’s actions did not sit well with Cerrone, who felt that Varner had behaved in a cowardly fashion and had cheated him out of a fair fight.

Despite their earlier friendliness, a bitter dislike grew between the two men. Cerrone avenged his loss to Varner at WEC 51 (September 2010) in a long-awaited grudge match.

BATTLE OF THE BRITS

Tom Watson vs. Alex Reid, 

BAMMA 4 (September 2010)

This major UK event went almost completely unnoticed by the rest of the MMA world. In September 2010, Tom ‘Kong’ Watson defended his BAMMA middleweight championship against mixed martial artist and reality TV star Alex Reid.

Despite having lost his last six pro contests, Reid’s celebrity status earned him a shot at the 185lb title for the UK’s leading MMA promotion. However questionable the circumstances of this fight may have been, once battle commenced, there was no doubt in any spectator’s mind that ‘The Reidernator’ absolutely wanted this fight.

With the support of the general British public and his glamour model wife, Katie Price, Reid came out in the opening round and stunned the reigning champ with his fighting skill and general gameness.

The challenger’s success was short-lived, however, as Watson regained his composure to take the remaining four brawl-based rounds, winning the fight via unanimous decision.

Although it was his seventh straight defeat, Alex Reid won the respect of British MMA fans with his gutsy performance.

BAD BEHAVIOUR

Yuichiro Nagashima vs. Shinya Aoki, Dynamite!! 2010 (December)

On New Year’s Eve of 2010, one of MMA’s most deadly submission artists, Shinya Aoki, engaged in a ‘mixed rules’ contest with keen cross-dresser and K-1 level striker, Yuichiro Nagashima.

The fight consisted of two rounds, the first being three minutes under kickboxing rules (i.e. stand-up striking only), and the second being a straightforward five-minute MMA fight.

In round one it was clear that Dream lightweight champ Aoki wanted absolutely nothing to do with Nagashima in the striking department, doing everything he could to make it to the second, when the MMA rules would favour him and his grappling talents.

Aoki has always been known for his less than admirable antics, and his survival methods at Dynamite’s end-of-year show brought a resounding sense of shame to combat sports loyalists.

Jumping double leg kicks, cartwheel kicks and illegal holds were among the ridiculous manoeuvres performed by the Japanese bad boy grappler in order to see him through to the second. 

Aoki was expected to win handily under MMA rules, but karma, it seemed, had other plans for the 155lb BJJ black belt.

Aoki immediately shot for a takedown, only for his chin to be met with a knee from Nagashima, knocking him unconscious. Four hammer fists to the face followed before the referee could intervene, stopping the contest at just four seconds into round two.

It was an embarrassing defeat for a man once ranked as the number-two lightweight in the world.

OLD-SCHOOL RULES

Chuck Liddell vs. Jose Landi-Jons, 

IVC 6 (August 1998)

Before his dominant reign at the top of the UFC’s 205lb division, Chuck ‘The Iceman’ Liddell was taking fights wherever he could find them to satisfy his thirst for competition. One such battle was a vale tudo contest which took place in Sao Paulo, Brazil, against Chute Boxe striker Jose ‘Pele’ Landi-Jons. For those unfamiliar with vale tudo (you’re missing out, seriously), it’s basically like MMA but with fewer rules.

The bout was held by the International Vale Tudo Championship (IVC) and consisted of a single 30-minute round. The two proud warriors waged war on each other for the full half-hour, bloodying each other’s bodies and defying exhaustion in the humid Brazilian climate.

The Iceman found Pele’s elite-level Muay Thai difficult to deal with and was even dropped by a head kick in the early stage of the fight. But the hard-headed Liddell persevered, using his superior wrestling ability to take Pele down repeatedly and deliver a beating that won him the decision.

HOMELAND HERO

Hatsu Hioki vs. Marlon Sandro, Sengoku: Soul of Fight (December 2010)

In December 2010, former Shooto lightweight champion and Japanese crowd favourite Hatsu Hioki challenged aggressive Brazilian knockout artist Marlon Sandro for his Sengoku featherweight title in what turned out to be an incredibly tense affair.

Although the defending champ was coming off three successive KO victories, the Japan native had never been finished in his pro MMA career and, with his long reach and slick submissions, had the perfect set of skills to put Sandro in danger.

In the early rounds of the fight, Sandro tried earnestly to engage the challenger in a standing brawl that would have favoured the attacker’s style, but Hioki stuck to his game plan and executed it almost perfectly, utilising his reach to keep his ferocious opponent at a safe distance, clinching when Sandro got too close.

In the third, the Japanese hopeful turned up the heat and pressured Marlon with rangy strikes before taking him down and controlling the fight on the ground. Even when the Brazilian fought back in the fourth and grounded Hioki, his Asian adversary still proved to be the more dangerous man, almost locking Sandro up in a triangle choke before time was called at the end of the round.

Hatsu secured his victory in the final frame, dominating the champ on the ground and securing an armbar in the closing seconds of the fight before Sandro was saved by the bell for the second time. Hioki was awarded the unanimous decision and won the gold.

The event was the final show held by Sengoku, the promotion announcing its closure in March 2011.

SLUGFEST

Don Frye vs. Yoshihiro Takayama, 

Pride 21 (June 2002)

This eye-popping punch-up between moustached man’s man Don Frye and Japanese giant Yoshihiro Takayama is well known among long-time MMA fans as one of the most exciting fights in the last decade. Casual followers of the sport might not be aware of this brutal battle, but it’s certainly worth checking out.

This epic showdown took place in June 2002 at Pride FC’s aptly named Demolition event, as both competitors looked to cause nothing but destruction from the opening bell.

Frye and Takayama charged at each other, locking up and hammering their right fists into each other’s faces in a violent display of whirlwind action, each landing over a dozen punches before separating.

The usually conservative Eastern audience roared their approval as both men almost immediately resumed pummelling one another. The Japanese pro wrestler’s left eye began to swell badly as a result of the beating delivered by his American assailant, as commentator Stephen Quadros commented: “That mouse has turned into a rat... and pretty soon it’s going to turn into an elephant.”

A failed suplex from Takayama ended with his opponent in the full mount position and, after Frye landed several solid shots to Yoshihiro’s head, the referee stopped the fight, giving the former UFC tournament champion the TKO victory.

The crowd were on

their feet by the end,

the atmosphere in the arena summed up by Quadros when he said: “I’m going to lose my hearing, the crowd is so loud!”