Issue 098

February 2013

Mixed martial arts history is littered with highlight-reel and jaw-dropping moments, but have you seen them all? FO presents its favourite individual rounds from almost two decades of MMA inside the world’s biggest cages

Round 2: Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar 

TUF Finale, Las Vegas, Nevada, April 9th 2005

Sandwiched between a frenetic first and a bloody, exhausting third, the second round of one of the most important fights in MMA history was when it became clear this was something more than just a great scrap. After their all-out first round offensives, both Griffin and Bonnar were exhausted and things degenerated into a fantastic, wild-swinging barroom brawl that switched millions of viewers onto the UFC and guaranteed both men would have jobs with the promotion for the rest of their active careers. Griffin eventually walked away with the decision win and a very messed up face. 

Round 1: Daisuke Nakamura vs. Hideo Tokoro

Dynamite!!, Tokyo, Japan, December 31st 2008

An amazing display of relentless, creative, high-calibre grappling, this fight lasted a mere 143 seconds but featured more action on the mat than most fights 10 times as long. By far the best fight of an eclectic 17-match, year-end spectacular, they hit the canvas inside 10 seconds and from there battled furiously and relentlessly over submissions (both of them coming close to victory more than once) before Nakamura trapped Tokoro in a vicious armbar – tenaciously resisted for as long as possible – for the rousing win. 

Round 1: Cheick Kongo vs. Pat Barry 

UFC Live, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, June 26th 2011

Despite clocking in at just over half a round, Kongo and Barry’s dramatic finish earns a place on this list. In the space of around 20 seconds, Barry had Kongo in serious trouble twice, the big Frenchman’s legs completely disobeying orders as he flopped and slipped and stumbled all over the place as Barry scrambled to finish. But then, Barry walked straight into a right hand counter, fired off reflexes alone, before an uppercut switched out his lights – prompting commentator Joe Rogan to start shouting about, “one of the craziest stoppages” and “most amazing comebacks I have ever seen!” 

Round 1: Dan Henderson vs. Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua 

UFC 139, San Jose, California, November 19th 2011

The first UFC non-title main event to go the full five rounds, Henderson and Rua’s incredible fight started off with an enormous bang. Shogun came out strong but it was Henderson doing the most damage, landing knees and big right hands and flooring the Brazilian who was soon bleeding profusely. Fighting at a thunderous pace throughout the opening session, both men landed big shots with Rua even flooring the rampaging All-American late in the round only to take more shots when Henderson got up. As the buzzer fired, very few could have imagined four more rounds like this one. Eventually, an exhausted Henderson clung on for victory.

Round 2: Leonard Garcia vs. ‘The Korean Zombie’ 

WEC 48, Sacramento, California, April 24th 2010

Fights don’t come much more furious than this one. Topping the Griffin-Bonnar classic for speed, action and sheer disregard for defence and technique, Texan slugger Garcia – winging punches from his hips – and iron-chinned Chan Sung Jung lit up the preliminary fights, and each other, for 15 incredible minutes. After a brutal first round where both were in trouble and Garcia broke his right hand, they looked exhausted midway through the second but just kept swinging. Garcia in particular took some huge shots but each time fired back and eventually took a split decision in a fight so good no one cared who won or lost. 

Round 1: Dong Sik Yoon vs. Melvin Manhoef 

K-1 Dynamite!! USA, Los Angeles, California, June 2nd 2007

Realistically, you could probably pick any fight of animalistic Surinamese-Dutch kickboxer Manhoef’s MMA career and there’s a good chance of it ending up on a list like this. Utterly focused on attacking, and boasting 21 first-round finishes in 26 victories, he’s always good, if brief, value. Going into this with a negative MMA record, judoka Dong was a huge underdog. But he more than held his own in a brilliant and bruising first round, that left him with one eye swollen shut, before early in the second trapping Manhoef in an armbar for the shock victory.

Round 1: Nick Diaz vs. Paul Daley

Strikeforce, San Diego, California, April 9th 2011

When Strikeforce matched up one of the sport’s busiest strikers with one of its most explosive punchers it expected a great fight. What it, and the lucky, screaming, shouting, stomping fans in attendance and at home got, was perhaps the best one-round fight in MMA history. Exactly four minutes 57 seconds of frenetic, back-and-forth action for Diaz’s welterweight title in his final Strikeforce appearance ended with ‘The Stockton Bad Boy,’ floored and almost finished twice, knocking Daley down and pounding him into defeat just three seconds from the buzzer. 

Round 1: Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard II  

UFC 125, Las Vegas, Nevada, January 1st 2011

How then-reigning UFC 155lb champion Frankie Edgar survived Gray Maynard’s first-round onslaught remains something of a mystery. But he did, going on to retain his title with a draw after controlling most of the ensuing four rounds. The final verdict seemed unthinkable in the midst of the opener, where Maynard dropped Edgar three times, was pounding him into the mat, and at one point seemed just one big punch away from a dominating championship victory. Edgar, however, fought back each time, barely staying in the fight long enough to see out the round, before going on to turn things around.

Round 3: Diego Sanchez vs. Clay Guida 

TUF Finale, Las Vegas, Nevada, June 20th 2009

While not as frantic as the first round in which Guida survived Sanchez’s fast, pinpoint punching, a high kick knockdown and several tremendous flying knees, the third round of the year’s very best fight was, if anything, even more dramatic. Guida’s wild swinging, Sanchez’s multiple submission attempts, the crowd’s resounding ‘Guida, Guida, Guida’ chants, an unrelenting pace, Guida’s blood leaking everywhere and, as the final seconds ticked away, Guida taking his back and firing punch after punch until time ran out all made this five of the most entertaining minutes ever seen inside the cage.

Round 1: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Bob Sapp 

Pride: Shockwave, Tokyo, Japan, August 28th 2002

It’s easy now, watching his travelling circus of losing in the first round to the local fighter, to forget there was a time when ‘The Beast’ was not only a superstar but, thanks to his sheer size, strength and caveman brawling, a fearsome fighter. Sapp built that reputation largely on the first few minutes of this fight and his mauling, piledriving and bludgeoning of the comparatively tiny Nogueira in front of over 70,000 shrieking Japanese fans. ‘Minotauro’ survived the onslaught, started to take control by the end of a wild opener and armbarred Sapp in the second.

Round 2: Chuck Liddell vs. Wanderlei Silva

UFC 79, Las Vegas, Nevada, December 29th 2007

Too often, dream fights end up a disappointment as fan expectations built up so long, can’t possibly be satisfied. Liddell and Silva – long the standard bearers for UFC and Pride respectively – somehow managed when they finally met in the cage, to deliver, even in a fight that went the distance. An all-action scrap in front of an adoring crowd, the middle section of this fight is particularly notable as ‘The Axe Murderer’ of old, the wild, untamed brawler, put in an appearance, tearing into eventual winner Liddell with a fury and dropping him, only for ‘The Iceman’ to fire back, hurting and cutting the Brazilian. 

Round 2: Miguel Torres vs. Yoshiro Maeda 

WEC 34, Sacramento, California, June 1st 2008

Making the first defence of his WEC bantamweight title at a time when he was widely regarded as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the sport, Torres went into the second round bleeding and behind on the scorecards. Unleashing kicks, knees and uppercuts, his offensive was countered by Maeda’s sharp punches. They hit the mat, duelling for ankle locks before Torres started going for triangle and guillotine chokes. The damage to Maeda’s eye that would prompt the stoppage at the end of the third really started in this, a perfect round to showcase the sheer variety of attacks that make MMA so exciting.

Round 1: Don Frye vs. Yoshihiro Takayama 

Pride 21, Tokyo, Japan, June 23rd 2002

Quick question: how many MMA fights have been recreated, not once, but twice in movies? Frye and Takayama’s mutual, ‘let’s stand here and both punch each other in the face as fast as we can’ classic was re-enacted by the men themselves in 2005 Japanese action flick Nagurimono and in Kevin James’ recent MMA comedy Here Comes the Boom. A decade ago, Frye and Takayama went into the ring determined to entertain the audience and prove how tough/insane they were. They both succeeded on both counts in a truly unforgettable six-minute war, won by a Frye TKO.

Round 6: Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Royce Gracie

Playing with the Gracie family’s stacked deck, Japanese icon Sakuraba’s legendary Tokyo Dome victory over the undefeated Royce was one of the most dramatic fights in history. Contested over an unlimited number of 15-minute rounds with no judges or referee stoppages, their ‘Fight of the Century’ will simply never be matched for longevity. And what turned out to be the final round, taking the fight to the 90-minute mark, was its most dramatic. A limping, exhausted, dishevelled Royce had been punished, humiliated and beaten by a better, more creative opponent but stumbled on bravely, stubbornly, until his corner finally threw in the towel. 

Round 3: Michael Chandler vs. Eddie Alvarez

Bellator 58, Hollywood, Florida, November 19th 2011

One night, two events, two ‘Fight of the Year’ candidates. A couple of hours before Dan Henderson and ‘Shogun’ Rua went to war on the West Coast, Bellator’s lightweight champion and biggest star Alvarez attempted the second defence of his title, against dangerous tournament winner Chandler. That Chandler submitted Alvarez in the fourth round was shocking enough. That he did so after this third round in which Alvarez was picking him apart and repeatedly hurting him but never enough to put him away, is staggering. By far Alvarez’s best spell of the fight, it also showcased Chandler’s heart and chin.

Round 5: Tim Sylvia vs, Randy Couture

UFC 68, Columbus, Ohio, March 3rd 2007

Starting his improbable heavyweight title challenge after a year’s retirement by flooring the towering six-foot-eight champion, Couture set the stage for his stirring return in the opening seconds. That he spent around 24-and-a-half minutes of the five-round title fight in control took nothing away from the fight’s drama, or the atmosphere created by over 19,000 fans desperately urging ‘The Natural’ to victory. As Couture tired in the last, the audience, aware they were seeing something historic, counted down the final seconds in an unforgettable scene of joyous expectation.

Round 1: Takanori Gomi vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri

Pride: Bushido 9, Tokyo, Japan, September 25th 2005

At a time when most of the sport’s best lighter weight fighters competed in Japan, Gomi and Kawajiri faced off in a long-awaited dream match as part of the Pride Bushido lightweight grand prix. Starting off fast and never slowing down, both men fought evenly for a few minutes before ‘Fireball Kid’ Gomi repeatedly punished the ‘Crusher’ with his harsh, accurate punches. Still, every time Kawajiri appeared finished, he’d fight back until eventually, Gomi, after pounding on him on the mat, sunk in the decisive, fight-ending choke before going on to beat Luiz Azeredo, in another great scrap, later in the evening.

Urijah Faber vs. Jens Pulver

WEC 34, Sacramento, California, June 1st 2008

Less than an hour after Torres and Maeda’s battle (see previous pages), headliners Faber, the reigning WEC featherweight champion, and Pulver, the former UFC lightweight champion, were putting on a second-round show of their own. Scored 10-8 by two of the judges, Pulver took tremendous punishment in this round, at one point literally running from trouble. But whatever punishment the gutsy veteran took, he continually fought back. His stubbornness and the champion’s constant efforts to finish the fight earned them both a standing ovation. 

Round 5: Benson Henderson vs. Antony Pettis

WEC 53, Glendale, Arizona, December 16th 2010

Attempting the second defence of his WEC lightweight title, ‘Smooth’ Henderson spent 24 minutes battling challenger Pettis on the mat and on their feet in a fantastic, close fight. Then, with a minute remaining, Pettis took to the air, leaping off the cage with his now-legendary ‘Showtime kick,’ flooring Henderson with a spectacular attack that likely clinched him the judges’ verdict in a fittingly, almost poetic finish to a ‘Fight of the Year’ candidate in the last match on the last ever WEC event before the promotion’s UFC absorption.