Fighters Only

Issue 014

June 2006

Sylvia Regains Title and Tito Triumphant in Return

15^th April 2006, Anaheim, California

By Damon Martin. Photos by Dave Mandel

In a year that has already seen its fair share of upsets, Tim Sylvia proved just about everybody wrong and defeated Andrei Arlovski in the first round of their fight, regaining the UFC heavyweight title.

In front of a packed house at the Pond, in Anaheim, California, Tim Sylvia was able to withstand a very heavy shot from his opponent early in the fight and recover almost immediately, which led to him landing a punch of his own that floored the now former champion. As Arlovski fell to the mat and covered up, Sylvia seized the moment and started to reign down bombs on his head, causing the referee to call a stop to the fight and declared Tim Sylvia the new UFC heavyweight champion.

It was Arlovski’s initial shot that brought the crowd to its feet, but just as quickly, Sylvia recovered and caught Arlovski with a short uppercut that sent him to the canvas. The referee stopped the fight before any harm could come to Arlovski, who was raising his hand to block the oncoming shots but doing nothing to improve his position on the ground to prevent the strikes. Tim Sylvia, who was seemingly written off before this fight even happened, walked out champion and put the title back around his waist, something he has adamantly stated was his ultimate goal.

In other action, Tito Ortiz made his return to the octagon to take on Forrest Griffin, and much like his last fight with Vitor Belfort, controversy reigned supreme as Ortiz walked out with a split decision victory.

As the fight began, Tito looked like he was back in his old form when he took Griffin down and proceeded to unleash a barrage of punches and elbows from inside the guard. Tito’s double leg takedown was flawless and quick, just like when he was taking out fighters like Ken Shamrock only a few years ago. He opened a cut above and below Forrest’s left eye that made many wonder if the fight would even see a second round.

Griffin just about survived the first round and as the second began, something seemed to change with Tito’s approach to the fight. He was stepping fairly gingerly throughout the second round and his shot was much slower and he wasn’t driving through his opponent to truly go for the takedown. Griffin went for a number of combinations to score the necessary points to win the second round, but did no real damage to Ortiz.

The third started off with more of the same, but this time both men started to land more shots that could have put an end to the fight. Tito was stuffed a few times when he was going for takedowns in the second and third rounds but he managed to finally get a hold of Griffin’s leg late in the last round and he opened up with more punches and elbows.

The judges turned in a split decision for Tito Ortiz, and many fans were upset with the announcement and started to boo in the arena. The fact is that when the fight was over, Forrest had multiple lacerations on his face and very well could have lost the first round with a 10-8 score due to the pounding that Ortiz gave out. The second round was definitely Forrest but he did nothing to really show dominance with either a takedown or a knockdown. The third was more even, but Tito’s striking was on par that round and he did manage a takedown that allowed him to resume his ground and pound attack. In the end, both fighters should be proud of their performances but unfortunately it was revealed post fight that Tito has a tear of the ligaments in his knee and may well be out for an undisclosed amount of time.

In a fight that helped to determine the #1 contender for the heavyweight title, Jeff Monson took on Marcio “Pe De Pano” Cruz, in what ended up being a fairly boring fight. Both fighters pride themselves on ground fighting but most of this battle took place on the feet, with Monson landing the more effective shots despite giving up more than a few inches in reach. Monson won a split decision over Cruz, and will now wait for a chance to take on the new champion, Tim Sylvia.

Evan Tanner returned in great fashion with a triangle choke victory over WEC veteran Justin Levens, who took the fight on only a few weeks notice. Tanner went back to working on the ground, which is what made him such a dangerous opponent for many years. Levens fought very hard and should be commended for taking the fight on short notice and still putting on a great fight.

In the swing bout, Sean Sherk fought against Nick Diaz at 170lbs, apparently for the last time, as he now plans to drop to fight at 155lbs. Sherk won by a comfortable decision over Diaz, and the fight was pretty uneventful with the exception of a couple of takedowns Sherk was able to secure. Diaz attempted a few submissions but neither fighter truly dominated. Sherk walked away with the victory however, and now we will wait and see if Nick Diaz will return to the octagon after his third straight loss.

Overall, UFC 59 has to be seen as a success with their debut in California and a sold out crowd standing behind them at all times. Sylvia’s win was unexpected but it does open up some interesting possibilities for future match-ups. Tito Ortiz, the local star, won his fight yet probably won’t get a chance to fight again until he’s healthy, and that will most likely be against Ken Shamrock after The Ultimate Fighter season 3 ends.