Issue 006

August 2005

The Ultimate Fighting Championship went from the all out success of The Ultimate Fighter reality series on television into a record setting pay-per-view show, at least under Zuffa’s reign, to an exciting but less than star packed card at UFC 53. On August 20, the number one promotion in North America returns with another stellar card featuring the main event rematch of new light heavyweight eltster Chuck Liddell and the hardest working man in MMA, Jeremy Horn.

As has become the norm for the UFC of late, every other show is a star-studded card with more of a building show in between. UFC 53: Boiling Point definitely falls in the star-studded category with the aforementioned main event along with the debut of The Ultimate Fighter winner Diego Sanchez; the return of the likes of Randy Couture, Matt Lindland, Frank Trigg, and Georges St. Pierre; and the next Brazilian entry into the UFC, Assuerio Silva. 

UFC Light Heavyweight Championship: Chuck Liddell vs Jeremy Horn

At UFC 52, after years of chasing down Tito Ortiz, Chuck Liddell knocked out then champion Randy Couture in spectacular fashion to finally earn the light heavyweight belt. At Boiling Point he makes the first defence of his belt against the first man to ever defeat him in an MMA competition Jeremy Horn.

That fight was more than six years ago. Both fighters have been through a lot since then. Liddell has earned his way into title contention and then spent years chasing down champion Tito Ortiz. In the meantime, Liddell was rebuked in his title attempt against Randy Couture, knocked out Ortiz (sans the belt) and then re-matched and took the title from Couture, and had a great number of high profile bouts in between. Probably the busiest fighter in the world of MMA Horn has been busy himself, having fought 60 odd times since that win over Liddell in early 1999. 

The biggest difference between the two is that Liddell, while not mounting up as much experience as Horn, has consistently fought the top fighters available and only lost to two: Randy Couture and Quinton Jackson. Horn, on the other hand, has been very successful winning the better part of those 60-plus fights, but has consistently had a difficult time overcoming the likes of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Randy Couture, Ricardo Arona, Renato ‘Babalu’ Sobral and Anderson Silva. 

As far as fighting styles go, Horn has gone on record as saying that Liddell really hasn’t changed since their first fight. And he is right. Liddell really fights very much the same way that he did in 1999. He prefers to stay on his feet and strike, looking for that big knockout win. The difference is he is much, much better at it than he was back then. His sprawl is better. His movement is better. His strikes are more powerful. His submission defence is better. And he is probably the best in the game at getting out from underneath another fighter and back to his feet, where the fight comes to his world.

To be fair, Horn has developed quite a bit as well. At the time of their first meeting, Horn was primarily a submission fighter with nary a flash of striking ability. He is still one of the best at submissions in MMA, but his striking game has improved by leaps and bounds. He has added a solid arsenal of punches, kicks, knees and elbows, to the point that he is now a legitimate threat to knock fighters out. Just ask Forrest Griffin, Chael Sonnen and some of the other fighters that he has traded blows with.

This fight is set to be an amazing battle. Although his striking is now legitimate, Horn will probably want to take this fight to the ground where his MMA submissions are second to none. Liddell, as always, will want to keep this one on the feet and will be looking to exact revenge on Horn with one of his devastating knockouts. The biggest question will be who will be successful in imposing their strategy?

?Light Heavyweight Bout: Randy Couture vs Mike Van Arsdale

Despite his loss of the title to Liddell, Couture has never faltered in saying that he wants to continue fighting. He loves the sport; he loves the training; he loves the competition. He wants to continue until his body tells him it is time to move on.

Following the loss, there was much speculation as to who his next opponent would be. One of the more exciting considerations was a match with Babalu Sobral. Whether it was or wasn’t a realistic possibility, Sobral went down in training with a torn biceps muscle which removed him from any consideration altogether.

As a result, Couture will return to the Octagon against long-time veteran Mike Van Arsdale.

Having made his MMA debut in Brazil more than seven years ago, Van Arsdale hasn’t been the busiest fighter in the world. He’s more of the anti-Jeremy Horn, you might say, fighting just nine times in his career. The one thing you can say is that he has been very successful turning those nine fights into an 8-1 record. His only loss was handed to him by Pride Middleweight Champion Wanderlei Silva back in 1998. In the UFC he has won both of his fights including a victory earlier this year over John Marsh in the heavyweight division. Weighing in at 215 pounds for that fight, Van Arsdale wisely made the move down to light heavyweight.

Both fighters are known for their Olympic-calibre wrestling ability, but Couture has really set himself apart in MMA when you compare him to Van Arsdale. Whereas Van Arsdale has defined himself by his wrestling abilities — garnering most of his wins by holding his opponents down and finishing with ground ‘n’ pound or basic wrestler-type submissions but Couture has added to his arsenal. 

Though his base is still wrestling and ground ‘n’ pound, Couture, unlike Van Arsdale, has brought a more active element to his ground ‘n’ pound attacks and has really displayed a strong ability to strike on the feet. His kicks aren’t of the type to take someone’s head off, but Couture proved to the world that his hands are more than adequate when he went toe-to-toe with Chuck Liddell and out-struck the striker. 

Both fighters will come into this bout with their rock-solid conditioning. If it goes the distance, this will not be much of a factor. The difference maker could be that while Van Arsdale has been very successful, Couture has been the much busier fighter and has seemed to add more abilities to his arsenal. However, fighting most of his career at heavyweight, it will be interesting to see if Van Arsdale gains the spark that Couture did when he dropped to light heavyweight.

Welterweight Bout: Frank Trigg vs. Georges St. Pierre

This fight has fireworks primed and ready for explosion. Not only are these two of the best welterweight fighters in the world today, but Trigg, in his usual fashion, has added a bit of gunpowder to this one consistently calling St. Pierre a ‘B Class’ fighter. Needless to say, St. Pierre has taken offense to that comment and is looking to make Trigg eat his words.

In his past seven bouts, Trigg has only lost twice and both times to UFC Welterweight Champion and Octagon legend Matt Hughes. And outside of Charuto Verissimo, no one else has even come close to defeating him in that span. He has proven his worth in the UFC, showing himself to be a strong striker and wrestler with tremendous resolve. His flair with words has only added to the drama that is inherent in a fight, making him a very marketable fighter.

Georges St. Pierre entered the Octagon little more than a year and a half ago, but has quickly established himself as one of the most athletically gifted and diverse fighters in the welterweight division. Interestingly, with an 8-1 record, it was his lone loss to champion Matt Hughes that seemed to define him as one of the top fighters in the world. He was doing well against Hughes, winning the fight and landing a stunning kick to his midsection, before being caught in an arm bar and tapping out with just one second left in the first round. Since then, he has defeated UFC veteran Dave Strasser and a very game Jason Miller en route to cementing his spot as a contender.

Both fighters possess tremendous conditioning and excellent all-around skill. Trigg is a stronger wrestler and maybe even a more tenacious striker with his hands, but St. Pierre is probably the more well rounded fighter of the two with a better submission game and a more varied array of strikes at his disposal. This fight is primed to be an Octagon classic and should set the tone for the future of the welterweight division. 

Middleweight Bout: Matt Lindland vs. Joe Riggs

Yes, Matt Lindland was promised the first shot at the middleweight title that Rich Franklin took from Evan Tanner at UFC 53. But in his true blue-collar, workmanlike fashion Lindland did not want to wait around for Franklin to finish shooting the second season of The Ultimate Fighter (Franklin is one of the coaches) before he got his shot. Besides, Riggs has been more than vocal on the internet, throwing jabs at Lindland and questioning the elder fighter’s ranking near the top of the middleweight division.

It seems that Lindland has been in question for one thing or another since he started fighter. Either he’s not skilled enough or he’s too boring or too bald or whatever. But there is no denying his rock solid 14-3 record. He has only lost to Murilo Bustamante, Falaniko Vitale, and David Terrell, three very impressive competitors. As for his abilities, he has finished nine of his fourteen victories by various avenues. He even choked out Brazilian Jiujitsu black belt Travis Lutter in his last Octagon appearance.

On the other hand, Riggs himself has been very impressive in racking up a 22-6 record with his only loss in his last ten fights being to the always-slick submission wizard Ivan Salaverry. Not as varied in his technique as Lindland, Riggs is known for brutally pounding out his opponents in one fashion or another, but usually from inside their guard dropping down devastating elbows and punches that put out the lights. This will be Riggs’ first time back in the UFC since losing to Salaverry. It will be interesting to see what he can do against a cagy veteran such as Lindland who has a knack for making his opponents look bad.

Heavyweight Bout: Tim Sylvia vs. Assuerio Silva

Tim Sylvia returns to the Octagon having lost his last two battles there, albeit to world-class competitors in current Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir and current interim Heavyweight Champion Andre Arlovski. Facing Sylvia will be Assuerio Silva, a dominating Brazilian making his UFC debut.

Sylvia walked a long road to the UFC, earning his way by defeating nearly all of the top up and coming heavyweights. He really established himself when he was given a shot against then champion Ricco Rodriguez at a time when everyone thought it was too soon for him to step up. He shocked the world with his knockout of Rodriguez and then did the same to top contender Gan McGee before having his arm broken by Mir and then being submitted by Arlovski. 

Having floated back and forth between Japan and Brazil, Assuerio has dominated most of his opponents en route to a 10-2 record. His career is highlighted on the Pride stage by a win over Valentijn Overeem on and a split decision loss to Aleksander Emelianenko (Fedor’s brother). 

This should be another great war on the feet. Both Sylvia and Silva are known for throwing down. While Assuerio has some submissions to his credit, he’s not really as slick as Mir or Arlovski and would probably have trouble catching Tim. In all likelihood, these two will be content to battle it out with their striking to see who the last man standing will be.

Welterweight Bout: Diego Sanchez vs. Brian Gassaway

Having won The Ultimate Fighter reality series in the middleweight division, Diego Sanchez makes his UFC debut in his more natural category of welterweight. The first test for the Ultimate Fighter? Longtime MMA veteran and Shonie Carter training partner Brian Gassaway.

Having cut his teeth in MMA by dominating the King of the Cage promotion, Sanchez ripped like a chain saw through the competition on The Ultimate Fighter. He has good takedowns, excellent submissions and a solid striking game. More than anything else though, Sanchez has the mentality of a man on a mission. He seems born to be a champion and has long deserved to be in the UFC even before his appearance on The Ultimate Fighter. 

Brian Gassaway has long been successful on ‘B level’ promotions against ‘B level’ competition and has more than thirty bouts to his credit. But he has never made an appearance in the UFC, Pride or K-1. He is a very strong striker with pretty solid submission skills. This is his shot. Gassaway could really step up and make a name for himself with a win over Sanchez. In all honesty though, he is a journeyman fighter and a test for Sanchez to establish himself in the UFC. That’s not to say that Gassaway doesn’t possess the ability to win this fight because he does, especially if he can keep it standing. But Sanchez is definitely the favorite going in to this fight and is expected to win.

Middleweight Bout: David Terrell vs. Trevor Prangley

Another in the long line of successful Cesar Gracie fighters, with little MMA experience, world-renowned grappler David Terrell made a big splash in his UFC debut by knocking out Matt Lindland in just 25 seconds. That earned him a title shot against Evan Tanner who used Terrell for a ground and pound clinic en route to winning the belt. 

His grappling skills never in doubt, Terrell returns to the UFC still needing to establish just where he stands in the world of MMA. Yes, he knocked out Lindland, but it was a quick fight and we didn’t get to see much from him. The same with Tanner, it was a short fight in which he was quickly put on the defensive and we still weren’t privy to witnessing much of what Terrell could do in the ring.

This will be Prangley’s second appearance in the Octagon having won his debut against Curtis Stout at UFC 48. With an overall record of 10-1, his only loss to Babalu, Prangley is an established veteran that is known for his physical strength and a diverse all-around game. He has takedowns, he can knock fighters out, and he’s no stranger to locking on submissions for the tapout. This fight with Terrell should be a very competitive bout that will help establish the rankings in the UFC’s middleweight class.

Heavyweight Bout: James Irvin vs. Terry Martin

Always trying hard to find heavyweight talent, the UFC has added a ninth bout to this card. James Irvin lost his UFC debut to Mike Kyle at UFC 51, but has since rebounded as World Extreme Cagefighting’s Heavyweight Champion by knocking out Doug Marshall. That win was impressive enough to earn him another shot at the spotlight. Though he didn’t look too good against Kyle, being knocked out in under two minutes, Irvin will step in with Terry Martin looking to display the all-around skills that have earned him an 8-1 record and built him up as one of the top fighters in California.

With a 10-0 record, Martin, like Irvin, has built his reputation fighting his way through the smaller promotions. Unlike Irvin, he is more of a striker, although he also has a good all-around game, but probably isn’t as dangerous as Irvin on the ground.

With only one professional fight going the distance between these two, don’t expect a long, wearing bout. Though it is only a three-round fight, it’s not likely to go the full fifteen minutes. With the UFC’s heavyweight division currently being so thin, expect the winner to move into a higher profile bout within the next couple of shows and if it is a back and forth battle, the loser even has a shot at sticking around.

Despite his loss of the title to Liddell, Couture has never faltered in saying that he wants to continue fighting. He loves the sport; he loves the training; he loves the competition. He wants to continue until his body tells him it is time to move on.

Following the loss, there was much speculation as to who his next opponent would be. One of the more exciting considerations was a match with Babalu Sobral. Whether it was or wasn’t a realistic possibility, Sobral went down in training with a torn biceps muscle which removed him from any consideration altogether.

As a result, Couture will return to the Octagon against long-time veteran Mike Van Arsdale.

Having made his MMA debut in Brazil more than seven years ago, Van Arsdale hasn’t been the busiest fighter in the world. He’s more of the anti-Jeremy Horn, you might say, fighting just nine times in his career. The one thing you can say is that he has been very successful turning those nine fights into an 8-1 record. His only loss was handed to him by Pride Middleweight Champion Wanderlei Silva back in 1998. In the UFC he has won both of his fights including a victory earlier this year over John Marsh in the heavyweight division. Weighing in at 215 pounds for that fight, Van Arsdale wisely made the move down to light heavyweight.

Both fighters are known for their Olympic-calibre wrestling ability, but Couture has really set himself apart in MMA when you compare him to Van Arsdale. Whereas Van Arsdale has defined himself by his wrestling abilities — garnering most of his wins by holding his opponents down and finishing with ground ‘n’ pound or basic wrestler-type submissions but Couture has added to his arsenal. 

Though his base is still wrestling and ground ‘n’ pound, Couture, unlike Van Arsdale, has brought a more active element to his ground ‘n’ pound attacks and has really displayed a strong ability to strike on the feet. His kicks aren’t of the type to take someone’s head off, but Couture proved to the world that his hands are more than adequate when he went toe-to-toe with Chuck Liddell and out-struck the striker. 

Both fighters will come into this bout with their rock-solid conditioning. If it goes the distance, this will not be much of a factor. The difference maker could be that while Van Arsdale has been very successful, Couture has been the much busier fighter and has seemed to add more abilities to his arsenal. However, fighting most of his career at heavyweight, it will be interesting to see if Van Arsdale gains the spark that Couture did when he dropped to light heavyweight.