There are several parallels between the catch wrestler and the karateka anyway. They are both UFC champions. Both fought in Japan, with Shamrock being the more decorated fighter in the Land of the Rising Sun; going 18-4 in legit fights, and winning a Pancrase tournament to become first King of Pancrase. And both were proclaimed to own their own “era” – though Machida’s only lasted 3 title fights, which included a robbery decision that gave him an undeserved second title defence. Shamrock fought in five successive UFC title fights; ironically it would be robbery that stripped him of his UFC Superfight title; the belt that was renamed the Heavyweight championship in the following superfight. And that robbery occurred in Detroit; a place that the UFC returned to last night, after avoiding the site of the car crash that was UFC 9 for a full fourteen and a half years.
The difference between both fights I suppose, is that it can be argued that Machida was not in fact robbed. This, I’m sure, would stem from his partisan support; enthused by his use of the Pride theme as an entrance song, and his storied past in the sport. But make no bones; my prediction and analysis wasn’t wrong. Rampage followed Machida around the Octagon, utilising no skills other than his punches and a boxer-brawler gameplan. And while Machida – wary of Jackson’s power – did not counter strike with quite so much venom as he did against the likes of Rashad and Silva, he still made Rampage hit thin air enough times, and landed his own shots when he needed to.
Quite frankly, Rampage did not win this fight. Much like Dan Severn years ago; who fought for only 2 minutes of a total 30, and only managed to cut Shamrock with elbows and punches – two attacks that were expressly forbidden by the Michigan courts, and a rule that Ken stuck to throughout the fight. In this case, the brawler who managed to land a few shots on Machida’s chin, who countered Lyoto’s most aggressive attack of the night (a lightning quick riposte that backed Jackson up to the cage in the third; when Quinton fired back, Machida took him down) but who by and large was frustrated and out-foxed, earned the split decision.
And even he admitted he shouldn’t have got it. Very classy on his part. I await the rematch with interest.
BJ Penn may have been proved a false God at lightweight, but he certainly raised some eyebrows with a great display back up at welter. He earned the 2-1 trilogy victory over former long time UFC champion Matt Hughes, by tagging him hard and clean with a straight right cum hook after only twenty seconds in the first round, and forcing the stoppage as he prepared to unload on his dazed foe. While he remains behind the likes of former p4p top 3 Melendez, and lightweight GOAT contender Shinya Aoki in the 155lbs divisional rankings, he put his name back up in the p4p debate for sure.
George Sotiropoulos earned a very respectable scalp with his second round kimura over the game Joe Lauzon. Bad cardio will out; as Lauzon took the fight to GSot early, in the manner of his last fight against Gabe Reudigar, for which he earned a “submission of the night” bonus. No such bonus on this card; as it was his turn to tap as his cardio lagged drastically and the Aussie took full advantage. With this win, the man from Convict Country definitely forced his name into the UFC title picture, and he may only need one or two wins to earn a shot at whoever the title incumbent may be.
His success serves to show what a beast Aoki was even before his prime. Banzai, y’alllllll….
Maiquel Falcao put on a great display for two rounds, then promptly lost every single fan he’d managed to earn! He certainly lived up to his reputation for early finishes and of course the Chute Boxe legacy, when he thoroughly dominated Gerald Harris in round 1, forcing what appeared to be a tap just before the bell. I believe it was a fake tap; the ruse that Joe Warren and others have employed with varying levels of success. Either way, karma is a bitch, as Falcao held onto the choke after the bell anyway, so boo to you, sugar tits. Nice try.
Regardless, any potential fan he may have wowed with round 1, he spectacularly lost in round 3 with an Anderson-esque performance. While it was still enough to win him the points decision, he did the reputation of Chute Boxe no favours. Anderson is one thing, as he left long ago; Falcao is an active representative. Chute Boxe was best represented by the excitement brought by this man;
Yes, Wanderlei Silva. While I’ve never been too keen on his head butt on one of my faves, the underrated and oft robbed legend Guy Mezger, you still cant help but love watching Wanderlei.
THAT is Chute Boxe to many people; along with Murilo Rua, Mauricio Rua, Anderson at his devastating best, Evangelista Cyborg and his deadly wife. THAT is Chute Boxe.
No one escapes the action in a ring; no one but Takada and Mike Bernardo. That’s all I’m saying…..
Phil Davis put on another impressive display, wearing impressive tight pink trunks. While it was uncomfortable watching him grapple with pink shorts disappearing up his arse crack, his performance nearly made up for it with his doube wrist lock behind the back; which Rogan and he christened the “Mr Wonderful” in the post-fight interview. While catch wrestling enthusiasts will probably claim that this is yet another move stolen (though for once, not by Brazilian Jiu Jitsu practitioners) it was still a very interesting way to end a fight.
Davis is slowly but surely creeping up the light-heavyweight rankings. Give him time.
Matt “The Immortal” Brown was proved very mortal with the tenth loss of his career, against eleven wins. Now, far be it for me to be cynical, but aren’t we constantly reminded that UFC houses only “the best fighting the best”, and that anyone else, such as Fedor, Shinya Aoki, Alistair Overeem, Sergei Kharitonov, Josh Barnett, Jacare Souza, Eddie Alvarez and many, many more are simply “ducking” the UFC, or just not good enough to begin with. Now I’m not being funny, but when the 32-1 (2NC) Fedor “is a fraud” and “overrated” according to UFC, with more top 10 wins than any other heavyweight, and yet UFC has guys like the 11-10 gatekeeper Brown on their cards, something is wrong with the “UFC = the best fighting the best” propaganda line.
And that’s not a knock on Brown. But some myths need shattering, and this one just had to be at his expense. Sorry mate.
The other victors of the night were Scouser Paul Kelly, who continues to forge a respectable career; Nick Lentz, who was given a questionable split-decision over Tyson Griffin, Edson Barboza, who lit up Mike Lullo with leg kicks until he could no longer stand; Mark Munoz, who earned a unanimous decision over Aaron Simpson, and Dennis Hallman, who managed to stop Karo Parisyan in only ninety seconds, in a nightmare return for the Judoka.
A mixed bag of a card. In large parts, highly enjoyable. In two robberies, ugly. In pure hype; standard UFC fare. And there were several guys that made a noise last night, in Davis, GSot, BJ and then for entirely the wrong reasons, Falcao.
A good card. It’s been emotional.
Fletch
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