This week was the two light heavyweight semi-finals. Forrest Griffin was allowed to fight with his cut, and he beat Sam in the second round with knees and punches to the head. Sam wasn't really hurt, but he was doing a bad job of defending himself. Stefan Bonner won the second fight against Mike Swick, using a triangle choke with two seconds of the first round remaining. Bonner was very impressive, espcially as he broke out of a choke earlier on (his face literally turned purple).
So the finals this Saturday are: -
Middleweight Division: - Sanchez vs Florian
Light Heavyweight Division: - Bonner vs Griffin
Superfight: - Shamrock vs Franklin
with the eliminated fighters in various recorded matches.
Did you hear Bonner ? A lesser man would've tapped out. Good fight though that one, thought Swick looked pretty good. Seemed to be confident in coming forward.
The first fight was pretty tame. I would've liked to have seen Griffin fight Sam without the cut as he was very cautious. I think it would've been over in a few seconds if he'd had fought like he did in his first fight. Sam looked a little better than expected though. Some good high kicks and seemed pretty confident.
Looking forward to the finals though. Both should be absolute wars!
I think Bonner vs Griffin will be a good fight, but I'm having doubts about the middleweight clash. Florian is a decent fighter, but you have to question whether he would've beaten Leben if he hadn't cut him. Admittedly, it was a great shot, but they don't happen every fight. Sanchez has looked dominant in all of his fights except for the last one. But even in that one, he was the aggressor. And Florian is nowhere as skilled in wrestling as Koscheck.
My picks for the 3 live fights would be: -
- Sanchez (comfortable win)
- Bonner (a close fight, but I think he's more complete a fighter than Griffin)
- Franklin (everyone wants to see Shamrock vs Ortiz, but I think Rich will have other ideas)
Jesus, just witnessed the best fight ever. Bonner vs Griffin. Unbelievable, go watch it.
Yep, couldn't agree more.....
.....which is more than I can say about the verdict. It was close, and should've gone to the sudden death round. I think Bonner would've won, as he looked in better condition. Over three rounds, there is no way that he lost unanimously.
At least they did the right thing by offering both of them a contract. I'd watch that fight again!
Without that fight, it was a disappointing show. Far too much talk for a two hour show (and that's with adverts removed). I don't know why they didn't show clips of the other fights.
Here are the results to the untelevised fights (therefore no need for spoilers): -
Alex Karalexis b Josh Raffery via knockout
Mike Swick b Alex Schoenauer via ref stoppage
Josh Koscheck b Chris Sanford via knockout
Nate Quarry b Lodune Sincaid via ref stoppage
Chris Leben b Jason Thacker
Sam Hoger b Bobby Southworth via unanimous decision
Forrest vs Stephane was an excellent fight and a great advert for the sport, its a shame there wasn't another round, very glad to see that Dana and the Ferttitas gave Stephane a contract too, he definately deserved it.
The MW fight was very predictable, Diego was clearly a far better and stronger fighter than Kenny was and was the deserved winner of the MW crown.
It will be interesting to see who the 3 guys get paired up against next. I can't wait for the next series of the show, they are going to do Heavyweights and Welterweights.
Regarding the main event, I think it's clear that Ken Shamrock should call it a day. I have been a big fan of his for years and he is one of the main reasons I became interested in MMA in the first place, it was sad to see him put in such a terrible performance on such a big stage, he looked very old and tired during the fight. Rich Franklin is an excellent fighter (he will have Tanner for breakfast if they fight again), but even he was surprised the fight was such a walkover. After the fight, I wish he had taken the opportunity to announce his retirement.
what can I say other than that was the greatest MMA fight I think I've ever witnessed.
UFC couldn't have hoped for a better display than that - the first live MMA on cable tv in the States.........hopefully the viewing figures did the fight justice
I was really glad both men got a contract out of it as the end as there really was no loser in that fight.
Have to agree about Ken - I thought Joe Rogan was trying to force a retirement announcement out of him at one stage but Ken was having none of it.
To be fair if he hand't kept falling over the outcome may well have been different
All in all I expect UFC are delighted with the way the show went & I really hope Bravo pick up the next series
.........hopefully the viewing figures did the fight justice
The tv rating was supposedly a slight disappointment. They were looking for 3 million viewers, but the actual figure was only 2.6 million (1.96 rating). Too much talk and not enough fighting was blamed for this.
Still, the numbers were the best for a Saturday in the history of the Spike TV channel. They are now talking about doing a third season as well as the second.
I dont think the content of the show can be blamed. The numbers were not as high as people had thought because it was shown on a Saturday, which is the worst ratings night of the week, never mind the fact that the other episodes were on a different day.
I dont think the content of the show can be blamed. The numbers were not as high as people had thought because it was shown on a Saturday, which is the worst ratings night of the week, never mind the fact that the other episodes were on a different day.
While I wouldn't disagree entirely, you still have to remember that when they make the ratings predictions, they will be taking into consideration what day and time the show is on.
You also have to remember, if you watched the same version that I did, that we were watching with all adverts removed. I think I read somewhere that it took about 40-45 minutes before they actually started building up the first fight. The version that I saw was 2 hours long. I'm not sure how long the US version with adverts was, but I'm guessing it was at least 2 and a half hours (15 minutes shorter than a typical UFC PPV). Total fight time was appoximately 20 minutes. I think a lot of casual fans watching would've been disappointed with how much talk was on the show. Even the hardcore fans would be disappointed by how much recapping they did of the previous 12 weeks.
Thankfully, noone could be disappointed with the Bonner vs Griffin fight, which definitely saved the show.
Excellent show
Dont know if I need to use spoilers but doesnt hurt
I wasn't as surprised as many people seem to be about Liddell winning the fight, he didn't perform to his best in the first encounter and I felt if he kept it standing he would have a very good chance. Nice to see him call out Wanderlei, that would be a good fight to see.
I would also like to say that, even though he lost, I still think Randy is an excellent fighter and wouldn't mind seeing a 3rd fight decider. Its a shame the fight couldn't have happened in February and then he could have represented UFC in the Pride MW tournie. It will be interesting to see who both these guys fight next, perhap Randy vs Babulu - winner gets Chuck
Hughes vs Trigg was a very exciting fight, I thought Trigg had the fight won twice (when he first got him on the ground and when he tried to choke him out), but Hughes pulled it out.
Of the other fights, I really enjoyed St. Pierre vs. Miller and Cote vs. Doerksen
I think age and the eye poke, caught Couture out in the main event (although he didn't look anywhere near as old as Shamrock). A very anti-climatic fight after months of build up.
Hughes vs Trigg was the best fight by a mile. I'm still not sure if Hughes is really that good, or if Trigg doesn't know how to finish. Probably a little of both.
St Pierre vs Miller was ok, but far too one-sided.
"I think age and the eye poke caught Couture out in the main event" - think you have been reading too much of the Sherdog forums mate, its very easy for people to suddenly jump on Couture's age if he loses rather than give Chuck credit for the punch. Sure Randy made a mistake, but for me he still has a couple of fights left in him.
"I think age and the eye poke caught Couture out in the main event" - think you have been reading too much of the Sherdog forums mate, its very easy for people to suddenly jump on Couture's age if he loses rather than give Chuck credit for the punch. Sure Randy made a mistake, but for me he still has a couple of fights left in him.
I can't say that I've been on the Sherdog site more than a couple of times, let alone know what they're saying on their Forums. But if that's what they're saying, then I agree with them. Couture has been superhuman for the last few years, but you have to draw the line somewhere. Winning at 40+ makes for some really nice headlines, using the "against all odds" angle, but eventually it catches up with you. Though, I do think the eye poke played a part, as those are distracting at the best of times, let alone when someone is trying to hit you.
I think Liddell is a great light heavyweight. He's now better than Couture, Ortiz and Belfort. But I don't think he should go to Pride (the interview after the fight was a bit dispespectful to UFC). I think there are a number of better fighters in his weight class than him, plus the difference between ring and cage tends to hurt UFC fighters.
I can't say that I've been on the Sherdog site more than a couple of times, let alone know what they're saying on their Forums. But if that's what they're saying, then I agree with them. Couture has been superhuman for the last few years, but you have to draw the line somewhere. Winning at 40+ makes for some really nice headlines, using the "against all odds" angle, but eventually it catches up with you. Though, I do think the eye poke played a part, as those are distracting at the best of times, let alone when someone is trying to hit you.
I think Liddell is a great light heavyweight. He's now better than Couture, Ortiz and Belfort. But I don't think he should go to Pride (the interview after the fight was a bit dispespectful to UFC). I think there are a number of better fighters in his weight class than him, plus the difference between ring and cage tends to hurt UFC fighters.
I dont care about "nice headlines", I am just sick of hearing fighters written off just because they lose a fight. You need to justify your statement, why did he look too old? he was hurt by a good punch that would hurt anyone and then knocked out by the following punch that would knock most fighters out. He still looks in very good shape and was moving as well as he has done on his feet.
Is Tito too old because he lost to Chuck? How about Babalu or Belfort?
Out of interest, who else do you think can beat Couture in the division? I think Silva is definately the number 1 guy, Couture, Liddell and Jackson are the on the next level and could probably beat each other on any particular day.
I dont care about "nice headlines", I am just sick of hearing fighters written off just because they lose a fight. You need to justify your statement, why did he look too old? he was hurt by a good punch that would hurt anyone and then knocked out by the following punch that would knock most fighters out. He still looks in very good shape and was moving as well as he has done on his feet.
Is Tito too old because he lost to Chuck? How about Babalu or Belfort?
Out of interest, who else do you think can beat Couture in the division? I think Silva is definately the number 1 guy, Couture, Liddell and Jackson are the on the next level and could probably beat each other on any particular day.
You might not care about "nice headlines", but the UFC has done for the last few years with Couture. They've built PPVs around it, where Couture is concerned.
As for why he looks too old, its justified by the fact that he's in his 40s. He's probably in as great shape as any 40 year old that I've ever seen, but he still looks like a veteran coming to the close of his career. You saw the same with Shamrock the week before (who looked even older). The giveaway was in the aftermatch interviews. Both were so humble, as if to acknowledge that their time was almost up.
Great punch by Liddell, no doubt. But why was he caught with the punch? Was it because Liddell was lucky (maybe)? Was it because Couture isn't a skilled fighter (absolutely not)? Was it because the eye poke through him off (maybe)? Or was it because, at 40+, he can't react quickly enough (maybe)? The comment about do I think Ortiz is too old because Liddell beat him is nonsense. Show me where I have said that people only lose fights because of their age. Ortiz most likely lost because Liddell wanted it more, Liddell is the better fighter, or because Ortiz lacks discipline/concentration when he's in the big fights. Maybe a combination of the three (definitely the latter). Now, its possible that some or all of these reasons could've been why Couture lost. I doubt if any fight is ever lost for one reason. But I still maintain that age was a factor (and your earlier comments about another Forum seem to suggest that I'm not the only one).
As for who I think could be Couture (or Liddell for that matter), well Silva goes without saying, regardless of the rules. Quinton Jackson has already beaten Liddell in Pride (and I'm not even the biggest fan of Jackson). Igor Vovchanchyn is another who I would put money on over the UFC fighters (ring or cage). Under Pride rules, I think Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Mauricio Shogun Rua and Yuki Kondo would also cause them problems. I'd like to say Yoshida too, but I think his best years are behind him, thanks to injury rather than age. Would the result change under UFC rules? Maybe. But we're unlikely to ever find out, as Pride is where the money is (including Liddell, following his comments after the fight).
I think Liddell is a great light heavyweight. He's now better than Couture, Ortiz and Belfort. But I don't think he should go to Pride (the interview after the fight was a bit dispespectful to UFC). I think there are a number of better fighters in his weight class than him, plus the difference between ring and cage tends to hurt UFC fighters.
Right after the fight when Dana normally goes in to say his "great fight" bit to the winner you could tell he wasn't too pleased that Chuck had raved about going to Pride to face Silva.
Overall I though it was a better show than UFC51 - The more I see of Matt Hughes the more I like the guy. Twice he was in a tough spot against Trigg and both times he managed to escape - he's hoping for a rematch with St Pierre (who was also impressive without really having to raise his game too much)
I for one would quite like to see Randy and Ken get it on - given the way they have both yo-yo'd through the weight divisions of late (In fact I can't remember what Ken is classed at now!) I'm sure that would be a big pull even if it would potentially be to the detriment of some of the up & comers
Hopefully one of the "ultimate fighters" will feature in UFC53 (against someone other than was on the show) as well
..................but I still maintain that age was a factor (and your earlier comments about another Forum seem to suggest that I'm not the only one).
So whats your Sherdog id? Seriously though, I wouldn't be so proud of the sharing the opinion of these guys.
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Igor Vovchanchyn is another who I would put money on over the UFC fighters (ring or cage). Under Pride rules, I think Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Mauricio Shogun Rua and Yuki Kondo would also cause them problems. I'd like to say Yoshida too, but I think his best years are behind him, thanks to injury rather than age. Would the result change under UFC rules? Maybe. But we're unlikely to ever find out, as Pride is where the money is (including Liddell, following his comments after the fight).
No I would take Couture or Liddell against any of those guys at the moment, but you have a right to your opinion, they would be some excellent matchups though and I would expect any of them to "cause problems" to even Wanderlei.
Ive only just got into UFC after my friend showing me the Final of the Ultimate Fighter. Bonnar v Griffin was awesome! I'd like to see each of those take on their trainers at some point, although it would be stupid for them to do that until they are fully trained up! Definately some potential there though! As for UFC 52 - quite enjoyed it, and as only my second venture into the world of MMA i think i could have done worse!!
? A lesser man would've tapped out. Good fight though that one, thought Swick looked pretty good. Seemed to be confident in coming forward.
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