MMA/Boxing

UFC 81 Review

About three years ago, Randy Couture said in an interview with Grappling magazine that submissions would become much less prevalent in MMA because all fighters were learning how to defend them. For fans of jiu-jitsu and submissions in the Octagon (like myself), I’m glad that prediction was off the mark. Four fights at UFC 81 (all of which were all on the main card) ended via submission in a crazy night of action.

In what would have to be classified as a surprise finish, Nate Marquardt tapped Jeremy Horn with a nasty guillotine early in the second round. While Marquardt is a BJJ black belt, Horn is the reputation for being one of the truly spectacular submission guys in the business.

In the co-main event—and the fight most fans probably tuned in for—Frank Mir survived a brutal ground and pound onslaught in the opening minute from Brock Lesnar before hooking in a tight knee bar. This was a fun fight to watch. Lesnar, who looked like an absolute physical beast, snagged a quick takedown and pounded Mir with punches and hammer fists before referee Steve Mazzagatti stopped the action to take a point away from Lesnar for hitting behind the head. (Lots of controversy with that call—not only did Mazzagatti take away Brock’s momentum by calling a halt to the action, but he took a point away with no prior warning.) They restarted on their feet, with Brock decking Mir with a right hand. This, to me, was where Lesnar showed is inexperience with ground positioning in MMA. Instead of immediately mounting Mir, he gained a weak side control position and furiously reigned down punches, nearly getting caught in an arm bar before Mir rolled into guard. Lesnar stood up, leaving his leg too exposed. The crafty Mir used both his legs to secure Lesnar’s leg and synched the knee bar.  Lesnar certainly showed his inexperience and nearly won anyway. With a few years of good technical training, there is no reason to believe he won’t be a top contender.  With his win, Mir is as marketable as he has been in four years. I’d love to see a rematch with Silvia, although I saw a report from the Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer that that fight won’t happen now.

For the heavyweight title, Antonio Nogueira did what he did many times throughout his career—took a beating from the “Maine-iac” before finally pulling guard and scrambling for a guillotine to tap out Sylvia. Nogueira is the first man to win the heavyweight title for both Pride and UFC.  You have to feel bad for Sylvia, who was winning the fight with solid takedown defense and peppering Nogs with crosses and hooks (particularly in the first round, where he floored the Brazilian with a right cross-left hook combination).  After the fight, Nogueira asked for Randy Couture to come back to the UFC for a heavyweight show down. Not likely, I guess, but it’s the only heavyweight title fight that makes sense. The UFC isn’t going to give Sylvia an immediate rematch. So, who gets the next shot? It won’t be Arlovski. It won’t be Vera.  It shouldn’t be Mir. Perhaps Fabricio Werdum with his recent win over Gabriel Conzaga, but remember, Werdum had lost his previous UFC fight to Arlovski. It’s too bad that Josh Barnett isn’t in the UFC for a rubber match with Nogs.  

Notes:

I went 1-2 in my UFC 81 main card picks, picking Marquardt, but incorrectly picking Lesnar and Sylvia. (I had picked Adam Belcher, but he since he had to pull of the fight, I’m not counting that fight.)

In boxing news, there have been some big bouts signed for the spring, with almost all of them available on HBO. The April 12 card on HBO will feature Miguel Cotto defending his WBA welterweight title. But, the real fight to watch that night will be the rematch between Kermit Cintron (the IBF welterweight champ) vs. Antonio Margarito, the former WBO welterweight champion. In 2005, Cintron was the undefeated prospect when he fought Margarito. Margartio beat Cintron down, TKOing him in the 5^th round. Since then, Cintron has looked extremely impressive, winning five straight fights, all by knock out. Margarito lost his title last July to Paul Williams, so he’ll be looking to re-establish himself as a major player in a stacked welterweight division.  That should be a hell of a fight. A week later on HBO, Bernard Hopkins defends his Ring magazine light heavyweight title against Ring magazine super middleweight champ Joe Calzaghe.  Two weeks after than on HBO, Oscar De La Hoya is scheduled a tune up fight in anticipation for his fall rematch with Floyd Mayweather. It’s always nice to see a legend like Oscar without dropping 50 bucks.

Next week, we have our first book review on Matt Hughes’ new autobiography, Made in America.   In the coming weeks, we’ll also review Chuck Liddell’s Iceman: My Fighting Life, which was published last Tuesday. (I’m about half way through it and it’s fantastic.)