TITO ORTIZ vs. WANDERLEI SILVA

(The abridged version of the fight, which Ortiz won by unanimous decision.)

When it happened: 4/14/00, at UFC 25
When it should have happened: Spring 2003
Why: Ortiz vs. Silva was an entertaining scrap between two young contenders for the UFC’s vacant "middleweight" belt. If they met three years later, it would have been a superfight. By the end of 2002, Ortiz had defended his title five times — he’d lose it in September 2003 to Randy Couture — while Silva was PRIDE’s middleweight ruler, owning a 12-0-1 record in the promotion and two successful title defenses. With Ortiz at the end of his reign and Wandy near the middle of his, it would have been an ideal moment to establish bragging rights for one of MMA’s two leading organizations.
Prediction: Depends on where the fight was held. If Ortiz had home-field advantage, he’d probably still be able to grind out a decision win. In Japan, it would be Wanderlei via soccer-kick death.

DIEGO SANCHEZ vs. KENNY FLORIAN

(Click the image to go to the video. Sanchez def. Florian via TKO, 2:49 of round 1.)

When it happened: 4/9/05, at the Ultimate Fighter 1 Finale
When it should have happened: Sometime next year.
Why: Kenny Florian had enough talent and heart to make it to the finals of TUF 1 as a 185-pounder, but it was only a matter of time before he was squashed by another talented fighter who was more experienced and better suited to the weight; Diego Sanchez just happened to be that dude. This year, there was talk — hope, even — that Florian could upset BJ Penn at UFC 101, then have a high-stakes rematch against his old nemesis, who had followed him down to lightweight after an impressive run at 170. Unfortunately, Florian succumbed to Penn’s trademark mata leon, and Sanchez was booked to challenge Penn for the title in December. Still, as long as Florian keeps winning, he’ll claw his way back to the Nightmare — and this time, they’ll face each other as two of the best lightweights in the world.
Prediction: Sanchez outstrikes Florian to a decision in a far more competitive match than their first meeting.

(Props: Genghis Con on Vimeo)

The latest film from MMA auteur Genghis Con focuses on two of the world’s most exciting fighters — Nate Marquardt and Gegard Mousasi — taking us through their early careers, their high-profile losses, and their current paths of success. As usual, the editing and music are pitch perfect, so give it a look if you have 20 minutes free. Otherwise, you can just check out the eight-second head-kick KO after the jump.

(Props: MMA Turf. Apologies for the lack of sound.)

Well, we expected a pointless mismatch, and a pointless mismatch is what we got. Last night at Ultimate Glory 11 in Amsterdam, Alistair Overeem whipped Tony Sylvester as if he’d discovered the American fighter banging his wife and keying his car at the same time. Sylvester was only able to get off one leg-kick during the 83-second execution, which was marked by Overeem breaking down his opponent with knees in the clinch before ending the fight with a standing guillotine. There’s an odd moment at the 0:52 mark of the above video in which the referee seems to wave off the bout before separating the fighters so that Sylvester can take more abuse. Damn, maybe Sam Hoger would have put up a better fight after all. Overeem is now slated to compete next Sunday at DREAM.12 against an opponent who’s still TBA. (I guess they’re still checking on Canseco‘s availability?) Full results from Ultimate Glory 11 are after the jump…

(Props: bigguvnor)

You have to hand it to British MMA fighters — what they lack in technique, they more than make up for in willingness to flail their arms around until someone gets knocked out. Like a pasty, heavyweight version of Sanchez vs. Guida, Ashley Pollard and Ian Hawkings gave the crowd what they paid for at Ultimate Challenge UK in August, slugging it out like two albino gorillas fighting over a female in estrus. Pollard eventually won when Hawkings’s natural instinct to run like hell got the better of him. Deal with it, Floyd Mayweather!

(Tiki vs. Robbie Lawler @ UFC 40, 11/22/02. What? He just got cut. And Rasputin just got a little wet.)

If you were listening closely during last night’s episode of "The Ultimate Fighter," you might have heard Team Rampage assistant coach Tiki Ghosn commiserating in the locker room with a frustrated "Rampage" Jackson after yet another loss.  Tiki doesn’t exactly seem like he’s in the kind of friendship with Jackson that would allow him to question the coaching strategies that led them to this point, so instead he joined in on the bitch session by throwing his hands up and saying, "We can’t fight for them." 

That’s true.  The only problem is, Tiki has never won a fight in the UFC.  Not once in his eleven-year, 11-7 career.  He’s had four fights in the Octagon and lost them all.  He’s never even made it into the third round of a UFC fight, if we want to get technical.  That’s not to say that he necessarily sucks.  He did beat pop sensation Genki Sudo in his pro debut, and he’s currently riding a two-fight win streak.  But lest Tiki be allowed to go around disparaging the abilities of the Team Rampage UFC hopefuls as if he’s some kind of future hall of famer, we thought a little Tiki Ghosn career primer was in order.  Enjoy.

Yeah, we know.  You only like seeing dudes get knocked out when they’re wearing little gloves.  But just give this one a chance and I think you’ll be pleased.  5’10" stick of boxing dynamite David Tua stepped back in the ring for the first time in over two years recently, and after taking a minute or two to find his range against Shane Cameron, he exploded with the same old ferocity to end things just seven seconds into round number two.  Don’t ask us to explain why the ref did everything he could think of to save Cameron at the end of the first, only so he could take more punishment as soon as the bell rang for the second.  Instead, just sit back and enjoy a different brand of violence for a change.  A little variety is good for you. 

It’s good to see Tua back.  Now if only he could sharpen up his "Wheel of Fortune" skills. 

(Props: jay2005us)

Last night at a Gladiator Challenge event at the Shingle Springs Rancheria — near the Red Hawk Casino in Placerville, California — Dan Quinn harnessed the combined power of the White Cure and all his departed angels to knock Bond Lapua‘s teeth down his throat. Lapua, who may have been making his MMA debut, came out like a house on fire, snapping some nasty leg kicks and landing a crushing right hand that almost ended Dan’s night, then beating him up a bit in the clinch. I dare you to guess what happened next, player. After a few well-placed power punches, Lapua Cro-Copped out of the fight, a thoroughly broken man.

The TKO over Lapua was Quinn’s second straight victory. Remember when we used to laugh at this dude for even suggesting that he could take out Kimbo Slice? Quinn vs. Slice, October 2009, no leg kicks, no takedowns, just throwin’ hands: Who takes it?

The pervs over at Raw Vegas say this is video from a "photo shoot" involving UFC ring girl Natasha Wicks, but personally, I think it was all a ruse to get her in a towel.  It’s like that time we agreed to be in that calendar that was supposed to be twelve months of MMA writers without pants.  We showed up and did what they asked, even when it made us both uncomfortable, and that calendar still hasn’t come in the mail like they said it would.  I’m just saying, if that guy was a professional photographer, why did we have do the shoot in his mom’s basement?  And why did he use a disposable camera?  But enough of our petty problems.

Judging by her remarks throughout this video, Natasha has quickly figured out what MMA fans want to hear from her.  And no, it isn’t about her great singing career or how much she loves chocolate. 

After the jump, things get even more ridiculous.

(Props: MMA Share)

We’ll say this much for Dream, they may not always put on the most competitive or, for lack of a better word, serious fights, but at least you always know what you’re going to get from them.  For instance, you’re going to get Kazushi Sakuraba tooling a washed-up pro boxer while Michael Schiavello utters baffling one-liners like, "Trying to predict what Sakuraba’s going to do next is harder than finding a pubic hair at a Jonas Brothers concert." 

Thanks, Michael.  It’s been far too long since I thought about the hairless genitals of pre-pubescent girls, and what better time to return to that disturbing image than during an MMA bout?  But hey, creeping you out with prepared material that he’s scribbled on hotel stationery is all in an evening’s work for "The Voice." 

After the jump, more videos from last night’s festivities, including all the Super Hulk freakness you can stomach, the semi-final matches of the featherweight Grand Prix, plus others.  More coming soon.  Full results from Dream.11 are all the way at the bottom.  Consider yourself warned.

The world of pro fighting can be an odd place at times.  And when two big dudes come out throwing leather with their chins in the air, it can also be a place where consciousness is a fleeting state.  That was the case when Joe Muir met Amanaki Havili at Underground MMA 1 in New South Wales, Australia last Friday night.  Muir (the white guy) counters a leg kick with an overhand right just seconds into the fight, and though Havili was pretty much done at that point, Muir went ahead and added a couple more for good measure, resulting in Havili doing the mummy pose nine seconds after the start of the fight.  It’s still not as quick as the often-overlooked Duane Ludwig-Jonathan Goulet knockout, but it’s at least good enough to rival Todd Duffee.

After the jump, one of those double knockouts we love, plus a mercifully brutal ending to a terribly boring fight.

(‘And now I join you in holy matrimony, for better or for worse, until one of you starves or is eaten by wolves.’)

Here’s how unconcerned Fedor Emelianenko is about fighting Brett Rogers on Strikeforce’s November 7 show on CBS: instead of training his ass off with a single-minded focus on destruction, he took some time out to get married this weekend.  Fedor took the plunge for the second time in his life (his first marriage ended in 2006), and he did it in a Russian Orthodox ceremony which involves a lot of awesome symbolism, such as being crowned the king of your own home.  The typical Orthodox wedding also usually involves a couple days worth of celebrating, but we’re hoping that Fedor postponed that, along with the honeymoon, so he could be back hitting tires with sledgehammers and sparring in public parks by Monday morning.

Seriously, it’s great that Fedor has entered once again into wedded bliss, and we’re very happy for him, but couldn’t this have waited until after the Rogers fight?  Judging by the pictures, his bride wasn’t eight months pregnant, so they could have conceivably put it off until after the fight if they wanted to.  At this point we have to assume that Fedor knows how to prepare for a fight, but these distractions are starting to take on a little bit of a “Rocky III” kind of feel, and – we’re just putting it out there – Brett Rogers and Clubber Lang have very similar haircuts.

In other Emelianenko family news…

(Props: CagePotato reader "Numa." Fight starts at the 6:00 mark.)

It’s official: Dan Hornbuckle is the Real Deal. The Hammond, Indiana-based fighter improved his record to 19-2 (17 wins by stoppage) with his TKO victory over Nick Thompson earlier today at Sengoku 10th Battle. As you’ll see in the video above, Thompson was able to hang with Hornbuckle for most of the first round, but "the Handler" started to find his range by the end, and he went in for the kill in round two. Skip to the 14:55 mark to see Hornbuckle end the fight by landing about a dozen unanswered blows on Thompson. Directly afterwards, he demanded a Sengoku belt to go along with his pile of small-show titles. Sengoku doesn’t currently have a welterweight champion; expect to see Hornbuckle in a title fight in the near future.

After the jump: Hornbuckle’s one-round rager against Courtney Ray in the finals of an eight-man HOOKnSHOOT tournament in March 2007.

(Belfort vs. Matt Lindland @ Affliction: Day of Reckoning, 1/24/09. Fight starts at the 0:59 mark.)

In honor of Vitor Belfort‘s return to the UFC this Saturday, here are nine of the Phenom’s greatest knockouts. Folks, this is how you throw hands. Keep your chin down, Rich…

(Belfort vs. Terry Martin @ Affliction: Banned, 7/19/08.)

(Fight starts at the 4:22 mark. Props: MMA Linker)

As expected, Muhammed Lawal‘s pimpin’ ring entrance took longer than his actual fight against Mark Kerr last night at M-1 Breakthrough in Kansas City, with the flashy Team Quest product needing just 25 seconds to steamroll the fighter formerly known as "The Smashing Machine." King Mo pounced for a single-leg as Kerr tried to throw a leg kick, then took his 263-pound opponent to the canvas and started slugging him in the head until Kerr was knocked out. I guess the oddsmakers know how to do their jobs after all.

Also on the card, Fedor Emelianenko and Gegard Mousasi went through the motions with their "sparring exhibition," which never came close to looking anything like a real fight, except for the end when Fedor won by armbar. That video and complete results from the event are after the jump…

(Props: Redneck)

You may have heard stories about Mark Hunt and his legendary granite chin, but unless you go back and watch some of his old K-1 fights, you’ll never truly understand. The Super Samoan’s decision loss to fellow New Zealander Ray Sefo at the K-1 World GP 2001 in Fukuoka, Japan, was a slugfest for the ages, in which Hunt repeatedly invited Sugarfoot Sefo to haul off at his face, and absorbed point-blank right hooks and axe kicks without so much as a flinch. Sefo may have gotten the nod from the judges that night, but Hunt was far from beaten. "You never got me down, Ray" indeed.

Part two of the fight is above. Click here for part one.

While aimlessly cruising Wikipedia last night, I learned that Keith Jardine‘s first loss came in his third pro fight back in February 2002, against MMA ironman Travis Wiuff in the quarterfinals of an Extreme Challenge eight-man heavyweight tournament in Iowa. Coincidentally, it was Wiuff’s third fight as well, and it took Diesel just six seconds to claim a victory via straight-right directly on Jardine’s off-button. The video is above, and the action starts at the 2:18 mark. Wiuff would go on to lose to Mike Radnov in the semis, while Radnov lost to tournament-winner Ben Rothwell in the finals.

Following the Wiuff fight, Jardine went on a 6-0-1 run, joined the second season of The Ultimate Fighter, and quickly found himself in marquee fights against Forrest Griffin, Chuck Liddell, Wanderlei Silva, and Quinton Jackson. This Saturday, he’ll take on Thiago Silva at UFC 102. If you believe in streaks, then the Dean of Mean has this one wrapped up. And of course, if he ever decides to walk out to the cage as Techno Viking, he’ll be unstoppable.

(Fight starts at the 0:58 mark. Props to NelsaoCB)

As the above video proves, Chris Clements and Steve Ramirez do not hold the record for fastest knockout in MMA history. At a Japanese event called "The Outsider 2" held last July, Ryohei Masuda caught Takahiro Kuroishi rushing in and knocked him into the land of wind and ghosts in two seconds flat. (Doesn’t that idiot know that the running start only works when Kid Yamamoto does it? Well, he does now.) Don’t ask us to explain the in-ring brawl that comes directly afterwards, though if there are any Japanese speakers in the house who can translate the narrator, please enlighten us.

After the jump: If you have 17 minutes free, check out this amazing timeline of the UFC’s lightweight title by our friend Koeikan. "Short People" FTW.

(The Hallman/Hughes story. Could Matt Hughes be getting one more shot at revenge before he retires?)

— Anderson Silva‘s manager Ed Soares has debunked a report by Yahoo! Sports in which he was quoted as saying Silva wanted to give up his middleweight title to compete as a light-heavyweight permanently. As Soares told MMA Weekly: “It’s not true. I never said that to Dana. I have said to Dana that he’d like to fight again at 205 (but not permanently)…he wants the biggest fights possible, whether it’s at 205 or 185.” Silva and Soares still aren’t psyched about an impending rematch with Dan Henderson: "I feel a true number one (middleweight contender) would be if Henderson fought the winner of Nate Marquardt and Damian Maia…we could take another fight at 205 or a catchweight fight (in the meantime).”

— For the fourth time in his career, Dennis "Superman" Hallman has signed a contract to fight in the UFC. He expects to make his next UFC appearance sometime this fall. Hallman is best known for two lightning-quick submission victories over Matt Hughes, the second of which came at Hallman’s Octagon debut at UFC 29 in December 2000. The 33-year-old fighter lost subsequent UFC fights to Jens Pulver, Frank Trigg, and Jorge Rivera, and is currently on a four-fight win streak, with two of those fights taking place in Strikeforce.

(Props: Mad Xyientist)

While cruising MMAMoneyline earlier today, I was rather surprised to see Gilbert Melendez as a solid favorite to beat Mitsuhiro Ishida in their Strikeforce interim lightweight title fight on Saturday. After all, Ishida defeated Melendez by decision at Yarennoka! less than two years ago. It was a very close match — and maybe the decision could have gone the other way if it didn’t take place in Ishida’s home country — but Melendez never really put Ishida in serious danger at any point in the fight (expect for when he slammed Ishida on his head, at the 4:12 mark above), nor could he find many answers for the Endless Fighter’s grappling; Ishida’s aggressive wrestling and nonstop pace was absolutely Guida-esque. On the other hand, they’ll be on Melendez’s home turf for the rematch, and Ishida is coming off a nasty TKO loss to Mizuto Hirota. It’s a pick ‘em, and the winner will take on Josh Thomson…someday. Part one of their first meeting is above, and part two is after the jump.

(Props: antiherolt)

The cameraman got a nice souvenir during this June 2005 scrap between Leonard Wilson and TUF 9 hopeful Ray Elbe. Watch as Wilson lands a ferocious spinning back kick at the 0:56 mark, then starts jackhammering until Elbe’s contact lens is blasted into the first row. Suck it, Teila Tuli’s tooth…

(Props: MMA Scraps)

Here’s some "Before They Were MMA Stars" footage of Kenny Florian, kicking ass in his second pro fight against Bobby McAndrews. This went down at Mass Destruction 15 (2/21/04, Boston), where Joe Lauzon and Alex Karalexis also picked up wins. Florian would only have one more match — a decision loss to Drew Fickett — before he joined the cast of TUF 1, which would drastically alter the course of his career. For more Ken-Flo, check out this extended interview with SportsCenter.

(Props: MMA Scraps)

Before Ray Mercer became known as the unstoppable heavyweight juggernaut who wrecked Tim Sylvia in 8 seconds, Mercer had a two-fight kickboxing stint in K-1, losing his debut to Musashi by unanimous decision in June 2004. His second bout against Remy Bonjasky at the K-1 World GP 2005 in Seoul was even less successful. We won’t spoil the suprise for you, but the fight (if you can call it that) starts at the 3:53 mark of the above video and ends very shortly afterwards. It’s pretty sad when losing a match to Kimbo Slice by submission still isn’t the low point in your fight career.

Speaking of Merciless, the former WBO boxing champ and Olympic gold medalist may have his next MMA bout booked. American Top Team boxing coach Howard Davis Jr. is in negotiations to put Mercer against old-schooler Marcus "Conan" Silveira in the main event of a December 12th MMA card called "U.S. vs. Brazil," put on by Davis’s new Fight Time Promotions company.

(Props: OlavDigre via IronLife)

Now that we all know who Marius Zaromskis is, it’s time for fanboys around the world to crown him "the next Anderson Silva" — and this new AC/DC-soundtracked highlight reel makes a pretty strong case for that claim. The UFC needs to sign this dude so he can start head-kicking some of the weak links straight out of their welterweight division. The Whitemare is balls-out excitement, 150% of the time. Believe that.

After the jump: Another highlight reel, for another "next Anderson Silva," and a strange little fight from DREAM.10 that you may not have seen yet, but really should.

(Zaromskis vs. High. Props to MMA Linker.)

We should have known there would be trouble after Hayato "Mach" Sakurai needed seven and a half extra hours to make weight for today’s DREAM’s welterweight GP finals. The tournament favorite might have been fighting through exhaustion when he met Marius Zaromskis in the semis, in a bout marked by wild striking exchanges. Sakurai absorbed the more damaging blows, and the fight was halted about four minutes in so that doctors could check on a spurting gash under Mach’s left eye. When it was finally restarted after a long break, Zaromskis measured up Sakurai then threw a high left kick that put his lights out. A few more punches on the ground, and it was game over.

On the other side of the bracket, Jason High scored an upset of his own, handing jiu-jitsu juggernaut Andre Galvao his first MMA loss in a very close decision fight; one judge gave it to Galvao for his submission attempts in the first round, while the other two saw it for High due to his superior striking in the second. But the thrill of victory wouldn’t last long for High, as Zaromskis scored another head kick knockout — this time with the right leg — in their finals match.

In non-tournament action, Shinya Aoki outpointed Vitor Ribeiro in a disappointingly dull 15-minute bout, Dong Sik Yoon had to quit just a minute into his fight against Jesse Taylor after suffering a foot injury, and Paulo Filho survived a brutal striking assault from Melvin Manhoef and won the fight via armbar in what might be the leading contender for comeback fight of 2009. Complete results and more DREAM.10 fight videos are after the jump.

The UFC’s first 132 events have given us over 15 years worth of legendary battles, shocking finishes, and historic debuts. With UFC 100 coming up on July 11th, we decided to do some digging and pick out the 10 most monumental events of all time. So join us as we step into the way-back machine…

(Check out part one here.)

***

#5: UFC 1: The Ultimate Fighting Championship
11/12/93; Denver, Colorado


Notable Fights: Royce Gracie vs. Ken Shamrock, Gerard Gordeau vs. Teila Tuli, Royce Gracie vs. Gerard Gordeau
Lowdown: Nearly 3,000 people packed into the McNichols Sports Arena on one fateful night in November to witness the beginning of cultural movement, which is cool even if most of them only showed up because they were already drunk and had reason to believe that they might see a man killed.  It was billed as an eight-man tournament with no rules, and although that wasn’t entirely true (biting and eye-gouging were both outlawed) it might as well have been.  Referee guidelines consisted mostly of instructions not to stop the fight no matter what, there were no judges, not even the suggestion of weight classes, and the approved attire had no limits whatsoever, as evidence by Royce Gracie’s gi and Art Jimmerson’s one lonely glove.

Nasty MMA Head-Kick Knockout – Watch more Funny Videos

Last Saturday, Nick Felix won the ALLSTARMMA welterweight title at an event in Springdale, Arkansas, by Cro Cop’ing the crap out of Jeffrey Escobar. Escobar had come into the fight with a 3-0 record, with all wins by first-round stoppage; unfortunately, he didn’t even last 10 seconds that night. Just as impressive as Felix’s head kick knockout was the diving tackle the ref made to get him to stop whaling on his unconscious opponent. One more performance like that and he’ll be able to break into the top 5. For more ALLSTARMMA fight videos, click here.

Gash of the year, right there; props to Bloody Elbow for the tip. Video of the Jose Aldo flying knee that gave him that cut is below, and some more WEC 41 fights are after the jump in case you missed the show on Sunday.

(Garijo vs. Awad. Props: YouTube.com/BellatorMMA)

Swallowed up in the Strikeforce/WEC hype this weekend was Friday’s Bellator show, which was headlined by the finals of their featherweight tournament. Joe Soto, who had already run through Ben Greer and Wilson Reis to make it to the finals, completely dominated Yahir Reyes, beating him up with heavy ground-and-pound in the first round, then doing it some more in the second before sinking in a rear-naked choke. Soto earned $100,000 for the win, bringing his tournament total up to $175,000. Even more memorable than Soto’s win was the dogfight between Diego Garijo and Saad Awad, in which Garijo got rocked repeatedly with punches but managed to survive and choke out Awad with 15 seconds left in round one.

Also on the card, WEC vet Bryan Baker won a unanimous decision over IFL/UFC vet Matt Horwich, and Wilson Reis snuck off with a split decision victory over Roberto Vargas. Full results from the event can be found here; Bellator heads to Uncasville, Connecticut this Friday for their welterweight finals. The Soto/Reyes beating is after the jump.

Props to MMA Fanhouse for turning us on to the new-ish feature on Wanderlei Silva’s YouTube channel called "Old School Video Series," in which the Axe Murderer tells the stories behind his early fights in Brazil before showing us the classic carnage. It’s kind of like a vale tudo version of VH1 Storytellers. Above is the first installment, in which a 20-year-old Wanderlei Silva enters his first eight-man tournament to earn money for his new daughter, and leaves with a broken hand, a broken nose, no prize money whatsoever — and his first knockout victory. After the jump: Wandy’s second fight against Marcelao Barbosa ends abruptly due to shoulder-injury, but at least he actually gets paid for it. By the way, if anybody can explain the weird sound effect that comes at the 2:18-2:19 mark of that vid, please, by all means. (Is it possible that he has his large intestine miked up?)

(Be sure to click the "HQ" button for higher quality.)

With my girlfriend and dog out of town this weekend, I found myself with a lot of time on my hands. So, I decided to eff around with iMovie and put together the above highlight reel of Kazushi Sakuraba‘s most brutal beatings. (Has there ever been a fighter whose victories were so beautiful and whose defeats were so ugly?) I’m no Genghis Con, and most of the footage was taken from low-quality YouTube clips to begin with, but let me know what you think, and if you have any Sakuraba fans in your life, please pass it along.

(BG)