The Sprawl 10.30.09: Volume 35 - Top 10 Scary Moments In MMA

Posted by Alex Mattis on 10.30.2009

Kevin Randleman nearly killing Fedor, Rampage's powerbomb on Arona, Gabe Gonzaga's KO of Mirko Cro Cop. All that and more on this special Halloween edition of The Sprawl, counting down my Top 10 Scary Moments In MMA. In addition, my thoughts on UFC 104: Machida Vs. Shogun! Come on in!

Hello all and welcome back to "The Sprawl!" Hope all is well with everyone. We're fresh off the heels of UFC 104 and what a backlash has followed. This week I'll run down some thoughts on the UFC 104 event. In addition, in celebration of Halloween, we'll look at the scariest moments in MMA. This week has a theme! LET'S GET DOWN TO IT!!!



UFC 104. Here we go!

Struve defeated Gormley via submission (triangle choke) - With them beanpole legs, it only makes sense that Struve would have some good triangles. This was another impressive performance from this incredibly young, and incredibly tough, Dutch dude.


Sonnen defeated Okami via unanimous decision - Sonnen never looked better, and Okami never looked more neutralized. This was a HUGE win for Chael and now gets him closer to the top of the 185 heap. Have fun with that Chael.

Barry defeated Hardonk via TKO This fight couldn't have gone any differently than I thought it would. Big props to Barry for a big win over a tough dude. I'm diggin' Barry and his style and hope to see more of him in the future.

Bader defeated Schafer via unanimous decision - Bader, learn to be a little more patience and paced. Schafer, want to drop a little weight and give middleweight a try? Couldn't hurt. Bader has what it takes to be a force and he continues to show it.

Johnson defeated Yoshida via TKO - Scary good performance for Rumble here. I actually thought Yoshida was going to take the fight into deeper water a snatch a submission, much like Rich Clementi did in his fight with Johnson, but that was not to be. Rumble gave Yoshida no time and no chance of mounting an offense.

Stevenson defeated Fisher via TKO - Two awesome performances in a row for Joe Daddy. He looked like an absolute beast in this fight, giving Spencer no chance to really get anything going. Joe is officially out of his slump and looks to be better than ever.

Tibau defeated Neer via unanimous decision Went exactly as I expected. Neer had the advantage on the feet but Tibau's top-game was just too much for him. Is it me or does Tibau look thicker and more powerful each time we see him?

Velasquez defeated Rothwell via TKO - I didn't expect such an outpour of complaints about the finish. This fight needed to be stopped, plain and simple. I was shocked it even made it to round 2. Big Ben is ridiculously tough and has an iron chin, but just cause he isn't collapsing due to strikes doesn't mean that he's ok. Amazing performance from Cain against whom many considered his toughest test. I had some doubts about Cain leading into this one but the fool proved that against a true heavyweight he can still be incredibly dominant.

Machida defeated Rua via unanimous decision - As much as I subscribe to the "you've got to take it from the champion" philosophy, Shogun had this one. It was a lot closer than some are acting, and I can see where someone could have given it to Machida, but Shogun was better prepared. I have a sneaking suspicion that Machida came into this fight a little too cocky. Can't wait for a re-match.

Well, it's Halloween! Anyone else jakked? For some reason Halloween in your 20's is the best. Anyway, enough rambling. In celebration of the creepy festivities, I thought we could look at the scariest moments in MMA. The ones that nearly gave us a heart attack, the ones that had us turning away from the TV, the ones that were just plain scary. Here is...



Honorable Mentions:

GG CC'S CC


If the image of that enormous, hairy monster named Gabe Gonzaga didn't freak you out then I'm sure the horrific way Cro Cop's leg buckled underneath him sure did. The overall scene of this was frightening... and also incredibly ironic.

Matt Lindland: Everyday he's hustlin', hustlin', hustlin'...


Not much to say about this one. Just really worrisome to see someone knocked out that bad and for that long. For a moment the thought that he could be left in a vegetative state didn't seem that crazy. But hey, "VITOR'S BACK!!!!" so no foul done.

Corey Hill takes advice WAY too literally


'Nuff said.

Danny does it for America


No love for Bisping here but I was still genuinely concerned for him at UFC 100. After the initial shock and "OH YEAH!" of the KO settled you realized he was still frozen, unconscious. Much like the Lindland incident, for a few minutes you really thought this guy was finish... for good.

Mir gets his BJJ Black Belt


This is probably the most famous bone-break in UFC history, and you know Tim loves that. Tim suggesting that nothing was wrong, to this very day, makes me laugh. That is incredible toughness and balls on his part but all he had to do was look at any of the monitors to see something went very, very wrong. This was one of my first UFC PPV's and I couldn't believe what I had seen.



10. Thiago Silva finishes Houston Alexander
The story going into this fight was that Houston Alexander was thought to be the next big thing in the light heavyweight division and if he could get past this other "up-and-comer" Thiago Silva, he was the real deal. The "hardcore" fans knew that there was going to be a different story told at UFC 78. After Houston slammed Thiago, the superior ground-game of Silva took over as he dominated the positioning and soon found himself mounted on Alexander. What followed was one of the most brutal displays of ground-and-pound I have ever seen. Punch after punch landed until Alexander was left unconscious and stiffened out. As if that was disturbing enough what truly horrified me was after the fight was stopped Thiago stood up, admired his work, then walked over to the camera. He walked tight-lipped, his eyes barley visible as they looked like shadowed holes, directly into the camera and ran his thumb across his throat. He motioned for more as his corner came in and lifted him in celebration. Thiago's eyes remained deadlocked on the camera just long enough to come across as "I'm will murder you and your entire family. Don't fuck with me." I know he does this for every fight he wins, but when watching the UFC 78 PPV and I saw this I was genuinely made uncomfortable and a bit freaked out. If a new horror movie was coming out about a Brazilian serial killer this is what the end of the trailer would look like:


That is something you fear.

9. BJ helps Joe Daddy donate some blood


Now there's got to be some blood on here somewhere! I thought this fight was a lot closer than people were predicting... Man, how wrong was I?!? BJ won every second of this fight at UFC 80 and turn the octagon into a crime scene. Late in the 1st round BJ split a deep cut on the forehead of Joe Daddy and down came the rain. This is still the fasted bleeding cut I have ever seen, anywhere. Blood was just pouring out, splattering everywhere each time any contact was made. It was a mess. BJ continuously punished Joe until was able to get the rear-naked choke, forcing Stevenson to tap. After the fight was waved off came the moment that truly haunted me. As BJ walked away, cover head-to-toe in another mans blood, licking the blood off his gloves, Joe sat in a crumpled heap crying. I understand losing that fight was incredibly hard on Joe and it showed. This bloody, emotional scene looked like it came straight out of a slasher flick.

8. Kevin Randleman kills a normal human


If nothing else has ever proven that Fedor is a Russian robot sent back in time to destroy the MMA heavyweights of the world, it's this. Was anyone picking Randleman? Hell no. Even Baroni had 4 Yankee dogs and a heavy-bag riding on Fedor. Everyone's opinions changed in a split second, however, when Randleman got Fedor high into the air and began to bring him down at an angle that spelled DISASTER. Fedor was slammed directly on his head with unbelievable force. For a brief moment no one cared if this was going to be the guy to beat Fedor, they thought a death just occurred... But then Fedor reversed position, submitted Kevin with a kimura, and humbly accepted victory. It was no biggie. Barnoi screamed "totally awesome!" Seriously, who wasn't spooked by that slam? More importantly, who wasn't freaked out by how Fedor ate that shit and won the fight less than a minute later?

7. Ricardo Arona turns Kazushi Sakuraba into Jason Voorhees


Most will tell you the historical significance of that this fight is that it marked the end of the "Era of Saku." However, what I'll always remember it for is that mess that was left. In what was expect to be a pretty even fight, Ricardo Arona dominated Sakuraba the entire fight and landed some of the most damaging knees ever seen. Arona dominated Sakuraba the entire fight with knees and superior grappling. For most of the 2nd round Arona repeatedly landed knees to the top of the head and face of Saku until the round expired. As the bell rang to signify the end of the round Arona stood up and walked back to his corner. Kazushi Sakuraba remained on the canvas and lifted his head as the audience let out a collective gasp as to what his face had become.



6. Anderson Silva Vs. Forrest Griffin



Did you see the fight? Then you know why it's on here. Coming into this fight Anderson Silva was being criticized from damn near everyone for his back-to-back lackluster performances and Forrest Griffin was coming off his title loss to Rashad Evans. Many, including yours truly, were predicting Forrest for the upset or at the very least he was going to give Anderson a tough fight. Forrest was much bigger, well conditioned, and very tough, Anderson was going to have his hands full. NO! Anderson Silva came out and made Griffin look like an amateur. He danced around, dropped his hands to his side, dropped Forrest twice, and then finally put Griffin away with a pawing jab. He made a statement. This fight didn't look real - if you saw it in a movie you would have said it was unrealistic. Anderson Silva destroyed, and looks like he broke, a former world champion.

5. UFC 1


How could you not be scared watching this for the first time? I remember watching this as a youngster and just being terrified at what I was seeing. Bare knuckles, no rules, and some little guy in a gi that was taking down all these big dudes with something called "jiu jitsu" that no one was overly familiar with - all this going on inside and eight-sided cage. It was just a very freaky scene.

4. RAMPAGE! POWERBOMB!


My access to PRIDE footage, when they were active, was limited so most times I read results before I saw the fight... this was NOT one of those fights. I watched this fight shortly after it happened without knowing what the end result was. I watched as Arona landed some nasty up-kicks and while I didn't think Rampage was out, like Ricardo did, I saw he was stunned as he started giving up position and fell into a triangle-choke. It looked like Jackson was going to get submitted but as soon as the choke was tight, Rampage hoisted Arona WAY above his head and slammed him with a force I had never seen before in my life. More than a decade of watching pro wrestling never prepared me to see anything like that. The slam knocked Arona out cold and Jackson followed with two punches to the unconscious fighter. I, like many others, thought he was dead. Somehow Arona woke up and started bitchin' about the fight, either that or he was pissed that someone had already auctioned off all his possessions... who knows. What I do know is that man is lucky he can remember his name.


3. Wanderlei Silva KO's Rampage


If all the hype, shit-talk, and mean-muggin' didn't get your heart racing for this fight I'm sure Rampage dropping Wand at the end of the first round got your blood pumping. There was so much riding on this fight and everyone watching new shit was going to get real at any minute. Coming into the 2nd round it was anyone's fight and a sudden ending seemed to be drawing near. Shortly into the 2nd, Wand landed a devastating right-hand that had Rampage rocked. In classic Silva fashion, his killer instinct took over as he swarmed Jackson and unleashed a barrage of knees. Rampage tried to tough it out but a perfectly placed knee by Wand knocked Jackson unconscious, sending him flying through the ring-ropes. As Silva walked away from the scene with his knees covered in blood, the referee jump to the aid of Jackson. The ref lifted the head of Jackson to reveal blood pouring his face, leaving a rapidly expanding puddle on the white canvas.


2. Fedor Emelianenko Vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira I


Much like the Anderson-Forrest fight, this put the MMA world on notice. The difference between the two is that this one completely changed the MMA landscape forever. Leading into this fight Nog was the #1 heavyweight in the world and those who though Fedor was going to win thought it was going to be an incredibly tough fight for him. In the most brutal fight I've ever seen, Fedor dominated Nog from bell-to-bell. How Nogueira was not finished in this fight will forever baffle everyone who saw it. This officially began the era of MMA that we are still living in, the era of Fedor. Never has this sport seen such an intriguing, dominant force been seen before in mixed martial arts and it all began with this horrifying performance. Everyone was put on notice on 3/16/2003.

1. The (first) Mirko Cro Cop-Wanderlei Silva staredown


Number one? Really Mattis? I know it's strange, but this is the most frightened I've ever been by anything in an MMA fight. I saw this fight years after it had happened, after their 2nd fight took place. So I thought I knew what to expect... nope. After the introductions the fighters were called to middle for the staredown. I don't care what anyone says, this is the most intense staredown in MMA history. This fight happened over seven years ago and my heart still races, I still get nervous when I see this. Mirko has never been the most intense at staredowns or intimidation tactics in MMA, cause let's face it he's probably killed fi'ty men in his life, an MMA fight isn't the most stressful situation he's been in. So seeing that look of intensity and blinding hatred in his eyes was horrifying just watching on TV. I can't even imagine how scared one would be getting that look from Cro Cop. The scariest part of the whole thing is halfway through the staredown you see Wanderlei Silva briefly step back with an "Oh, shit" moment. He was out-stared!!! This was, and still is, unheard of. It may be an odd pick but this is the scariest moment I've seen in MMA; this moment would have led you to believe that someone was literally going to die tonight, one of these guys is going to kill the other. This is what it looks like when two men want to murder each other.

Well there you have it. The Top 10 Scary Moments In MMA.

But in the end we all know the scariest aspect of mixed martial arts and that is the unbridled realness of The Diaz Bros and that shit ain't never gonna stop, homie.

Remember feedback, as always, is welcome at [e-mail] or directly below. Leave me your scariest MMA moments!

I imagine you've had you fill of violence for the day so until next time take care

Have a happy and safe Halloween.
-Alex