Welcome to the UFC 02.23.06
Posted by Zach Marcus on 02.23.2006
Welcome to the exciting world of the UFC. Come inside to meet the welterweights.
Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is a combat sport in which two competitors attempt to achieve dominance over one another by utilizing a wide variety of permitted martial arts techniques, including striking and grappling. Over time the sport has been refined into what we see today. In the beginning each fighter would only use one style, but over time these fighters have had to become well versed in many different areas. With better fighters came better rules in order to protect them, which included weight classes and time limits. The popularity of MMA has greatly increased over the past year. Starting with the wildly successful The Ultimate Fighter on Spike TV, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has secured live cable television fights with the Ultimate Fight Nights and has continued the previously popular monthly Pay-Per-Views.
Before getting into my first column I wanted to introduce myself. My name is Zach Marcus and I have only been watching the UFC for a year. However, in this time I have gone from knowing nothing to quite a bit. The fight that brought me into the sport was Chuck Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz. It had a great storyline going into it, being that Tito and Chuck used to be friends. After seeing Chuck beat Tito in the second round due to a flurry of punches I was hooked for life. I cannot help it, but I was a wrestling fan before watching the UFC, so naturally if a fight has a storyline I enjoy it a little bit more. Then The Ultimate Fighter reality show debuted on Spike TV. I was amazed by the desire and drive the fighters had. Once the epic Stephen Bonnar vs. Forrest Griffin fight was over on the finale of the show I was astonished by how amazing the sport truly was. Ever since I have tried to take in as much UFC as possible.
The Welterweights
As the new UFC columnist of 411mania I have decided to start things out by introducing the most important people in the UFC, the fighters. I will introduce each fighter by stating a few of his key victories, what he is known for, and why I like or dislike him. I will start today with my favorite weight class, the welterweights. These fighters weigh anywhere from 155 to 170 pounds. This isn't the entire division, but these are the fighters that I feel are in either direct title contention or will be very soon.
Matt Hughes (40-4-0) The Champion
He is the current champion of the welterweight division. He has beaten almost every opponent the UFC has put in front of him. Over the past few events he has beaten Joe "Diesel" Riggs, Frank "Twinkle Toes" Trigg, and Georges St. Pierre. Hughes is a world class wrestler and is known for his amazing slams and was a coach on the second season of The Ultimate Fighter. However, he is one of the few welterweights I am not a huge fan of. While he is able to finish a fight in either a submission or knockout, he hasn't done anything to make me a fan. His next fight is against returning legend Royce Gracie at UFC 60.
B.J. "The Prodigy" Penn (10-2-1) The Uncrowned Champion
At UFC 56 he was brought back into the UFC as a major shock to fight fans. This is because of what happened after UFC 46, where he defeated Hughes for the Welterweight Championship. He then decided to fight in K-1, forcing the UFC to strip him of the belt. After fighting in Hawaii and Japan, Penn finally decided that it was his time to return to the UFC to go after Hughes and his belt. Penn used to be a great fighter, but in his upcoming fight with Georges St. Pierre we will all see what type of fighter he is now.
Georges St. Pierre (11-1-0) The Phenom
His only loss was against the current champion, Matt Hughes. In this fight at UFC 50 Pierre was dominating the fight until a mistake allowed Hughes to place him in an arm bar. With a few seconds left in the first round, Pierre was forced to tap. Gracious in defeat, GSP went on a tear through the welterweight division defeating Jason "Mayhem" Miller, Frank Trigg, and Sean Sherk. Pierre has become one of my favorite fighters. He has shown that he is able to use some flashier moves in his fights. At UFC 52 while Miller was trying to kip up GSP landed an amazing spinning back-kick. Pierre's next fight is against Penn, which will determine the number one contender to Matt Hughes and the belt.
Karo "The Heat" Parisyan (22-3-0) Lost Opportunity
Without a doubt the biggest loser in the UFC's acquisition of Royce Gracie and B.J. Penn was Karo. He was in line to get a title shot at UFC 56, until he got injured. Joe Riggs stepped in for him, but couldn't even make weight for the fight. Parisyan is a judo expert and is an all around excellent grappler. His judo throws are what make him an exciting fighter, but his only victories in the UFC are against Matt Serra, Nick Diaz, and Chris Lytle. I do not think he has a chance to get his title shot for a long time now until he beats some of the best the division has to offer. Karo will now have to wait until B.J., Royce, GSP, and even Diego get chances against Hughes.
Diego Sanchez (16-0-0) The Up and Comer
Diego was on The Ultimate Fighter season one and eventually won the middleweight contract by defeating Kenny Florian. After his victory he decided to compete in the welterweight division, a better fit for him. He is excellent at ground and pound and at submissions. After fighting more than anyone else during the reality show, Diego was ready to start his UFC career. In his first two UFC fights he was able to defeat Brain Gassaway and Nick Diaz. After these two wins some people have labeled him a top five welterweight, causing some controversy. He seems to be an amazing fighter, but until he faces better competition I cannot rank him very high. At the upcoming UFC he will face John Alessio, a fighter that should not give him any trouble. I hope that the UFC will give him some tougher competition in the future so he is not given a title shot like Nate Quarry was, without proving his worth first.
Nick Diaz (11-5-0) The Wildcard
He has had some of the best fights in the past few months in controversial decision losses against Joe Riggs and Diego Sanchez. Diaz is a Jiu Jitsu and boxing specialist, a deadly combination for MMA. It means that he can stand and strike with anyone and he can fight on his back if the fight goes to the ground. The first time I saw him fight was in his fight against Robbie Lawler. Lawler is known for his striking skills, so everyone though Diaz would take the fight to the ground. This never happened and Diaz was able to knock Lawler out. In his last fight he lost a very close fight to Joe Riggs. However, the fight did not end there and the two continued to fight each other in the hospital. I personally hope Diaz is brought back into the UFC.
Joe "Daddy" Stevenson (28-6-0) The Ultimate Fighter Part 2
Stevenson was able to win the welterweight contract after beating Luke Cummo in an excellent fight. Dana White called it the Griffin-Bonner of ground battles. I think it was a great fight, but not that good of a fight. Stevenson will be the future of the division along with Sanchez, but for now the UFC will give him some easy competition to help build his name.
Luke Cummo (6-2-0) The Runner-Up
Cummo was the odd ball of The Ultimate Fighter season two. He positioned his bed in the house to get better chi and ate what the other fighters considered to be kelp. He was selected last by the coaches, but soon showed that everyone was wrong about him. The major moment in the show for Cummo came in his second fight of the season against Sammy Morgan. In this fight Cummo landed a devastating knee, knocking Morgan out. The self-proclaimed geek then went on to lose to Stevenson in the finale. In his loss he gained many fans because everyone saw the heart he had. Cummo is a striker, not a grappler like Stevenson is, but Cummo was able to go the distance with him. Luke will also get some easy competition to start out with, but he will eventually be tested. Once this time comes I hope he is ready because I want him to go far in the UFC.
Fighter of the week
Each week I will give you the opportunity to view some of the best fights of a fighter. For the fights I will be using youtube so that you do not have to download the fights. The first fighter of the week will be Welterweight Champion Matt Hughes.
Next week I will be discussing the middleweights, including Middleweight Champion Rich Franklin and number one contender David Loiseau. Please feel free to email me at zach.marcus@gmail.com with any questions, comments, or ideas for future columns. In future columns I will be adding a news section and possibly some guest commentary. And thank you for reading my first column on 411mania.
