The Tap-Out 07.10.06
Posted by Caleb Newby on 07.10.2006
We review UFC 61: Bitter Rivals... including the biggest and most shocking news to come out of MMA in years! Please, please, please don't be dreaming...
Hey hey hey. Only a few short days later and we are back! It should be obvious that our subject matter is going to be UFC 61. Let's hit it.
UFC 61: Bitter Rivals – Results Undercard results taken from MMAweekly
Drew Fickett defeats Kurt Pellegrino by submission (rear naked choke) at 1:20 of Round 3
Cheick Kongo defeats Gilbert Aldana by TKO (doctor stoppage) at 4:13 of Round 1
Jeff Monson defeats Anthony Perosh by TKO (referee stoppage) at 2:22 of Round 1
This pretty much seals up Monson as the next contender for Sylvia's title. At a foot shorter, can Monson get this to the ground and take the big guy out? I really doubt it and will be curious to see the betting line for this one.
Hermes Franca defeats Joe Jordan by submission (triangle choke) at 0:47 of Round 3
Joe Stevenson defeated Yves Edwards by TKO (doctor stoppage) at 5:00 of Round 2
The main card starts here. This was an awesome first fight, hopefully to set the pace for the rest of the show. Yves hit a few hard, solid shots but Joe managed to stay mostly unfazed and take this fight to the ground, where he was most comfortable.
Joe's ground game was brutal as he opened up a NASTY cut on Yves. Nasty more for the sheer amount of blood that was pouring out of it onto the mat. While I was hoping the doctors would let the match continue after the second round, it was stopped, and you can't really argue with that. That being said, I did want to see the next round start with both men standing to see if Yves would be able to put together another flurry of blows on Joe before being taken down again.
The UFC has built themselves up a solid Lightweight division now, and with their TUF 2 winner taking down a credible foe in Yves Edwards the depth just grew a little more.
Frank Mir defeated Dan Christison by unanimous decision
Booooooooooooring. Boooooooooooring. I mean, I feel like I wouldn't have gassed as quickly as Mir there. He looked in terrible shape, weighing it at a very high 263. Fortunately for him, he got someone in Dan Christison we seems to just be a "happy go lucky" sorts of fellow.
Three dull rounds of Mir sucking in air while trying to eek out enough offense to stop Dan.
Fortunately for Mir, he won this one, so he will undoubtedly get another fight in the terribly shallow heavyweight division. Unfortunately for Mir, there is a strong chance that could be against Andrei Arlovski, who would then proceed to murder him. More on this later.
Tito Ortiz defeated Ken Shamrock by TKO (referee stoppage) at 1:18 of Round 1
Fast fight. We all knew Tito would win. But this was called a little too quickly for many of our tastes. Tito got a beautiful takedown on Shamrock and proceeded to lay elbows into him from above. And then… Herb Dean called it.
Here is the problem. With all the build up to this fight, we wanted to see Tito lay in more punishment to Shamrock. If it was going to end that quickly, we as fans wanted to see a standing KO punch or something instead, something more visual. Some people think the fight was called early, and maybe it was. For the fans sake, it surely should have gone on a little bit longer, but in reality, that would have made little difference. 10-30 more seconds would have only led to more swelling on Ken's face, along with cuts and blood. While us vicious fans want to see it, there was no doubt that Tito had already taken this one home. There was no doubt really even before this fight even started, actually.
Dana White announces WANDERLEI SILVA vs. CHUCK LIDDELL in November!
When Dana was in the ring alone obviously giddy about some announcement, many thoughts were flying through my head. "Maybe he is going to announce a rematch for Tito/Shamrock because of the fans unhappiness? No… way too fast for that. Something about TUF 4? Na, I doubt it. Maybe a new signing? Who is a free agent?" When he said Wanderlei Silva I about lost control of my motor functions. I knew what had to be coming then, but I didn't want to dare think it… but… when this happened…
I was kind of tingly all over. For those of you who are not familiar with Silva, I want to say something. The UFC is amazing at promoting fights that won't be competitive as competitive bouts. They sell us that the underdog has a chance and make Hughes/Gracie or Ortiz/Shamrock seem like the other guy can win. But here, this is a true, legitimate, main event for a show anywhere in the world. It doesn't need a ton of spin and hype to convince us that either man has a shot… they are the two best in the world at their weight in a dream match that MMA fans have drooled at for years, but never thought they would get. As long as the right things happen (and I pray that they do… Liddell beats Babalu, Liddell doesn't sustain an injury, Silva stays injury free in his upcoming fights) this will rock the house. Who wins? Beats me!
Josh Burkman defeated Josh Neer by unanimous decision
Decent fight, but to be honest, at this point I was still transfixed over Silva/Liddell. Part in a state of shock, part trying to explain to my friends why they should care, and part looking online to see if any websites went all "Matt Hardy" (Sherdog did). So what I sort of remember, Burkman won this bout using strength and avoiding numerous sub attempts from Neer. Seriously, that is about all I remember.
Tim Sylvia defeated Andrei Arlovski by unanimous decision
This honest to God went all 5 rounds. Why did Arlovski stop his leg kicks? They were working great. Both of these fighters were playing it safe, not wanting to go home early due to their own mistake. So what we got instead was both of them doing small exchanges without really endangering the other. I am most frustrated at Andrei because Sylvia did what he had to do. Sylvia was looking to counter Andrei and keep him back with his long jab. Andrei has so many tools at his disposal that it was just frustrating to see him only stand and box. WHY DID HE STOP THE LEG KICKS?! Why didn't he try to take Sylvia down? Why not be more aggressive and get inside there and bang a little more?
Now what does this mean for the heavyweights? Sylvia vs. Monson? Ok, makes sense, but Sylvia should win that. Arlovski vs. Mir? Arlovski already has that one won. Vera? Maybe he fights an easier fight to stall him until Sylvia finishes Monson? Unless Dana can get a PRIDE heavyweight here, we might see Arlovski/Sylvia IV sooner than we might think. Which part of me welcomes I suppose.
Overall I had fun, and the Silva announcement made the show for me. I wish things could have been different in the Ortize and Arlovski fights though. That being said, I think we are in for some treats down the line here. Hughes/GSP, possibly Franklin/A. Silva, Liddell/W. Silva, crowning a LW champion. Top, top notch bouts here. I for one can't wait. Don't forget WFA is coming up in just a bit! Return of Bas!
