My Take on MMA 8.26.07: Final UFC 74 Thoughts
Posted by Larry Csonka on 08.26.2007
If loving Randy Couture is wrong, I don’t want to be right.
Introduction:
Welcome back to the latest edition of My Take on MMA. As always I am your host Larry Csonka. Saturday gave us our latest PPV effort from the UFC, UFC 74: Respect. The card was highlighted by three important bouts; The UFC Heavyweight Title Bout featuring Randy Couture defending against Gabriel Gonzaga, a Welterweight encounter with Georges St. Pierre vs. Josh Koscheck and finally a Lightweight bout with Kurt Pellegrino challenging Joe Stevenson. Who would win these bouts, who would walk out the champion and who would look to become top challengers? Let's break down the show and find out!
UFC 74: Respect~!:
The Fight: MIDDLEWEIGHT BOUT - Ryan Jensen (11-1) vs. Thales Leites (11-1) My Prediction: Thales Leites, Submission, RD 1 The Result: Thales Leites via RD 1 (3:47) Submission Larry's Enjoyment Index: 7.0 Final Thoughts: This but was added after the main event from the dark match lineup. Ryan Jensen was a late replacement for Travis Lutter, who will be remembered for not making weight for his title fight with Anderson Silva. He was injured in training here and Jensen took the fight. Thales Leites has been on a roll as of late, coming off of two straight submission victories over Floyd Sword and Pete Sell. They came out and had a wild bout, and overall a very good one. Sometimes when guys take a fight late, they seem to have some extra energy early and come out guns a blazing. Jensen did that here. Jensen was able to dominate early with takedown and landing more solid and damaging shots, and things were looking rough for Thales Leites. In the end, Leites was able to get the position he wanted and while the sweet omaplata try failed, he got the arm bar for the victory. He continues his roll and looked good, while Jensen out on a good show on late notice, and has ensured himself another fight in the UFC, or possibly a shot in WEC. This was a pleasant edition to the card. I called that one totally correct. Hooray for me!
The Fight: MIDDLEWEIGHT BOUT - Kendall Grove (10-3) vs. Patrick Cote (11-4) My Prediction: Kendall Grove, Submission, Rd 2 The Result: Patrick Cote via RD 1 (4:45) KO Larry's Enjoyment Index: 6.5 Final Thoughts: This bout was the first PPV bout of the evening. Kendall Grove, an Ultimate Fighter winner and someone UFC is looking to push. Cote was coming off of two wins and was looked at as "an easy opponent" for Grove. The beginning of the bout was slow and a bit tedious as they clinched a lot and didn't do much else. Herb Dean broke them up and restarted them, and things began to pick up. Grove kicked it into a higher gear and was landing good knees and combos. But while he was working well, Cote landed a straight right and dropped Grove. Cote almost had him with a choke, but Grove escaped only to eat a buffet of punches and the fight was stopped. Cote served notice that he wasn't a steppingstone and the way the year has gone, no one should be surprised. This was the "worst" fight of the night in my opinion, and by worst, I mean "least best." I had this one picked completely wrong.
The Fight: LIGHTWEIGHT BOUT - Kurt Pellegrino (16-2) vs. Joe Stevenson (32-7) My Prediction: Joe Stevenson, RD 2, TKO The Result: Joe Stevenson via decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) Larry's Enjoyment Index: 7.5 Final Thoughts: Our second bout of the PPV night was Kurt Pellegrino vs. Joe Stevenson. I remember liking Kurt Pellegrino the first time I saw him and was looking forward to this fight. In reality I thought it could go either way, but with the way Stevenson schooled Melvin at the last fight night, I thought he could take Kurt Pellegrino by round two. The first round was awesome for the fact that Joe Stevenson used a GERMAN SUPLEX on Kurt Pellegrino, dumping him on his head. That was almost as great as the guy from the first SHOWXC using a Death Valley Driver. C A close opening round, but I thought Stevenson did enough to take it. Round two was not as close as round one. Pellegrino landed some good combos and shots, but Joe opened him up and overall looked more dominating. Round three was a great round as Pellegrino worked hard knowing he was either down or they were tied. Stevenson landed great knees, while Pellegrino had good reversals on the ground and almost landed an ankle lock late. Very good fight and Stevenson should be in line for the lightweight title, whether it is a match with Sherk or a match with someone else if Sherk is stripped of the title. I had the right guy, just the wrong decision.
The Fight: LIGHTWEIGHT BOUT - Roger Huerta (20-1-1 DRAW) vs. Alberto Crane (8-0) My Prediction: Roger Huerta, Decision The Result: Roger Huerta via RD 3 (1:50) TKO Larry's Enjoyment Index: 8.0 Final Thoughts: The third bout was another step up in quality as Roger Huerta battled Alberto Crane. Round one saw some simply amazing groundwork by Crane, and if he was in there with a lesser fighter he would have completely dominated. But Huerta landed a ton of hard shots, producing a mouse under the left eye of Crane and I felt he took the round. Round two saw Crane gas out midway trough and Huerta dominate with power shots again. Crane was impressive again on the ground, but was tired and at times laid there hoping Huerta would come back to the ground. Crane was done here. When round three began the doctor asked Crane is he wanted to continue and he did. He really shouldn't have as he again was just completely gassed and laid there and fell down on his own at least one time. Huerta actually at one point used the big screen as an aid to hit Crane, who had his back. Comical in a way, but very smart. Huerta would eventually get his back and the fight was stopped, in what was a dominating performance for Huerta. I had the right guy, just the wrong decision; barley.
The Fight: WELTERWEIGHT BOUT - Georges St. Pierre (13-2) vs. Josh Koscheck (11-1) My Prediction: Josh Koscheck, Decision The Result: Georges St. Pierre via decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) Larry's Enjoyment Index: 8.0 Final Thoughts: This next bout was an important one for the future of the Welterweight Division and GSP would battle Josh Koscheck. With Koscheck defeating Sanchez and GSP the former champion, the winner would have to be consider a favorite for a title shot. The big question was if GSP could bounce back after the devastating loss to Matt Serra. The first round I saw as extremely close. GSP would control early, but Koscheck took control late and I though it was enough to take the round. But when round two started, the fight was completely different. GSP would dominate Koscheck with wrestling, keeping the all American wrestler on his back and not ever being in trouble. Round three was much of the same, and in the end GSP got the big comeback win. On the hype special he said he was a better wrestler than Koscheck and would dominate him with it, and he did. He kept Koscheck on his back, a place which all wrestlers hate and Koscheck couldn't do a thing about it. GSP upped his stock with a great post match interview where he said he was glad he lost to Serra because he was no reborn and would be a better fighter than ever. He then asked UFC to go to Canada because the crowd would love it. The Vegas crowd, very pro GSP agreed and it was great stuff. I called the distance for the fight but the wrong man, but am happy GSP won.
"Gonzaga is younger and obviously hungry, but Randy is older, wiser and no one can doubt his conditioning. When I sit down and think about the fight, I realize that this is a hard one to pick for me. I mean, you have to ask, "Is Gabriel Gonzaga a one hit wonder or is he the real deal?" I would like to think that he is the read deal, but we see so many flashes in the pan it is hard to tell. I have a ton of faith in Randy, but he is training, opening up gyms, about to star in a movie and that could have him out of the game. Add into it that he isn't getting any younger and it could be a recipe for disaster. It seems like the odds are stacked against him, and it is that reason that I think he has the advantage. I have decided that I will stay loyal to Randy Couture until he proves me wrong, which very well maybe this weekend but I think he'll take the youngster to the limit and win the decision."
I truly believed that, and when the fight began I was excited. Things started out even, but would turn bad for Gonzaga after a slam by Randy, where Randy landed on Gonzaga's face with the top of his head, breaking the nose of Gonzaga. This caused a lot of blood and Gonzaga would start to breath exclusively from his mouth, causing him to tire quickly and allowing Randy to take round one. Round two saw Gonzaga bleeding a lot, and actually had Herb Dean stop things because he said he couldn't see. Dean asked if he wanted to stop, and he said now. They were put back into position and when Randy tried to slam him Gonzaga grabbed the cage and was instantly docked a point. Randy landed lots of hard shots and easily took the round. When round three began Gonzaga knew he had to go for broke. He landed a HUGE high kick, which Randy took and shook off. At this point I knew Gonzaga was done, and I was right as Randy took him down, landed a ton of shots and the bout was stopped. I never thought that would happen, I expected the decision. Some will say the broken nose was a big part of Gonzaga losing, and it was. But that is fighting. It was in no was intentional due to it being off a slam. It happens in fights, and unfortunately for young Gabriel Gonzaga, it happened to him tonight. Bottom line is that Randy Couture did it again and the feel good story of 2007 continues, and I am "A OK" with that! I picked the right guy here, thanks Randy, but he finished quicker than I thought.
