Intelligently Defending: 9.20.07 A Look at Fight Night Live XI
Posted by Ken Kobel on 09.20.2007
The UFC offered more free MMA goodness on Wednesday night. The Fight Night Live XI card looked great on paper. So how did things turn out? Find out in the latest edition of Intelligently Defending along with some post fight analysis.
Originally, I had thought Fight Night Live started at 8pm Eastern which would have given me ample time to complete this column. As it turns out, the action did not begin until 9pm Eastern which means I have roughly an hour to submit this bad boy early enough to be published on Thursday. So if you read this on Friday, you will know I did not make it.
Anyway, in the immortal words of Al Bundy: let's rock!'
On Wednesday night, the UFC delivered another installment of their free MMA series Fight Night Live. On paper, the card looked like one of the best editions of the series to date punctuated with a huge main event in the lightweight division.
Let us take a look at how the night turned out.
Nate Quarry vs. Pete Sell
Round 1: They start out standing with Drago getting the better of the exchanges. They clinch and Sell gets a takedown and Quarry quickly stands up. They clinch on the fence again and Yamasaki sees enough and separates them. Neither fighter does much as the round continues, but Sell landed more punches. 10-9 Sell.
Round 2: Quarry opens the round with some nice leg kicks which backs Pete off. Sell comes back in and drops Nate with a big right. Drago is hesitant to follow up perhaps still weary of the Scott Smith incident. Quarry collects himself and lands punches before Sell takes him down and attempts a guillotine. Nate gets back up and Sell lands a nice superman punch. The rest of the round plays out slowly with neither fighter doing much damage but Pete getting the better of things. 10-9 Sell.
Round 3: Quarry comes out trying to land more leg kicks but Sell continues to tag him with punches. Blink and you will miss Quarry throwing a vicious right that knocks Sell out. Nate follows up with an overhand on the ground for good measure. Yamasaki to the rescue and this one is over.
Winner: Nate Quarry
Thoughts: The great Nate Quarry comeback did not look promising in the first two rounds. He seemed sluggish and was losing the exchanges. That was a huge right that he landed to eventually end the contest and in the process probably secured himself a main card bout for his next fight. A loss would have no doubt dropped him to the prelims. Hopefully things will continue to get better for Quarry as he is a likeable guy and has an inspirational story. The fact that he has made it back from his spine injury is incredible. Look for his next fight to be against a middle of the pack middleweight -- maybe Patrick Cote. It will be a long road back to another title shot but he has started the journey out on the right foot.
On the other side of the spectrum it is the same old story for Pete Sell another missed opportunity. If he would have followed up better after dropping Quarry in the second he would have had a chance to pick up a huge and much needed win. He is now 0-4 in the UFC since beating Phil Baroni at UFC 51. His stand-up is decent but he lacks sufficient knockout power. As for the ground, he has shown nothing except a slick guillotine. The UFC is not going to be in a hurry to bring him back into the octagon. At only age 25 he has time to improve his skills but they will have to be improved back in the Ring of Combat organization.
Nathan Diaz vs. Junior Assuncao
Round 1: Junior comes out with a nice barrage of leg kicks and Diaz clinches. Nate gets a takedown but Assuncao is quickly to his feet. Another clinch brings the action back to the ground where we see a series of sweet grappling transitions as Diaz tries to work a kimura. The fight gets back to the feet and Diaz lands an impressive series of punches that floor Junior. Out of desperation, Assuncao attempts a shot which Diaz reads easily and sets up a guillotine. Assuncao taps late in the first.
Winner: Nathan Diaz
In the post fight, Diaz miraculously manages to get through an interview without causing Dana White to hang his head in disgust. Although, the shout-out to big brother Nick and Jake Shields on their Elite XC wins could not have made the big man too happy.
Thoughts: A solid victory for Nate Diaz in his first appearance since winning TUF5. He showed power in his hands when he dropped Junior with the combo that allowed him to then set-up the guillotine. The UFC is not going to be in a rush to promote Diaz to the upper tier of lightweights too soon. The division is already stacked and at the young age of 22, Nate still has plenty of time to develop into a better fighter. The UFC will continue to bring him up slowly before they see what he can do against the likes of Stevenson, Griffin, or Tavares. This was a definite step in the right direction for him though as he defeated probably the best fighter he has fought to date, outside of Manny Gamburyen.
Chris Leben vs. Terry Martin
Round 1: Leben comes out with a series of leg kicks which cause Martin to go for the takedown. Once on top, Terry does nothing inside Leben's guard. Chris works an armbar which causes Martin to stand up and invite Leben back to the feet. Terry lands some punches and then scoops Chris up for a big slam. Out of desperation, Leben grabs the fence which gets him a point deduction. Martin gets the takedown but Leben stands up again. Leben lands some shots before the round ends. 9-9 draw due to point reduction.
Round 2: They clinch and Martin is visibly breathing heavy. Leben is the fresher and more efficient striker throughout the round. Towards the end, Terry gets a takedown and once again does nothing from the top. Leben gets in a triangle attempt as the round ends. 10-9 Leben
Round 3: Things are now getting ugly. Martin throws a few combos as both fighters are completely gassed. Terry catches a leg and brings Leben down. The ground sequence plays out like the previous ones with Martin doing nothing from the top. They stand up and it looks like either one could keel over at any moment. Martin briefly scores another takedown but Chris is back to his feet in a hurry. Terry sends Leben backtracking with a big punch but Chris stumbles back and knocks Martin out cold with a left.
Winner: Chris Leben
Thoughts: Chris Leben somehow pulls out a victory in a fight he absolutely needed to win. A loss here would have put Leben on the prelims and possibly out of the UFC all together. Now he is back in business and will probably get another fight on a Fight Night Live main card. The announcers tried to spin it as if the move to Hawaii has helped Leben become a better fighter. In reality, this looked like every other Leben fight we have seen. He took some shots, landed a few of his own, eventually gassed, and this time was able to still score a huge knockout. The UFC is done giving him easy fights so expect his next opponent to be a game middleweight he may make a good comeback fight for Nate Marquardt.
In other news, the Terry Martin bandwagon has broken down. Many were expecting Terry to cruise through Leben and continue his rise up the middleweight ranks. This fight however, exposed him in two areas -- his complete inability to pass for a better position while inside the guard and a total lack of a gas tank. He is going to have to train these aspects hardcore but he still has talent and will be back. I expect his next fight will come on the prelims against an unknown opponent in order for him to get his confidence back.
The good news for both of these fighters is that the UFC middleweight division is very thin. It may only take a streak of three wins in order for someone to get a title shot.
Kenny Florian vs. Din Thomas
Round 1: Kenny comes out with a series of kicks both high and low. One of the low kicks catches Din below the belt and we get a pause in the action. The fight re-starts and Florian slips but is quickly back to his feet. Kenny shoots in and gets a takedown but Din defends well and gets back up. It is now Din's turn to shoot but in doing so he injures what appears to be his knee. Thomas turtles as Florian lands shots from the top. Kenny then sinks in the hooks and rolls Din over in a rear naked choke. Din quickly taps.
Winner: Kenny Florian
Thoughts: This was an unfortunate and awkward end to what was going to be a very good main event. It was clear Din had injured something when he shot in on Kenny since he made no attempt to do anything but crawl into the fetal position and try to block Florian's onslaught. Kenny seemed to be getting the better of Thomas, but the fight still could have gone either way at that point. Oh well, such is life.
In any event, Kenny continues to roll since losing his title shot against Sean Sherk. Florian has three victories since April, all coming via submission. This victory puts him squarely back in the title hunt. If Sherk loses his appeal, the title will obviously be up for grabs and two contenders will need to be chosen to fight for the vacant gold. It seems like the UFC is set on having B.J. Penn fill one of the spots despite the fact that he has not earned a title shot in my estimation. Still, with B.J. seemingly penciled in it leaves only one spot left. Right now, Joe Stevenson looks to be the most deserving contender on paper. Kenny is right there but will need one more quality win before he solidifies himself as deserving of a shot. The winner of Griffin/Tavares would be a logical choice for his next opponent and would also lead to a fantastic fight.
As for Din, tonight was a lousy way for him to lose his win streak. It was clear the end was near when he went in for that shot. Do not worry about Thomas though; he has been doing this a long time and will be back. He has shown some very good talent since coming off TUF4 and hopefully this injury will not keep him on the sidelines for too long.
In Closing
It would take a little bit of research before one could proclaim this event as the best Fight Night to date. For now we will just call it a great night of free MMA and leave it at that. Quarry is a great story. Nate Diaz looked solid in his first fight since winning TUF5. Florian continues to climb the ladder.
Best of all -- the judges were simply spectators the entire night.
That's it for this week.
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