The Sunday Sprawl 5.25.08: Volume 3 - UFC 84

Posted by Alex Mattis on 05.25.2008

Coming off the heels of UFC 84, I give some thoughts on the event.

We're fresh off the heels of the fantastic event that was UFC 84 and yours truly is quite pleased with the results of the show. I went 8 for 11 with my predictions, which isn't too bad given my predictions record, but I didn't find any of the fights disappointing. Here today on "The Sunday Sprawl" I'll break down the fights that aired on the PPV and also I'll give a preview of the HUGE weekend for MMA ahead.


Thoughts On UFC 84: Ill Will

UFC Lightweight Championship
BJ Penn Vs. Sean Sherk:
Winner: BJ Penn - TKO at 5:00 of Round Three
A great, exciting fight that showcased BJ raw skills and dominating ability. I was amazed that this fight never hit the ground. BJ just battered Sherk with his superior standup until finally putting him away at the end of the 3rd. I totally agree with the stoppage here as Sherk was clearly out for a sec. I felt this fight lived up to all the hype and validate BJ as the number 1 lightweight in the world and possibly in the top three pound for pound fighters out there. BJ may be unstoppable, but I greatly anticipate a potential showdown between him and Roger Huerta. Where does Sherk go from here? He just reassesses his game and tries to work his way back to the top.

Wanderlei Silva Vs. Keith Jardine:
Winner: Wanderlei Silva - KO at 0:36 of Round One
This went exactly as I was hoping it would. Wand needed a win very badly and he fought that way, he came out as aggressive as ever. Jardine made the mistake of trying to throw with Wand and we all saw what happened. This was a vicious beat down and probably rivals the Houston Alexander KO in terms of sheer brutality. There is no way around it, Wand straight up raped Jardine here. I was very happy to see "The Axe Murderer" pick up a win here and am excited that his career appears to not be done.

Goran Reljic Vs. Wilson Gouveia:
Winner: Goran Reljic - TKO at 3:15 of Round Two
This was a good scrap with a rather surprising ending. These two set a pretty solid pace and both looked rather tired toward the end of the fight. It looked to me that Gouveia gassed and that that was what led to the loss. He took some pretty big shots, but just couldn't take any more punishment. A very impressive debut for the undefeated Reljic, as he put away a highly touted fighter. We'll have to wait and see how much longer he can keep his loss column at 0.

Tito Ortiz Vs. Lyoto Machida:
Winner: Lyoto Machida - Unanimous Decision
Pure domination. I expected a more even fight here, but Lyoto showed that he truly is one of the best in the world with this fight. There is no question now that Lyoto deserves his spot and that he should be heavily considered to be the next in line for a title shot. I found the fight itself to be very entertaining and it had me worried a bit there toward the end. That triangle that Tito locked on was so tight and I thought that was going to be it. I went nuts when Machida escaped. Besides that Lyoto picked Tito apart round by round. The knee that Machida hit late in the 3rd was a thing of beauty...


Thiago Silva Vs. Antonio Mendes:
Winner: Thiago Silva - TKO at 2:24 of Round One
Thiago got himself in trouble early in this fight, he was rocked by a serious head kick, but he showed his toughness and prevailed with the W. Thiago is on a role and I think is up in the title hunt, but he needs another big victory. If he had beaten his original opponent, Rashad Evans, I would be speaking a different tale. But with the ruthlessness and viciousness that Silva has shown, I think he may present problems for anyone that steps into the cage with him.

Kazuhiro Nakamura Vs. Sokoudjou:
Winner: Sokoudjou - TKO at 5:00 of Round One
It was good to see Soko get his first win in the UFC, and he looked pretty solid here. Nakamura is a very tough, game fighter and Soko pretty much had his way the entire fight, then he landed a straight shot to the chin and it was all over. I believe that the fight was stopped due to a leg injury caused by the shot that dropped Kazuhiro, whatever the case Soko showed some of the serious power that he has come to be known for. I think that the loss to Machida set "The African Assassin" back a bit, but if he keeps turning out victories like this he could become a force at 205.

Ivan Salaverry Vs. Rousimar Palhares:
Winner: Rousimar Palhares - Submission (Armbar) at 2:36 of Round One
A very impressive win here for Palhares. He completely dominated Ivan Salaverry, who is a veteran of the UFC and who I thought was the favorite going into this fight. Palhares showed excellent submission skills and great fluidity in his grappling. I look forward to what seeing more of Palhares in the future.

Jon Koppenhaver Vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida:
Winner: Yoshiyuki Yoshida - Submission (Anaconda Choke) at 0:56 of Round One
"War Machine" was coming off a very memorable fight in the TUF 6 series finale, and looked to have some potential, but the only thing he has shown me thus far is that he has the ability to throw and trade bombs. I hadn't seen too much wrestling, submission, etc. from him and I think his newness to the sport was shown in this fight. He pretty much walked right in a beautiful judo toss from Yoshida, and once on the ground he looked a little out of place. Yoshida did his thing and won the fight very quickly with a perfectly executed anaconda choke.

Shane Carwin Vs. Christian Wellisch:
Winner: Shane Carwin - KO at 0:44 of Round One
Once glance at Carwin record and his method of victory, it's easy to see this guy has some serious power. Every one of his fights has been stopped early within the first round, his longest fight lasting just 2:11. I thought that Wellisch could have presented some problems for Shane but that didn't seem to be the case. I think Carwin may have a big future ahead of him.

The Un-Aired Fights
-Dong Hyun Kim defeated Jason Tan by TKO in the 3rd round of their fight.

And...

-Rich "No Love" Clementi continued his winning ways in the UFC with a victory over Terry Etim. Being on this win streak, I hope to see some better things for "No Love" in the future. And I hope his next fight is against a bigger name and on the main card.

The Huge Weekend Ahead:
History will be made this upcoming week and legacies will be cemented. This Saturday, May 31st, EliteXC will present their first live broadcast on CBS. This is history for MMA as it will be the first time an MMA show will be broadcast on primetime network TV in the US. The poster boy of EliteXC, Kimbo Slice, will be in the main event as he takes on James Thompson. This should be a fun brawl... for as long as it lasts. As we all know, Kimbo hits incredibly hard. And Thompson is notorious for having a glass jaw, so it should be interesting to see how this fight turns out. Also on the card is Scott Smith Vs. Robbie Lawler. This should also be a good scrap, but I just don't think Smith is ready to fight someone on the level of Lawler. Then the next night, we've got one of the biggest fights to happen so far this year and the biggest fight in the history of the WEC when Urijah Faber defends his featherweight title against Jens Pulver. This fight is so important for both men's careers, and will cement either of their legacies. I personally don't see how Jens can beat Faber, but I look forward to what should be an amazing encounter.

Alright, that is it for me this week. No column next week as I'll be in Vegas, but enjoy the EliteXC show and Faber Vs. Pulver. I'll see you right back here in 2 weeks.

-Alex