411’s UFC 70: Nations Collide Report 4.21.07
Posted by Larry Csonka on 04.21.2007
Would you believe me if I told you Gabriel Gonzaga shocked the world? Well you should by now.
Feel free to send in your thoughts on the show! If you do, please include your BEST and WORST fight, and score the PPV from 0-10!
UFC 70 Predictions:
-Here are the predictions I made for the Forum Pick ‘Em Contest, that way I can be made fun of when I make some atrocious picks. I tied for first for UFC 68 with long time friend and nemesis El Pengu de Voodoo Magnifico, and came in 2nd, VERY surprisingly for the UFN 9 pick ‘em contest and then followed up with a 2nd place finish in the UFC 69 contest.
-Edilberto de Oliveria vs. Paul Taylor - de Oliveria, RD 2, Submission
-Dennis Siver vs. Jess Liaudin – Siver, Decision
-Victor Valimaki vs. Alessio Sakara – Sakara, RD 1, TKO
-Junior Assuncao vs. David Lee – Lee, RD 1, Submission
-Matt Grice vs. Terry Etim – Grice, Decision
-Assuerio Silva vs. Cheick Kongo – Silva, RD 3, TKO
-Andrei Arlovski vs. Fabricio Werdum – Arlovski, Decision
-Michael Bisping vs. Elvis Sinosic – Bisping, RD 2, TKO
-David Heath vs. Ryoto Machida – Machida, Decision
-Mirko Cro Cop vs. Gabriel Gonzaga – Cro Cop, RD 1, TKO
Dark Match Results: -Paul Taylor defeated de Oliveria via Rd 3 TKO
-Jesse Liaudin defeated Dennis Siver via RD 1 submission
-Alessio Sakara defeated Victor Valimaki via RD 1 TKO
-Junior Assuncao defeated David Lee via RD 2 Submission
-Terry Etim defeated Matt Grice via RD 1 Submission
-
UFC 70: Nations Collide:
-Mike Goldberg welcomes us to UFC 70 LIVE (via tape delay) from the Manchester in the UK!
-Joe Rogan joins Mike and puts over how huge the show is, and is glad they have returned to the UK.
-They discuss the fact that the winner of Mirko vs. Gonzaga gets the next title match against Couture. Joe puts over Gonzaga's skills and says many are underestimating him. He reminds us that Mirko is dangerous and possibly the best striker in the world. They run down more of the card.
-We head to a commercial and are informed that Assuerio Silva vs. Cheick Kongo will kick off the show.
-Back from commercial with a video package for Assuerio Silva vs. Cheick Kongo.
HEAVYWEIGHT BOUT - Assuerio Silva (32-4) vs. Cheick Kongo (19-3-1):
-Pre-Fight Prediction: Silva, RD 3, TKO
-The Fight: ROUND ONE: They come out and Silva with leg kicks. Jabs by Kongo and Silva back with another leg kick. Kongo with a nice combo, a jab and hard right connects. A good right lands, Silva tries to take him down but Kongo with a loose guillotine, Silva to his feet and slam, but Kongo holds on. Silva escapes and works for side control. Some lefts by Silva, Kongo clinches hard and tries for better position. Kongo reverses and gets to his feet easily. They separate, leg kicks by Kongo and a nice body shot and combo follow. Silva shoots in but nothing. Kongo with another good combo and a knee to the body. Silva shoots in, they go down but Silva back to his feet, and then slammed right back down. Side control by Silva, elbows by Kongo from the bottom and otherwise they aren't doing anything. Silva mounts, but Kongo escapes and gets a good left as the round ends.
LARRY'S SCORE CARD: Silva did nothing on the ground, Kongo with the better stand up so he gets the round 10-9.
ROUND TWO: Round 2 underway now, leg kick by Kongo. Another. And a 3rd. Kongo in with a combo, and then a body shot. Body kick and lots of punches connecting for Kongo now. He lights up Silva but lets Silva walk away. Takedown now and Silva had his back, but works for side control now. Elbows to the ribs by Silva, Kongo works to escape and can't. Silva with a few shots to the ribs, but does nothing now but hold on. A few more rib shots and then a few lefts to the head of Kongo. More lefts by Silva, Kongo works for a bottom triangle, but nothing. They get stood up. We get a stop as Silva has loose tape. Short stop and back to action. Jab by Kongo, Silva looks for a takedown but Kongo stops that. Silva slams him now and Kongo has a loose guillotine. Silva escapes and works for side control. Round ends. Kongo is tired.
LARRY'S SCORE CARD: Besides the opening flurry, a boring round. Silva had the takedowns and did some work, so I'll give him round 2, 10-9.
ROUND THREE: Kongo misses a kick to begin, but then connects and lights up Silva with kicks and punches. A good body kick connects, Silva shoots in, slams Kongo down and lays in side control. Some lefts by Silva, not doing much and they get stood up, maybe a bit quick there. Leg kicks by Kongo and then a body kick. A combo connects and then a good knee connects. Elbows now connect. More knees and an uppercut all connect. Silva shoots in and takes him to the cage. They clinch, Silva pulls him down and Kongo lands on top. Kongo works for side, stands and into full guard. Rights and lefts connect, and he has Silva against the cage. Kongo on his arm with a knee and tries to land more shots. Kongo has bloodied Silva and Kongo lands more rights. Drops some elbows now and the round ends.
LARRY'S SCORE CARD: Kongo dominated the round, and should win the fights. Overall I will go 29-28 for Kongo. Eddie Bravo agrees, but gave Silva round 1, where as I gave him round 2.
-The Result: Cheick Kongo via Majority Decision (29-28, 29-28 and 28-28)
-We see Bisping and Elvis Sinosic prepare for their fights.
-Now a promo for UFC 71.
-We head to a commercial.
-Back from commercial with a video for Etim vs. Grice.
LIGHTWEIGHT BOUT - Matt Grice (9-0) vs. Terry Etim (9-0):
-Pre-Fight Prediction: Grice, Decision
-The Fight: ROUND ONE: Etim with leg kicks, as he tried to use his reach. Charges in with a knee and Grice takes him down. Etim works for a triangle, Grice escapes that and lands some rib shots. He works Etim to the cage, lands a few shots and then a nice right. Etim holds on now, tries to stop the shots from Grice. Grice lands some more shots from the top, rains down now and Etim is ale to work out a bit, and then hold on. Elbows by Grice now, stands and drops some more shots. Connects with a lot of them. Etim holds on, rights by Grice connect and Etim looks rocked. Etim grabs the head and pulls him in, grabs a body triangle and Grice pushes him towards the cage again. Lefts from Grice, he stands and Etim gets to his feet. They stand and kicks by Etim, Grice gets him into the fence. Etim gets a deep guillotine standing, Grice fights, falls and out of the hold. Etim with hammer shots, Grice tries to hold on and Etim gets another guillotine on Grice and that is all.
-The Result: Terry Etim via Rd 1 Submission
-Joe is with Etim. They discuss the early problems Etim had, but how he came out with the win. He is excited to win in his home country, and thanks UFC. He wanted to set the tone, and feels he did that.
-Back from commercial and they hype UFC 71.
-Joe is with Dana White. Dana has an announcement. Every season they have the coaches fight and all. Matt Serra will coach one team for TUF 6, and Hughes will coach the other team. Tremendous! Serra is here, shocking the world doesn't suck! He had a good night, and he has watched the fight a lot. He say she is looking forward to being a coach for TUF, and he can bring his crew with him and run the team the way he wants. He says Hughes is a dick, a talented dick, but a dick.
-Back to Mike Goldberg and he says Bisping vs. Elvis is next!
-Back from commercial and they hype Michael Bisping vs. Elvis Sinosic. Joe says Bisping loves to fight and says he has all the tools to succeed in UFC. They say Sinosic upset Horn, but has had a series of losses. Elvis wants to keep this a stand up fight. We now get a video hype package for Michael Bisping vs. Elvis Sinosic.
LIGHTHEAVYWEIGHT BOUT - Michael Bisping (13-0) vs. Elvis Sinosic (8-9-2):
-Pre-Fight Prediction: Bisping, RD 2, TKO
-The Fight: ROUND ONE: They come out firing, Elvis looks confident until Bisping slams him down. Elvis looks for the arm, but Bisping pulls it out and hard lefts by Bisping connect. Elbows by Bisping, a good right connects. Lots of lefts now and Bisping easily controls things. He stands as Elvis is down and then down with more shots. Hammer fists and punches and this is completely one-sided right now. Elbows by Bisping, rights and lefts as Elvis tries to avoid the shots. Elvis is cut and Bisping with a big left. Hammer fist again and Elvis is in trouble big time. More lefts from Bisping, a right follows and Elvis can do nothing thus far. More shots by Bisping all connect and Elvis tries to pull him close, but Bisping keeps landing shots. Body shots by Bisping, Elvis is blown up already as Bisping stands and then back down with more shots. Bisping keeps connecting as Elvis has no answer. A big flurry by Bisping to end the round as Elvis "survives."
LARRY'S SCORE CARD: Bisping about killed him, the most one-sided round I have seen in some time. Bisping 10-8.
ROUND TWO: The doctor and ref check on Elvis and he is ok to go. We begin with Bisping landing kicks and a combo. Another kick by Bisping, Elvis gets a kick, Bisping down! He charges in, Bisping almost gets a triangle and gets top position. He gets a kimura on Bisping, but Bisping escapes and Elvis has his back, hooks a leg and looks for a choke. Elvis is really tired and cannot capitalize. Bisping reverses, on top and rains down with shots and the ref stops it!
-The Result: Bisping via Rd 2 TKO
-They hug after the match as Elvis shows good sportsmanship. Joe is with Bisping, they talk about Bisping being caught in Rd 2 and his son joins him in the cage. His son says it was very good to see him win. Bisping says he didn't see the shot coming and went down like a sack of shit. He felt some pressure fighting at home, and thanks the crowd. He thanks UFC for coming here, and thanks his team for their work.
-We see Andrei Arlovski and Fabricio Werdum prepare for their fight.
-Another video for UFC 71 runs.
-They discuss Chuck vs. Rampage.
- Andrei Arlovski vs. Fabricio Werdum is next.
-Back from commercial with a video hype package for Andrei Arlovski vs. Fabricio Werdum.
HEAVYWEIGHT BOUT - Andrei Arlovski (12-5) vs. Fabricio Werdum (9-2-1):
-Pre-Fight Prediction: Arlovski, Decision
-The Fight: ROUND ONE: They come out and circle a bit. Leg kick by Werdum, and then by Arlovski and a combo connects. They clinch, against the cage and knees by Werdum. A good elbow and right by Werdum, jabs by Arlovski and another leg kick by Werdum. Arlovski looks to go in, misses a kick and Werdum jabs. Leg kick by Arlovski, Werdum down after an uppercut and Arlovski kicks at the legs. Arlovski stays on his feet and the ref stands up Werdum. Leg kick misses by Arlovski. Werdum charges in with a combo and connects with 4 shots. Against the fence now, they clinch and knees by Arlovski. Werdum grabs the cage, no warning and Arlovski escapes. Leg kicks by Arlovski, we go into the last minute. A nice right by Arlovski, more leg kicks connect. Werdum tries to change stances to protect the leg as the leg kicks are taking a toll on him. They circle as the round ends.
LARRY'S SCORE CARD: Not a spectacular round, but Arlovski did good damage with the leg kicks and gets the round 10-9.
ROUND TWO: They come out for round 2, they circle and jockey for position. Leg kick by Arlovski, and Werdum answers with a combo. Werdum down, Arlovski kicks at the legs and Werdum up. They circle more, leg kicks and Werdum catches one and stops it. Capo kick try by Werdum misses. A good body kick by Werdum connects. Back to circling, overhand right by Werdum misses. Arlovski is walking him down and not doing much. A leg kick by Arlovski again. A right by Werdum blocked. Jabs by Arlovski, and back to the leg kick as he abuses the left leg of Werdum. Werdum changes stances again, tries to charge in but gets nothing. Another leg kick connects. Arlovski just stalks Werdum, scaring him and working the leg kicks. Arlovski with jabs and then the inside leg kick. The inside of the left leg is bruising badly, as is the back of his right leg. The final 10-seconds hit and a leg kick and flurry of fists by both as the round ends.
LARRY'S SCORE CARD: Werdum did nothing but eat leg kicks, Arlovski with another round 10-9.
ROUND THREE: Round 3 begins with a warning from Herb Dean about retreating and the loss of a point for the first one that does. Herb Dean is stupid. They come out and circle, Arlovski misses a kick. Werdum in with a combo, but nothing connecting. More leg kicks by Arlovski, and that's about all. Werdum FINALLY shoots in but can't take Arlovski down. Rogan says this is not the kind of fight the UFC wants, damn. Werdum in with a combo, finally connects. Arlovski misses a leg kick, Werdum in again with a combo and connects. Arlovski misses a leg kick, Werdum finally gets a good leg kick on Arlovski. Arlovski misses another leg kick and then they both land some shots. Arlovski misses yet another leg kick, Werdum chases and falls to the mat. Back to his feet, lands a shot and the round ends.
LARRY'S SCORE CARD: A largely boring 3rd round, but Werdum did more and gets the anti-climatic 3rd round, but loses 29-28 on my card.
-The Result: Arlovski via Unanimous Decision
-Joe is with Arlovski. Joe says the 1st round was great, but the other rounds were slow. He is sorry if the people are upset, but this was an important victory. He thanks his sponsors and team. He is sorry again for the fight. Joe asks why he didn't pursue more, and he says he wasn't ready for the ground game and stuck to his plan.
-We get a video hype package for UFC 71.
-More Rampage vs. Chuck hype.
-Randy Couture joins the announce team. Randy puts over MIRKO, but he is against a world-class grappler. Randy says Gonzaga just has to go after MIRKO and not back down. Joe doesn't feel Gonzaga is a big underdog. He thinks he is at the level of other top fighters, but is unproven. Randy says he would rather face MIRKO because he as done well against strikers, and with his style he is stronger on the ground. Randy says Gonzaga will upset MIRKO. They say the cage is still foreign to MIRKO, and could get taken down easier. MIRKO doesn't train in a cage, because he doesn't think it makes a difference.
-We get a hype package for MIRKO vs. Gonzaga.
HEAVYWEIGHT BOUT: Mirko Cro Cop (22-4-2) vs. Gabriel Gonzaga (7-1)
-Pre-Fight Prediction: Cro Cop, RD 1, TKO
-The Fight: ROUND ONE: Here we go. They circle, jabs by Gonzaga and keeps the pressure early. Mirko with some pawing jabs, leg kick by Gonzaga. Fake by Gonzaga, circles and hey both throws straight lefts. Body kick grazes Mirko. Gonzaga shoots in and takes Mirko down and took a leg kick as he did it. Mirko in the guard, Gonzaga gets a short elbow and then another. Mirko is controlling the arms well, closing the guard but Gonzaga is in control still. Two big elbows by Gonzaga and Mirko has a cut. Another elbow by Gonzaga, and then another. He dominates still, getting Mirko closer to the cage. Another elbow connects, heats a right but is in control on top. More elbows land by Gonzaga as he is in complete control. Randy says it is a mistake that Mirko doesn't train in the cage. They get stood up, they circle and look for kicks. They both fake, round one is coming to an end and Gonzaga nails a high kick out of nowhere and KNOCKS MIRKO THE F*@K OUT! Oh my God~! Mirko is OUT COLD! Mirko fell BADLY on his right leg.
EMT's check on MIRKO and Randy and Joe speculate he could have suffered a bad knee injury, which he very well could have. His ankle was also twisted badly, damn.
-The Result: Gonzaga via Rd 1 KO
-Joe is with Gonzaga. Joe asks if anyone thought he could KO MIRKO? Translator time, he trained hard and was ready for the fight. He was going for a KO and got it. He thanks the crowd and Joe says he is inline for a shot at Couture. He will try to do the same to Randy. Randy is in there now. Randy was impressed and is looking forward to their fight. Gonzaga thanks him.
-Joe is with Mirko. He is disappointed, and he'll just see where he goes from here.
-Randy says Gonzaga is a tougher match for him, and did not expect the high kick. Randy says he will have a similar game plan as he would have had with Mirko. He really puts over Gonzaga as a difficult match up for him.
-We were scheduled to go until 12:30, but it ends at 12:03. They dropped the David Heath vs. Ryoto Machida; which I heard was horrible.
Stay tuned for Monday Morning when "My Take on MMA" returns with a complete breakdown and final thoughts on UFC 70~!
Feel free to send in your thoughts on the show! If you do, please include your BEST and WORST fight, and score the PPV from 0-10!
