411’s UFC Wired Report 08.18.08
Posted by Jonathan Solomon on 08.18.2008
All finishes here as Forrest Griffin fights Shogun Rua, Chuck Liddell takes on Quinton Rampage Jackson, and more on UFC Wired.
411's UFC Wired Report 08.18.08
UFC Wired is a syndicated, one-hour show airing past fights on local MyNetworkTV affiliates and the host is our favorite color commentator, Joe Rogan. Check your local TV listings for your affiliate and exact air dates/times. Enough with the formalities, to the action!
The first fight of the night took place on the pre-show of UFC 81 earlier this year. Chris Lytle had suffered a loss to Thiago Alves at UFC 78 due to a doctor stoppage from a cut. That fight won 'Fight of the Night' honors and Lytle's UFC record stood at 3-5. Kyle Bradley made his UFC debut with this fight after five years as a professional. He rode a seven-fight win streak into the octagon including five knockouts over that stretch.
Welterweight Fight Chris Lytle (34-15-4-) vs. Kyle Bradley (13-4, 1 No Contest) UFC 81: Breaking Point
Las Vegas, Nevada - 02.02.08
Yves Lavigne is the referee. Lytle comes out looking for an overhand right but Bradley avoids it. Lytle stays aggressive, throwing combination's galore and hurts Bradley. Lytle is a man possessed with rights blazing and nailing Bradley on his feet and continuing once he hits the mat. The referee jumps in to stop the fight once Bradley looks out of it. Bradley had to be told by the referee and the doctor's that the fight was over.
Your winner is Chris Lytle due to KO at 0:33 of the first round.
Up next is a main card fight from UFC 82. Recall that the likes of Andrei Arlovski (his last UFC fight), Diego Sanchez and Josh Koscheck all fought on the undercard at that event. Chris Leben, still famous for his stint on the original season of The Ultimate Fighter was coming off a strong knockout victory over Terry Martin. Alessio Sakara defeated James Lee two months before. Including that win, his last four fights ended by technical-knock out. These two were matched up with explosive things in mind.
Middleweight Fight Chris Leben (17-4) vs. Alessio Sakara (16-6, 1 No Contest) UFC 82: Pride of a Champion
Columbus, Ohio - 03.01.08
Herb Dean is the referee. Leben throws three leg kicks, one is blocked and the others don't connect at all. Leben lands a left cross and moves in as Sakara throws a high kick to keep the distance. Leben eats several punches as he moves in on Sakara. He follows up with a right and left combination that lands flush on Leben's face. This is a total slugfest as each fighter lands big punches. Leben looks hurt but he comes back strong with the Muay Thai clinch and strikes of his own. Leben lands two big left crosses and Sakara literally drops like a sack of bricks. Leben continues his onslaught as Sakara goes to his back. Sakara eats two or three big shots to his face, undefended, when the referee stops the fight.
Your winner is Chris Leben due to KO at 3:16 of the first round.
One of the more anticipated UFC debut's in the wake of PRIDE's demise was that of Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. Shogun came into the fight on a four-fight win streak with wins of Cyrile Diabete, Kevin Randleman, Kazuhiro Nakamura and Alistair Overeem. He was (and still is) viewed as one of the most dangerous fighters in the world. Shogun's first opponent in the UFC was "homegrown" talent, Ultimate Fighter season one winner, Forrest Griffin. In the wake of the "upset" defeat to Keith Jardine at UFC 66, Griffin defeated Hector Ramirez at UFC 72. It should be noted that both fighters had substantial injuries entering the fight although the knowledge wasn't known to the viewing public. Rua injured his ACL in training and worsened it during the fight. Griffin's shoulder was a complete wreck and he finally had surgery after this fight.
Light Heavyweight Fight Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (16-2) vs. Forrest Griffin (14-4) UFC 76: Knockout
Anaheim, California - 09.22.07
Steve Mazzagatti is the referee. The crowd is abuzz as the fight kicks off. Griffin throws two leg kicks while Shogun tries an overhand punch. Shogun tries to take down Forrest but Griffin's defense is superb and Griffin ends up taking Shogun's back. Shogun rolls onto his back, up-kicking Griffin in the process. Shogun tries for a triangle choke but Griffin rolls him over and nearly takes his back. Both men return to their feet. Both men throw combination's until Shogun takes Griffin down with a double leg. Shogun, in Griffin's guard, has extreme difficulty trying to fire off any strikes. Griffin does a great job at controlling Rua's wrists. Finally, they return to their feet and throw more bombs. Griffin lands an uppercut. Griffin works the leg kicks into a steady dose. Shogun lands a couple jabs. They exchange knee's before Griffin sweeps Shogun for the takedown. Griffin takes Rua's back before he rolls into guard. Griffin lands punches in the guard, retreats and lets Shogun stand, but not before throwing a leg kick. Forrest's boxing skills look tremendous as he throws jabs and mixes in kicks. Shogun shoots in and gets the takedown but Griffin stands right back up. Shogun gets another takedown and ends up in Forrest's guard. Griffin changes position and takes Shogun's back once again. Shogun rolls into guard as Forrest throws more strikes as the round ends. WOW, what an action packed round. Extremely tough to score as both men did a ton of work in the five minutes. With that said, I'd give the 10-9 to Forrest as it appeared he did more damage with his strikes.
The second round kicks off with Forrest connecting with more jabs. Shogun throws and then shoots and takes Forrest down with a single leg takedown. From the guard, Griffin tries a guillotine but can't lock it in. Shogun once again has trouble throwing strikes from the guard due to Forrest's control of his wrists. Shogun finally is able to land two to three punches. Griffin gets back to his feet and takes down Shogun. Griffin lands punches, takes Shogun's back before Rua can stand. Shogun shoots in but Griffin defends the takedown and takes Shogun's back. Forrest lands punches to the head as they stand. Griffin is cut on the forehead. Shogun appears to be gassed with two minutes to go in the round. Shogun's hands are at his side, until he throws a punch. Griffin defends a weak takedown attempt and takes Shogun's back. Griffin, from side control, unleashes tons of punches on Shogun as the round concludes. Shogun is completely gassed at this point. Griffin looked stronger here, being able to take advantage of Shogun's lack of energy. Another 10-9 for Griffin.
The final round and Griffin lands a nice jab. Shogun shoots in and gets the takedown. He attempts a triangle choke but Griffin escapes it and ends up pulling guard. Both men appear to be tiring as any of the strikes thrown don't look to have much impact behind them. Griffin takes Shogun's back, then ends up in Shogun's half-guard. Forrest is active and throwing punches to the head and body. Shogun rolls around but Griffin maintains the dominant position and continues throwing strikes. At the thirty second mark, Griffin sinks in his hooks and takes Shogun's back. Griffin locks in the rear naked choke with eighteen seconds left and Shogun Rua taps out. Forrest went nuts in celebration.
Your winner is Forrest Griffin via submission (rear naked choke) at 4:45 of the third round.
Perhaps no fight was more anticipated in 2007 (well, other than Chuck Liddell versus Wanderlei Silva and to a lesser extent, Matt Serra vs. Matt Hughes) than Chuck Liddell defending the UFC 205-pound title against Rampage Jackson. In the dying days of PRIDE, Rampage left for the WFA promotion. The UFC purchased that organization in large part so they could acquire Jackson. Rampage was on a four-fight win streak heading into this show, including wins against Matt Lindland and Marvin Eastman. As for Chuck Liddell, his most recent loss at the time was to Quinton Jackson back in 2003 during PRIDE Final Conflict 2003. Since that loss and returning to the UFC, Liddell defeated the likes of Tito Ortiz (twice), Randy Couture (twice), Jeremy Horn, Babalu Sobral and Vernon White. He defeated Couture to earn the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship at UFC 52 in April 2005. An interesting trivia note is this was the first UFC event to have tons of ESPN coverage including broadcasting the weigh-in's. ESPN literally covered the event as if it were a huge boxing show. For whatever reason, ESPN has never covered a UFC in the same fashion since UFC 71 in May 2007.
UFC Light Heavyweight Championship Match Champion Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell (20-3) vs. Challenger Quinton "Rampage" Jackson (26-6) UFC 71: Liddell vs. Jackson
Las Vegas, Nevada - 05.26.07
John McCarthy is the referee. Chuck Liddell throws jabs and a leg kick to keep Rampage in check. In the first real frenzy of punches thrown, Rampage lands a left and has Chuck back peddling. Chuck lands a jab, circles, and goes for a hook but Rampage answers first. Quinton Jackson lands a big left hook and sends Liddell to the mat with his feet in the air. Jackson pounces on Chuck and lands five unanswered shots before the referee stops the fight. Liddell comes to and has to be told the fight is over. History is made inside the octagon yet again.
Your winner and NEW UFC LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION is Quinton Jackson due to KO at 1:53 of the first round.
Final Thoughts: Well this was a pretty damn good series of fights. Chris Lytle sure doesn't have the same aura of guys like Rampage or The Ax Murderer, but the dude has bricks in his hands. Another guy with bricks for hands is Chris Leben. Say what you want about the guy for his legal issues or TUF-background, but when he fights, it can end at any second. Sakara was doing pretty well until he got caught. It's still a blast to see the Griffin/Rua fight because Griffin continued his rise to the top that ultimately continued (or peaked?) on to his defeat of Rampage last month. Who cares if either man was injured for the fight, every fighter has injuries. Griffin controlled Shogun and was the better fighter on the ground and definitely the better fighter on their feet. Some may still say Shogun is one of the best in the world, he may be, but he's certainly not in my "Top 10." The famous Rampage dismantling of Chuck inside a UFC cage was a sight to see. I still recall all of the craziness from that weekend thanks to the rush of "mainstream" media coverage. It's not every day you get to see Joe Rogan argue against an arrogant boxing promoter on ESPN and nearly get kicked off for how he argued (Rogan is a one of a kind...in a good way). In hindsight, it looks like it simply was a guy getting caught with a big shot. Liddell lost to The Dean of Mean after this fight but he sure did look great against Wanderlei Silva. Chuck's next fight is against Rashad Evans next month in Atlanta and I'm sure there will be plenty of folks picking against the "old" Iceman. Not me.
