411's UFC Unleashed Report 02.16.09
Posted by Jonathan Solomon on 02.16.2009
How bad did Rich Franklin suffer against Anderson Silva? UFC Unleashed features their classic original squash, plus GSP/Sean Sherk and one of the bloodiest fights in UFC history as Rory Singer meets Josh Haynes.
Our opening fight on the show is a fight that did not air on the famous SpikeTV show featuring the final showdown between Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock. Former Ultimate Fighter competitors Josh Haynes and Rory Singer meet in a middleweight fight.
Singer was coming off his TUF 3 Finale win over Ross Pointon. Haynes had suffered defeat against Michael Bisping in the finals of the season on the same show.
UFC Ortiz vs. Shamrock 3: The Final Chapter
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida
October 10th, 2006
Josh Haynes (9-5) vs. Rory Singer (10-6)
Singer has a five-inch height advantage and a substantial reach advantage. Big John McCarthy is the referee.
They start by circling the cage and Singer throws a pair of jabs and misses a high kick. Haynes clinches with Singer and they end up near the cage. Singer lands a knee, while Haynes works for the takedown before they separate. Haynes lands an overhand right and a body punch, then misses a pair of bombs. Singer lands a jab. Haynes has trouble landing big punches as Singer backs away. Haynes misses a combination before they clinch. Singer lands a knee followed up with a combination. Haynes misses a leg kick, then eats a knee and Singer goes for the clinch. 60 seconds left. They separate and stare at each other. Haynes lands a leg kick. Haynes misses another overhand right. OH~! Singer lands a big high kick that rocks Haynes. Haynes is bleeding right between the eyes and is saved by the bell. If it was not for that last huge kick, I may have been inclined to give the round to Haynes who seemed more active despite not doing a lot of damage. Now after that big kick, Singer takes the round, 10-9.
The second round opens and they exchange combo attempts. Haynes lands a punch but Singer lands several punches, kicks and knees, opening up Haynes' cut. Haynes shoots in and gets the takedown. Singer goes for a triangle but Haynes backs away and they return to kickboxing. Haynes lands a big right that rocks Singer. Haynes is in Singer's closed guard. Haynes is dropping bombs and elbows (in addition to his own blood) as Singer tries to avoid any shots. Singer is covered in Haynes' blood. Haynes passes to side control at the one-minute mark. Haynes looks tired, not throwing any punches as Singer returns to the half-guard. They stand-up and the round is over. Parts of the round were boring but Haynes pushed the pace in the second half of the round after the first takedown. Haynes gets the 10-9 here for doing more damage to Singer.
The final round begins and Haynes lands a leg kick. Singer lands jabs and hooks which opens Haynes' cut again. Big John calls timeout and asks the doctor to check on Josh Haynes. The doctor wipes the blood from his nose and makes sure he can breathe before allowing the fight to continue. The crowd applauds the non-stoppage. Singer picks apart Haynes with a combination including punches, knees and kicks. Haynes' nose is bleeding like a pipe. Singer lands a straight left. Haynes slips and Singer takes his back, working for an arm. Singer pulls Haynes into his closed guard. Haynes tries to land some punches from top position but Singer is controlling him from the bottom. For some stupid reason, they cut to some chick in the stands with a beer for about four seconds. Back in the cage, Big John stands up the fighters with under two minutes to go. Actually, the ref brings Haynes back to the doctor because of "a flap of skin hanging." Haynes pleads to continue, insisting that he can breathe just fine. The doctor allows it and Haynes returns as Big John resumes the fight. Say what you want about Josh Haynes, but the dude is either stupid or has balls the size of grapefruits...perhaps both. Rory Singer literally looks as if someone threw an open bucket of red paint on him. Haynes shoots for the takedown but does not get it. Singer lands a pair of jobs. Haynes is gassed. Mike Goldberg provides perhaps the funniest comment I have ever heard him say, "You can't even see his blue hair anymore," in reference to Josh Haynes' blood-soaked head. Singer lands a left hook and another jab. Singer simply backs away from any of Haynes' punch attempts. The fight is over. You say gutty performance and I say Josh Haynes.
The round did not see a whole lot of action simply because both men were tired. Haynes tried his hardest but was out of energy and Singer simply did enough to take the round, 10-9. I have the fight 29-28 for Rory Singer.
Your winner is RORY SINGER by unanimous decision (29-28 across the board).
Up next is a welterweight fight that aired early on the UFC 56 pay-per-view event. At this point, Georges St. Pierre was a huge up-and-comer in the division and rebuilding himself after his (first career) loss to Matt Hughes at UFC 50. Heading into this fight, GSP had won three straight fights (two in the UFC) including a submission win over Frank Trigg. For Sean Sherk, this was his UFC return after over two years of fighting in other organizations. His last UFC fight was a (also his first career) loss to Matt Hughes in a championship fight at UFC 42. Since then, Sherk was 12-0 and was looking at a start to earn another championship shot.
UFC 56: Full Force
MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada
November 19th, 2005
Georges St. Pierre (10-1) vs. Sean Sherk (33-1-1)
Herb Dean is the referee.
Sherk comes out with a kick and misses. GSP lands a jab and knocks Sherk down who pulls butterfly guard. They work back to their feet. GSP is working with jabs. GSP lands a head kick and a few jabs. Sherk shoots and cannot get the takedown. Sherk tries to counter punch but is not doing any damage. Sherk shoots again and cannot take GSP down (again). GSP lands a body kick and another jab. GSP attempts a takedown and clinches with Sherk but backs away. Sherk takes a right to the head after missing a leg kick. Dean calls a timeout to check Sherk and resumes the action. They clinch and GSP lands a few knees, Sherk responds with some of his own. GSP pushes Sherk towards the cage and lands more knees. They break away. GSP lands a high kick. Sherk bob's and weave's to avoid some strikes. GSP shoots and gets the takedown, slamming Sherk near the cage. GSP is in half-guard with under 90 seconds left. GSP drops elbows as Sherk moves to butterfly guard. Sherk lands some punches from the bottom but GSP is doing more damage with shots to the body and elbows to the head. GSP is too strong as he is controlling Sherk on the mat. Sherk lands a few hammerfists from the bottom but GSP drops rights and lefts as the bell sounds. A great performance from GSP in the opening round with great takedown defense, solid striking and effective wrestling. He earns the 10-9 score.
The second round kicks off and they exchange punches. Sherk lands a left hook. Sherk shoots in but GSP defends it again. Sherk eats several jabs. GSP lands a high kick. GSP lands a spinning back kick. GSP lands a left hook that stumbles Sherk (may have been a slip). GSP lands a right overhand, then takes Sherk down into the cage. GSP is in Sherk's closed guard and dropping elbows and punches. Sherk's nose is bloodied and he is still throwing some punches from the bottom. GSP is dropping major pain all over Sherk and Herb Dean finally calls it a fight. Sherk's nose is a bloody mess (no, I am no British) and Joe Rogan believes it may be broken.
Your winner by TKO is GEORGES ST. PIERRE at 2:53 of the second round.
This was a post-fight interview. In hindsight, how about the irony as I assume Sherk was kidding. If not, it is pretty funny that Sherk may have claimed someone else was cheating. cough:ROIDS:cough
The main event of this episode of UFC Unleashed features a UFC Middleweight Championship fight, the last of the Rich Franklin reign. Franklin won the strap at UFC 53 from Evan Tanner. Since then, he successfully defended the belt against Nate Quarry and David Loiseau. From a career standpoint, he had not lost since New Year's Eve in 2003 when he suffered his first career loss against Lyoto Machida on an Antonio Inoki show in Japan. Franklin appeared as one of the coaches on the second season of The Ultimate Fighter and appeared to be ready to become of the elite fighters in the sport. Then he fought a man named Silva...Anderson Silva.
Anderson Silva made his UFC debut about four months before this championship fight, knocking out Chris Leben with a knee in under a minute. Silva's 2006 did not start out with a bang as he suffered a loss to Yushin Okami in Hawaii due to an illegal kick. In any event, Silva defeated Tony Fryklund at Cage Rage 16 in England in April, leading to his UFC debut. Heading into the fight, Silva was known as a fierce striker...he did not disappoint.
Anderson Silva predicts the fight will be similar to a chess match in that any small mistake could lead to failure. Rich Franklin must have seen the future because he knows this fight will be the toughest challenge for him as champion, ever.
UFC 64: Unstoppable
Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada
October 14th, 2006
UFC Middleweight Champion Rich Franklin (22-1) vs. Anderson Silva (16-4)
Big John McCarthy is the referee.
Feeling out process begins before Silva lands a leg kick. Franklin lands a leg kick. Silva lands a straight kick. Franklin lands a jab and a leg kick. Silva clinches Franklin and the knees begin flowing. Knees to the body of Franklin, and Franklin's ribs are red. Silva sends a knee to Franklin's leg and Franklin looks powerless to stop Silva. More knees to the body and Silva is dominating the champion. Franklin is in major trouble and pain, more knees from the clinch and Franklin is tired. The champion tries to throw a combination once freed, but can barely raise his arms above his waist. A big knee to the head and a pair of high kicks from Silva, another kneed to the head and the fight is over. Franklin is out!
This was TOTAL ELIMINATION~! of a championship reign.
Your winner and NEW UFC MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMPION is ANDERSON SILVA by knockout at 2:59 of the first round.
Closing Comments: First of all, thanks for reading. Overall this was a fun show. I had forgotten about the bloodbath between Haynes and Singer. Joe Stevenson would have been proud. Today, both Josh Haynes and Rory Singer are out of the UFC and fighting on smaller shows. GSP was dominant in his win over Sean Sherk. Put this into perspective, it was just 2005 and Sherk's wrestling was muted by GSP's skill. Imagine how much he has improved since then and that is the reason why he is considered the best in the sport. The main event was another show of domination by one of the best in the world. However, unlike GSP, Silva has not had a hiccup since these fights. Since the 2005-06 period, Silva is the only champion to maintain his status as tops in his division. Guys like Matt Hughes, St. Pierre, Randy Couture, Sherk, Franklin, Arlovski, Sylvia, Liddell, Rampage, etc., they all had losses. Not Anderson Silva. The man is mortal but he puts up one hell of an argument to say otherwise.
