411's Countdown To UFC 83 Report 04.16.08
Posted by Randy Harrison on 04.16.2008
GSP/Serra II and Lutter/Franklin are put under the microscope as the countdown towards Saturday night in Montreal reaches a fever pitch!
Countdown to UFC 83
The opening video talks about how this is the rematch that UFC fans have been waiting for and we get to see some highlights from the press conference at the Bell Center as Dana White talks about this being the biggest UFC ever and that the event sold out 22,000+ seats in two days. He talks about Matt Serra's shocking knock-out and he thanks Serra for taking the fight. St. Pierre thanks Serra for taking the fight and says that the interim belt means nothing. After all of those press conference highlights we see clips of both men training and then the intro moves to the middleweight showdown between Rich Franklin and Travis Lutter. THIS is Countdown to UFC 83!!!
Undisputed UFC Welterweight Championship:
Georges St. Pierre vs. Matt Serra (c)
Their First Fight
Serra apparently entered the Octagon as a 10-1 underdog in their first match-up against Georges St. Pierre and we see the highlights from the fight, including the finish, with St. Pierre saying that after the first shot he took, he couldn't stand straight up on his feet. Georges' friend says that Georges never expected that to happen in a million years. Serra talks about how respectful St. Pierre was after the fight and that a few weeks afterwards when St. Pierre's comments came out about how he took the fight injured because he thought he could beat Serra, Serra felt like St. Pierre was a liar and disrespectful. St. Pierre says that all of his interviews have been the same and that he feels like people are trying to dig deeply for a story that isn't there sometimes. He says that one time he just cracked after hearing all the questions and told people that there were personal problems. Georges' sister talks about Georges losing a younger cousin in a car accident and that their father was very ill at the time. Georges' father feels like there were all kinds of emotions that could have came out of those experiences that distracted him from the fight. Serra took all of this badly and talks on radio appearances about how insulted he is by what St. Pierre had been saying. Serra feels like he crossed the line and St. Pierre says that he's not going to fight with anger, he's going to fight with his brain. Ray Longo says that he thinks that the pressure of the fight broke him down. Nick Serra says that there will be no excuses no matter what, while Georges goes through the whole list of problems and says that Serra has no idea what he was going through.
We then hear Serra's derogatory comments about French people replayed and Serra says that it's just him in the red, him when he's angry. One of Georges' coaches compares it to calling a black person a racial slur, and that it's insulting to hear it. Georges says that Serra insulted all of the Francophone speaking people not just himself, while Serra tries to play it off, saying that Pepe le Pew was his favorite cartoon character growing up. I will editorialize for a moment and say that Serra was in the wrong here because it's one thing to make excuses for something, but it's another to blatantly insult an entire group of people with an ignorant blanket statement. St. Pierre shouldn't have made any excuses, but Serra REALLY shouldn't have made any personal insults towards French people. Serra starts laughing at his own joke while St. Pierre says that that's not how a champion should act and that he's going to do his talking in the Octagon. Serra doesn't feel like he needs to apologize and says that if Georges didn't open his mouth, there wouldn't have been a problem. Serra says that he's expecting a lot of boos and that he'll go in there to fight, keep the car running outside, and have fun with it. Georges is expecting to get his revenge and he says that he can't wish for a better scenario than to be fighting for the title in his hometown. St. Pierre's MMA trainer says that no one will be sitting down for the entire fight and that the place will be electric. Serra says that it reminds him of Rocky IV, but instead of Russia it's Canada. St. Pierre thinks that it's Rocky III when Rocky lost and then came back to beat Clubber Lang.
Matt Serra
We come back from a break to a barber shop in New York with Serra getting a cut and talking to his friend and barber. Serra apparently bought a new home and got married in the month after the fight and we talk to his wife, telling the story of how they got together. Serra talks up his wife and we see them doing all the domestic stuff and having his family over for dinner. Back to the beginning Serra says that he grew up middle-class and that his dad was a liftetime martial artist. Nick Serra says that he was always teaching them something, whether it was weightlifting, martial arts or otherwise. Serra drives by his high school and relates a story about how the principal used to point across the street to the county jail and say that that was where Serra was goign to end up if he kept beating people up. The talk turns to Matt's love of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and that Matt's dad found tapes of the Gracie jiu-jitsu and Serra says that he took to it like a fish to water. Ray Longo talks about how even at an early age Serra was dominating people at his jiu-jitsu classes.
We get highlights of Serra's UFC debut, the spinning back fist KO by Shonie Carter, then of his losses to BJ Penn, Din Thomas and Karo Parisyan, before they talk about his return on The Ultimate Fighter show's fourth season "The Comeback". Serra says that it worked out better than he could have ever imagined. Highlights from Serra's welterweight final win over Chris Lytle and how it earned Serra a title shot. We hear all the prognosticators talking about how much of a mismatch the fight was and how overhyped the fight was. Ray Longo says that it was bullshit and it was guys that didn't really know anything about the sport talking like that. Back to highlights of the first St. Pierre/Serra fight and we get to hear about things from Serra's perspective. Nick Serra says that before the fight, he told his brother that GSP was a tapper and that they needed to make him tap again. Ludicrous statement if I ever heard one, but I guess you'll say anything when you think your brother is going to get killed.
Serra says that he should never be counted out and we see the knockout for the millionth time. Serra says that no one expected it except for himself and the people that were closest to him. He says that it's crazy for him to think that he's the champion of the world. He says that it's nice to see what he's built up starting where he did and that his journey isn't over and he's going to enjoy every second of it.
Georges St. Pierre
We're in rural Quebec, where Georges St. Pierre grew up, with his friend talking about how it's a lot of farming in the area and that there isn't much else. His sister talks about their father having problems with alcohol growing up and that it was difficult. Georges talks about not having a lot of friends and that when he ended up getting into scrapes with bigger kids he was usually by himself. He tells a story about one particular scuffle that got him some stitches at the hospital and that is where his martial arts training began. His dad was the first person to train him in martial arts, being a black belt in kyoshin karate, while his mom talks about young Georges watching wrestling and admiring Hulk Hogan. Talk turns to how much of a natural athlete St. Pierre is, and how one spring and summer growing up he walked on his hands for the entire time, only using his feet to go up and down stairs. At 12, Georges watched the first UFC and talks about how he always wondered how a small guy like Royce Gracie could beat up everybody. His friend remembers Georges saying that he was going to be a fighter someday. His sister talks about the drive and determination that Georges has and that it's a step above everyone else in the family.
We start getting highlights from Georges fights, including an early win over Jay Hieron, before we move to his first UFC Welterweight title match against Matt Hughes. We see Hughes' armbar that won him the fight and they show highlights from his wins over Frank Trigg, Sean Sherk and BJ Penn on his way back to a Welterweight title shot. Highlights from UFC 65 and the high kick that put Matt Hughes down and won St. Pierre the title, with Georges saying that he had reached his goal and fulfilled his dream. The talk turns to how much more popular Georges has become in recent years and how it was amplified even more once he became champion. The narrator says "More nights in the clubs meant less time in the gym", and that kind of makes me want to gag a bit. Way too ham-handed for my tastes. His friend talks about how fast the rise was for Georges and then the car accident with his cousin and his father's medical issues are addressed again. St. Pierre says that it was his worst nightmare the night that he lost the title and we even see a little shot of him backstage after the fight, looking absolutely crushed.
After the loss, he hired new trainers and rededicated himself to training and his boxing coach says that in a year, the change he's seen in Georges has been phenomenal. Georges also got his personal life in order as well, helping to find a doctor that was able to solve his doctor's brain ailment and that it did a lot of good for Georges to be able to know his father was going to survive. We move on to the UFC 79 showdown with Matt Hughes for the Interim UFC Welterweight Championship and how St. Pierre took the fight on a month's notice. Dana White says that he respects St. Pierre for stepping up on such short notice to take on the best welterweight in the worl. Highlights of the win and St. Pierre's post-fight comments about how he wants to fight the real champion, Matt Serra. He says that he plans to get the real belt back on April 19.
Rich Franklin vs. Travis Lutter
Also on the card at UFC 83 is a match-up between Rich Franklin and Travis Lutter, with Dana White saying that it's a huge fight for both guys, with Rich trying to stay in the Middleweight Championship hunt, and Lutter trying to make good on the chance that he blew previously. They're both coming off of losses to Anderson Silva and Franklin talks about the second loss and how he got clipped with a punch and that his cornermen had to pick him up and drag him back to corner. Rich: "That's generally never a good sign." I love that about Rich. Even after a hellacious beating he can crack a joke and not be so depressed over it all. We see highlights of Lutter's fight against Silva and how Lutter had the mount and how Silva got the reversal and the win as Lutter says that Anderson Silva will never beat him again, going so far as to say that Anderson's clone in a hundred years won't kick his ass. This fight was originally scheduled for December and Franklin pulled out with a knee injury, but Lutter calls bullshit, saying that Franklin just didn't want to be training during the holidays and that was why he pulled out. Franklin says that it's true that he likes spending time with his family during the holidays, everyone does. Lutter thinks that there was never a surgery, but Franklin contends that there was, saying that he could take pictures of his scars and post them on his website and that he's never heard of someone faking a surgery before. They both talk about how this match is going to be striker vs. grappler and Lutter says that once the fight hits the ground it's going to be his and that he's going to take Franklin's arm or neck back to Texas. Franklin just hopes it's going to be a good fight and that it's an entertaining one.
Rich Franklin
From math teacher to UFC Champion, it's been a quick rise for Rich. He says that it's surprising to him sometimes to think that he sent home report cards with his signature that no one cared about, and now people want his autograph and look up to him. Talk turns to Rich playing a bio-engineered soldier in a movie called "Weapon" where Rich is the lead. We then hear about Rich's father passing away earlier this year and that he had a massive heart attack. The last time Rich saw his dad was on New Year's Day and that he flew to Vegas for his knee surgery and that he was gone. Jorge Gurgel is nearly in tears talking about how close he was to Rich Sr. and that it must be ten times harder for Rich to be going through. Rich talks about how tough it was at first and that the more time he has to think about it the worse it is, and Rich says that he feels like he's being greedy by wanting to spend more time with him, despite his dad being in a better place.
Travis Lutter
Travis Lutter is referred to as a very soft-spoken person by his training partners and Travis talks about the small town that he grew up in, with there being between 15 and 20 people. He moved to Fort Worth, Texas and met his wife there shortly after. Travis talks about opening a jiu-jitsu school and that he tried to make a go of it in MMA in the late 90's to try to support his family, but the money just wasn't there. We see Travis in his UFC fights including his one-punch KO of Marvin Eastman, as he talks about all of the various countries he's fought in. Talk turns to fighting being a strain on his relationship and that fighting was a factor in their divorce before we see highlights of him in the TUF 4 finale beating Patrick Cote. That win earned him a title shot against Anderson Silva and they talk about how big an opportunity it was and how he blew it by coming in over the weight. He arrived in Vegas at 208 pounds and weighed in at 187. He had two hours to lose the weight but he couldn't do it and had to give up his title shot. Lutter says it was a miserable day and we see Dana White at the press conference saying that Lutter knew what he had to weigh and it's disappointing that he couldn't make it. His training partner says that no one regrets it more than him and Lutter says that it broke his heart when it happened. He said that he got a ton of hatemail and e-mails from missing the weight for the fight, as Lutter compares himself to Osama Bin Laden. Ouch, maybe not the best choice of words, Travis. Apparently, Travis and his wife have reconciled and he feels like his goal is to restore his dignity with his fight against Rich Franklin. He says that he's going to take Rich down and beat him, and it's up to Rich Franklin to stop him.
Serra and St. Pierre's Final Thoughts
St. Pierre has gone from a 10-1 favorite to a 4.5-1 favorite in this fight. Georges says that he's going to win and if Serra wants a rematch, he'll fight him ten times in a row and win them all. Serra says he loves being the underdog because it makes the victory that much sweeter. He realizes that Georges knows that he's a threat standing and that if he ends up getting taken down, it's in his world then. Georges says that his jiu-jitsu isn't too bad either and that he's going to try to finish on the ground if the chance presents itself. Serra's camp continues to question St. Pierre's heart and Georges says that if people would have known what had happened to him that they would have had the same issues. Nick Serra talks about Georges saying something about being glad the ref was there to stop the fight then questions St. Pierre as a fighter. St. Pierre feels like inexperience is his biggest weakness in his fights and that he has to counter that with his skills and athleticism. Georges friends and coaches feel like Serra isn't going to be ready for what the fans are going to bring when they show up to the Bell Center. Ray Longo thinks that the crowd is going to be to Serra's advantage because it's going to put too much pressure on GSP and he's going to crack. Serra talks about how he wasn't the one to tap and get beat up last time and St. Pierre says that Serra is going to have to pay for some of the things that he's said. Georges says that if Serra thinks that he's the same fighter that he was the first fight then he'll be proven wrong, while Serra says that the only thing better than shocking the world once is shocking it twice, and we're out!
The Wrap-Up
A decent show, but there isn't a lot of need for hype in the main event. It was interesting to hear from both sides of the Franklin/Lutter situation though, and made me want to see that fight a little more, knowing the personal issues they have with each other now. The one thing I have to say that I didn't like is the almost complete removal of any training sequences or things like that, in favor of the "wives and children" angles. I'm all for making them seem more human and maybe that's what the All Access specials should be about, but I love seeing the training in the Countdown shows. I hope that this is maybe a one-time experiement that they decide didn't work and that by the time we see BJ/Sherk next month we get to see more training and things like that.
Be sure to check out the live coverage of UFC 83, starting at 10 pm EST/7 pm PST, Saturday night!
