Black Tiger MMA Review: UFC Ultimate 100 Greatest Fight Moments - (Part Two)

Posted by Mike Campbell on 01.25.2010

The second half of the countdown!



050: Quinton Jackson vs. Wanderlei Silva - UFC 92
Silva had KO’d Jackson twice in PRIDE, so this was very personal. Silva says he didn’t like Jackson at all and he knew when he looked into his eyes that Jackson was afraid. Jackson said he knew going into the Octagon that he had the fight won. Jackson KO’d Silva in the first round with a big left hook and then hit a couple more while Silva was down. Dana says it was one of the most vicious knockouts in the UFC.

049: Houston Alexander vs. Keith Jardine - UFC 71
Jardine remembers that he was coming off the big Forest Griffin win and that he didn’t take Houston seriously. Rashad Evans comments that Jardine got KO’d because he had a big head after the Griffin win. Forest Griffin says that’s why he doesn’t like to fight nobodies, because they usually just haven’t arrived.

048: BJ Penn vs. Jens Pulver - UFC 35
Dana remembers that Penn had exploded onto the scene and was running through everyone. Penn remembers feeling tons of pressure because he was so hyped up. Penn had the fight won with an armbar, but the round ended as soon as he got it (you can even see Pulver tapping after the horn). Penn thinks he lost because he didn’t know how to pace himself properly and Jens was more experienced. Pulver became the first Lightweight Champion and comments “Sometimes hype just aint enough!”

Rampage talks about his howling. He knew he was good when he was riding his bike and howling, and one of his neighbors told him to hurry up because there were wild dogs outside and she heard them howling. People always used to tell him to shut up and stop howling.

047: Chuck Liddell vs. Kevin Randleman - UFC 31
Joe says that this fight was before Chuck Liddell was really well known. Chuck came in and KO’d Randleman with a left hook that “separated him from his senses.” Joe thinks that Kevin got distracted and Liddell took advantage. The clip of the aftermath shows that Randleman was very upset.

046: Quinton Jackson vs. Chuck Liddell - UFC 71
Rampage wasn’t nervous at all because he’d already KO’d Liddell before, so he knew he could beat him. Liddell had asked for the fight specifically because Rampage had beaten him. Rampage had a little fracture in his wrist, so he knew he had to KO him fast, which he did.

045: Scott Smith vs. Pete Sell - The Ultimate Fighter IV Finale
Joe remembers thinking the fight was crazy because they’d tag each other, high five, and then go back to trying to hit each other. Dana remembers the finish, which is Sell getting hurt with a body shot, and then Smith charging in and getting KO’d by a shot to the jaw, while Sell crumples to the mat, injured from the body shot. If you saw it in a movie you’d think it was BS because that never happens.

044: Georges St. Pierre vs. Matt Serra - UFC 83
Joe says that this was a huge fight for GSP because of Serra’s previous win over him. GSP remembers that there was a lot of trash talk with Serra calling him Frenchie. Serra remembers being nervous because they were in GSP’s backyard and the Octagon was vibrating. Joe says that GSP dominated him on the ground and won with knees to the body. GSP says he was totally prepared for that fight. Serra says that he’s not happy about the outcome but that it took guts just to go to GSP’s backyard and fight him, so he’s proud of that. I, personally, wonder if the fans would have rioted if GSP lost, I doubt it because I think UFC fans are smarter than wrestling fans on the whole. But it’d have been fun to see.

043: Matt Hughes vs. Frank Trigg - UFC 45
These two guys didn’t like each other at all, and Hughes says that Frank always liked to run his mouth. Dana says they were both wrestlers and they had a good wrestling match for the most part. Matt knew that Trigg’s weakness was his mind, because whenever a wrestling match didn’t go his way, Frank would look for the door. They both did a lot of good counters and reversals, and Hughes eventually got Trigg’s back and won with a standing rear naked choke.

042: Georges St. Pierre vs. Sean Sherk - UFC 56
Sherk was questioning his own abilities going into the fight, he was ranked #2 in the world the year before, but here was against GSP. He remembers how he was usually able to move guys around without trouble, but GSP was big and had great footwork and wrestling, so he couldn’t do much. GSP remembers getting him on his back and finishing him off from there.

041: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueria vs. Tim Sylvia - UFC 81
Nogueria remembers being excited at the idea of becoming Interim Heavyweight Champion, and on the way to the Octagon his twin brother commented on the size of Sylvia’s neck. Joe says that it looked like it was Sylvia’s fight at first, he kicked Nogueria’s ass in stand up, but when Nogueria is hurt is when he’s most dangerous. Nogueria took him down, passed his guard and baited him into a guillotine choke. Nogueria says that’s how Jiu Jitsu is, you make them think one thing and then do another.

040: Randy Couture vs. Vitor Belfort - UFC 15
Couture remembers that there were only about 1000 people at this show, which was held in a ten in the deep south. Couture was coming off the wrestling world championship, so he was in great shape and he says he felt Belfort break during the fight. After he won, the whole place was chanting “USA” which he thought was cool, and it was a pretty loud 1000 people.

039: Wanderlei Silva vs. Keith Jardine - UFC 84
This is a massacre, but that’s probably how Wanderlei got his nickname, he starts unloading punches and doesn’t stop until Jardine isn’t moving anymore. Jardine comments that Wanderlei is a tough guy, and Wanderlei says he was wary of Jardine’s kicking, so he wanted to stop him as quick as he could.

038: Randy Couture vs. Pedro Rizzo - UFC 31
Couture remembers that he was UFC Heavyweight Champion at this time and that he Rizzo seemed to be the guy the UFC wanted push to the top. Joe says that Rizzo’s leg kicks were so devastating that Couture had to rehab his legs for six months, Couture remembers that he could barely walk after the fight and that he still has a divot in his quad. The fight went the distance the Couture won by unanimous decision.

037: Royce Gracie vs. Kimo - UFC 3
The fight that proved that Gracie was only human! Gracie was on a seven fight winning streak spanning the first three UFC events. Kimo was so big and powerful that the fight totally drained Gracie. Gracie did finally wear him down and win with an armbar to make his record 8-0, but was so drained that he had to withdraw from the rest of the tournament.

Sean Sherk remembers the early days of the UFC, when the sport was looked down upon as human cock fighting. There used to be five people at the weigh ins and now it’s five-thousand. He thinks the sport has gone from grass roots to mainstream.

036: Chuck Liddell vs. Randy Couture - UFC 52
Liddell was coming off a previous loss to Couture. Couture thinks a rematch is harder on the guy who won the first match, because the guy who lost can see what he did wrong. Liddell knew what he needed to do and that he was going to win. Couture missed a punch and Liddell had perfect alignment to hit a knockout. Couture says it was his first knockout and it’s a unique experience. Forrest Griffin was impressed because Couture was known for having a iron chin.

035: Frank Mir vs. Tim Sylvia - UFC 48
Mir wasn’t nervous because he knew Sylvia had no ground game. Joe says that if he was in Sylvia’s corner, as soon as Sylvia went down he’d have told him to get out of there. Mir gets an armbar and you can see Sylvia’s arm actually pop. Sylvia didn’t tap, the ref stopped the fight. It turned out Mir broke his forearm in three different places. Joe says the lesson is that Mir doesn’t try to submit you, he tries to break your arm.

034: BJ Penn vs. Sean Sherk - UFC 84
Sean remembers that there was a lot of hype to this fight, and that he tried to turn it into a boxing match because he just wanted to punch Penn so bad. Penn credits him as a good striker, and says that Sean thought he could beat him by boxing. Sean says that he threw a lot more punches, but only landed about 15% where Penn landed 80-85%. BJ heard the click to signify ten seconds left and tried to throw a combo in so he’d win the round, and saw Sean starting to drop his head, so Penn hit a big knee and wound up winning the fight.

033: BJ Penn vs. Matt Hughes - UFC 63
Hughes knew that he was bigger and stronger, so he had to push the pace and tire out Penn. Penn caught him in a triangle and Hughes, for the first time ever, stopped and prayed to God to just get him through the round. Hughes wiggled out and the round ended. Hughes won by trapping him in the crucifix and reigning down punches.

032: Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Randy Couture - UFC 74
Joe says that Gonzaga was coming off winning against Mirko Cro Cop, and everyone thought he’d dominate Couture. Couture comments that nobody gave him a chance because he was the old guy who probably should have retired. Dana says that everyone was feeling sorry for Couture, and then he went out there and dominated Gonzaga from beginning to end. Everyone left their jaws on the floor by the end, and Couture was that much more of a superman.

031: Quinton Jackson vs. Dan Henderson - UFC 75
This unified the PRIDE and UFC Light Heavyweight Titles. Joe thinks that everyone thought that Henderson would control the fight on the mat, but he thinks Rampage actually did better, and it was even more impressive because Henderson was a world class wrestler. Henderson thinks that Rampage won the first two rounds and last three could go either way. He thinks he did enough to win, but the judges thought differently. He doesn’t think he’d lost to him again.

030: BJ Penn vs. Matt Hughes - UFC 46
Hughes admits he went into the fight very cocky, thinking he was gonna beat Penn easily. Penn says he knew he was going to win. Penn caught a punch that broke his hand, so he knew that Hughes had to be hurt too. Penn got his back and choked him out to win the Welterweight Title. Penn says it was the end of an era as far as him not being a champion. Hughes felt he lost to a lesser fighter, and it was his own fault for taking him too lightly.

029: Lyoto Machida vs. Rashad Evans - UFC 98
This was a battle of two undefeated fighters. Forrest Griffin comments that he knew Machida was going to win when he saw that he wasn’t reacting at all to Rashad’s attempts to fake him out, he just stood perfectly still. Machida thought he would win because he was a more complete and well-rounded fighter. Machida rocked Rashad and then charged in to finish him off. Dana says that as Machida was punching him, Rashad was saying “Is that all you’ve got?” and right then is when Machida KO’d him. Joe says Machida rose to the top just like a true champion would.

028: Chuck Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz - UFC 66
Dana remembers that Liddell didn’t just want to win, but that he wanted to hurt Ortiz. Liddell comments that it’s ‘always fun beating on Tito.’ Joe says that they were both good wrestlers, and that Tito did a lot better in this fight than their previous. Liddell says the special thing about this fight is that Tito quit, in their first fight he KO’d him, but Tito quit in this fight.

Lyoto Machida comments that he’s grateful that the UFC is around for him to show his skills and talents, and that he’s proud to be a champion in the UFC.

027: Randy Couture vs. Tito Ortiz - UFC 44
Couture says this was a wrestling match, and Couture was the better wrestler. They had a scramble that lasted for close to three minutes. Couture remembers Ortiz desperately going for a kneebar and all Randy could see was his ass, so he started spanking him. Tito’s corner started screaming “He’s tapping!” but it was definitely a spank.

026: Georges St. Pierre vs. Jon Fitch - UFC 87
GSP believes that you don’t prove you’re a champion until you defend your title at least once. Dana says that Fitch had an eight-fight win streak going into this fight and people thought he’d be able to win the title. GSP says he won because he doesn’t fight for anyone but himself. Dana says that the loss to GSP only made Fitch more popular, and that, afterwards, GSP told Fitch that this fight was going to be great for Fitch.

025: Randy Couture vs. Chuck Liddell - UFC 57
Dana says that this was the biggest fight that the UFC had ever put on. Liddell knew that he had to keep moving and not let Couture get a hold of him, and Couture knew that he had to be patient and wait for the opening. Couture took him down, but Liddell was ready for him and started punching and broke Couture’s nose. Liddell saw his own opening and knocked Couture down with a punch and went in for the kill. Liddell said this win was even better because he proved the first time wasn’t a fluke.

024: Royce Gracie vs. Ken Shamrock - UFC 1
The first true UFC rivalry, which was born at the first UFC event. Joe comments that Shamrock looked very physically imposing, while Royce looked less so, and that Shamrock was a well known wrestler and shooter, and that he had no idea what Royce was doing to him. Shamrock was shocked that he was beaten, even more than he was beaten at his own game.

GSP and a friend of his rented some tapes and saw Royce Gracie dominating the UFC with his Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and GSP decided to follow in his footsteps and train in BJJ.

023: Matt Hughes vs. Georges St. Pierre - UFC 65
Hughes remembers feeling confident going into the fight, GSP caught him low a couple of times and after that his hands were just automatically dropping. GSP took advantage and knocked him loopy with a head kick and the quickly finished him off with elbows.

022: Clay Guida vs. Roger Huerta - The Ultimate Fighter VI Finale
Dana says that this was a sick fight, it was constantly back and fourth between then for all three rounds. Joe remembers that Guida took the first two rounds and that Huerta had a look in his eyes like he’d be willing to die for this fight. Huerta made the comeback, spun out of takedown, and tapped Guida with the choke.

021: Randy Couture vs. Chuck Liddell - UFC 43
Couture was coming into the fight after two straight losses, and Dana remembers that everyone, himself included, thought that he was done. Liddell’s mentality was that he liked Couture and didn’t want to hurt him, which is what led to his undoing. Couture remembers thinking that Liddell had knocked out everyone he’d fought, and that his goal was to be careful and stay out of range. Liddell was gassed out a minute and a half in, and that’s what led to Couture’s win.

020: Matt Hughes vs. Georges St. Pierre - UFC 79
GSP was confident going into the fight because he’d already beaten Hughes once, so he saw this as a chance to prove that he was the better fighter. GSP trapped Hughes in a Kimura and Triangle and tapped him out. Hughes was unhappy with himself because he wasn’t able to do what he did best.

019: Dan Henderson vs. Anderson Silva - UFC 82
Henderson thought that they’d have a good fight with one another, and Dana remembers that it was the first time that Silva actually lost a round. Henderson’s plan was to avoid the big bombs and take him down, and that’s what he did, which won him the first round. Dana says that when the second round started Silva had a look on his face that said that it wasn’t going to happen again, and it didn’t. Silva came out with punches, kicks, and knees from all angles, he rocked Henderson and won with a rear naked choke to unify the UFC and PRIDE Middleweight Titles.

018: Chuck Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz - UFC 47
The matchmakers in the UFC used to call Liddell “Tito’s bodyguard” because Liddell would fight the tough guys and Tito would fight the easy ones. Dana finally made the match because he felt Liddell had earned it. Tito tried to get out of it by spinning a bullshit story that they were buddies and agreed to never fight, but Liddell wanted the fight. Liddell remembers taking it easy the first round so that Ortiz wouldn’t get any confidence, and then in the second round he came out and landed some big shots and was able to finish off Tito.

Matt Hughes started in MMA strictly to compete, because that’s what he loved to do. He was coaching college wrestling at the time and just wanted to be able to compete. He never thought he’d be able to support a family or be recognized in an airport due MMA. A lot of these clips sound the same, but they all seem very humble and thankful for what the sport has given them, it definitely a classy thing.

017: Randy Couture vs. Tim Sylvia - UFC 68
Couture was out of the sport and he buddy was telling him he needed to come back and fight the giants. He called Dana and told him that nobody in the heavyweight division had any heart and that he could win the title. Couture thinks the best part of that fight was the first ten seconds, when he stunned Sylvia with the punch and started unloading. Couture thinks that he impressed everyone just by going all five rounds, let alone winning the UFC Heavyweight Title.

016: Spencer Fisher vs. Sam Stout - UFC 58
Dana says that when these two guys fight you can always expect fireworks, but when they fight each other it’s that much better because they’ll go right at each other. The clips show both of them landing some big shots and neither of them going down. Joe says that Fisher took the fight on short notice and had to cut a lot of weight and was drained as a result, and lost a split decision.

015: Matt Hughes vs. Thiago Alves - UFC 85
Matt remembers being confident and feeling good. Joe says that Alves looked to be a full weight class bigger than Hughes, who’s usually the biggest guy in his fights at 170. Alves had some vicious Muay Tai strikes, Hughes blew out his knee, and Alves won.

014: Matt Hughes vs. Carlos Newton - UFC 34
Hughes’ goal in the UFC wasn’t to win any titles, just to compete. He remembers that he saw Newton coming out with an Afro wig and a model on his arm and knew he wasn’t taking Hughes seriously. Hughes wanted to take Newton down as hard as possible and put his shoulders through the canvas. Newton got the Triangle and Hughes instinctively picked him up and carried him to *his* corner so that Newton couldn’t hear any directions from his own corner. The choke got tighter and Hughes slammed him down and won by KO. Hughes admits that he was choked out, and that, to this day, he gets asked a lot about whether or not he was out. Fun Fact: WWE actually tried to do a play off of this fight with Kurt Angle and the Undertaker and it bombed horribly.

Forrest Griffin and Rampage Jackson discuss The Ultimate Fighter, Rampage likes the fact that it let people see who he really was, which is a big kid, since MMA fighters have a bad rep as barbarians. Forrest thought it was cool to coach because only a few years before that, he was on the show trying to make a name for himself.

013: Clay Guida vs. Diego Sanchez - The Ultimate Fighter IX Finale
Dana remembers thinking this would be a crazy fight because they were both fired up, and neither of them needed to be fired up. They ran right at each other and started trading shots. Guida was covered in blood and got rocked several times, but never quit fighting. Sanchez won by decision and Dana said that he’d be shocked if they didn’t win fight of the year.

012: Nick Diaz vs. Diego Sanchez - The Ultimate Fighter II Finale
Joe remembers that there was some bad blood between them and they also got into it in the locker room. It was a fast paced fight with a lot of scrambling and striking. Sanchez comments that it was one of the Diaz’s better fights.

011: Forest Griffin vs. Quinton Jackson - UFC 86
Dana remembers that Forest was popular but nobody really held him in very high regard and that changed after this fight. Rampage admits that he probably took Forest lightly because there wasn’t a lot of hype for their fight. Forest’s game plan was “Don’t let the big guy hit me, and don’t get underneath him.” Dana remembers a really good leg kick from Forest that hurt Rampage. Forest was proud to have lasted five rounds and won the title.

This is the beginning of the final episode of the countdown, so the clips are longer with more details given.

010: Forest Griffin vs. Maruicio Rua - UFC 76
Dana remembers all the hype when UFC signed Rua, and when the fight was signed people were calling him and asking him “What did Forest Griffin do to you?” they thought Rua was going to kill him. Griffin remembers thinking that Rua was used to breaking people, and that he’d frustrate Rua by not being broken. Forest realized he was doing OK in the fight after the first round, because Rua landed some shots and Forest was still OK. Dana loved the finish when Forest got him in the choke and shocked the world by winning.

009: Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Mirko Cro Cop - UFC 70
When Mirko signed with UFC after PRIDE there as a huge buzz about his first fight and everyone thought Gonzaga was a sacrificial lamb. Michael Bisping remembers the crowd’s anticipation. Dana says that Gonzaga impressed people by taking it to Mirko and actually taking him to the mat. When Herb Dean stood them up, everyone thought that this was it and Mirko was going to strike, but instead Gonzaga took a page out of Mirko’s book and KO’d him with a high kick, in one of the nastiest KO’s in the history of the UFC.

008: Karo Parisyan vs. Diego Sanchez - UFC Fight Night VI
Diego remembers asking for the fight and being told that he wasn’t ready to fight him, which only made him want it more. Parisyan describes the fight as a huge run of bad luck, he had no mouthpiece and no cup. Sanchez says he studied the tapes and saw how Parisyan always dropped his head before an overhead punch, so he worked on timing his uppercut. Parisyan says that he was poked in the eye, although Diego says that’s not the case. Diego is also proud of knocking out his tooth, which Parisyan says was already loose and he’d been told him keep his mouthpiece in at all times, and then his trainers forgot the mouthpiece. I’m trying to not judge, but Parisyan sounds like he’s making every excuse known to man. Parisyan is upset at losing by decision, but is proud that they had such a good fight.

007: Rich Franklin vs. Anderson Silva - UFC 77
Dana thinks that most of the preparation that Franklin did for this fight wasn’t physical, but it was psychological. Franklin says that he prepared for this fight mostly the same as their previous fight, only with some different techniques in mind. The fight went pretty well for Franklin, until Silva caught him with a backfist that stunned him and then a big knee right at the end of the round. Franklin doesn’t remember going to his corner at all, and says that he only had about sixty seconds to unscramble everything in his mind and then it was time to start the second round. Silva smelled the blood and attacked, winning by TKO.

006: Rich Franklin vs. Anderson Silva - UFC 64
Dana remembers that this was only Silva’s second fight in the UFC and people made a stink about him getting a Middleweight Title shot. Franklin doesn’t think he prepared for this fight any differently than any of his other fights, it was just a fight with Silva. Franklin thought that he’d have good luck with the clinch because he was bigger and stronger, but he realized he was wrong when Silva started throwing Muay Tai knees at him. Dana says that Franklin didn’t know what to do about them, and Franklin describes the fight as being like quicksand, no matter what he did he just kept sinking. Silva won the title by KO.

005: Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir - UFC 81
Before he signed his UFC contract, Dana White told Brock there won’t be any easy fights in the UFC. Dana admits that he didn’t think that Brock could hack it, but he was willing to give him a chance. Mir looked at it as having to defend the honor of MMA against the former pro wrestler. Brock thinks that the nay sayers forgot that he was an athlete for eighteen years and was once the best college wrestler in the USA. Brock thought he won by ref stop when they were broke up, but it was an illegal punch. Brock took Mir down again, but fell to a kneebar. Mir praises Brock’s punching power though. Dana praises Brock for looking awesome in his fight, despite losing,

004: BJ Penn vs. Georges St. Pierre - UFC 58
Dana says that this fight had a lot of hype because of BJ’s high skill level and the fact that GSP was just as talented. Penn saw this as a chance to stop the young guy’s momentum, the way Jens Pulver stopped his. Penn had a good first round, and broke GSP’s nose, causing his nose to flow blood like a faucet. GSP came back and fought hard though, and won by decision. GSP credit’s this fight for making him a better fighter, and Penn was sad that he lost, even though he wasn’t hurt as badly.

003: Matt Hughes vs. Frank Trigg - UFC 52
Dana White’s favorite fight ever. Not just in the UFC but in MMA, boxing, and even pinochle! Dana gives the backstory that he called Hughes and told him he had to fight Trigg again, Hughes was willing to, but told Dana that it wouldn’t be as good as their last fight. There was a bunch of trash talking before the fight, and before the fight began, when the ref was giving instructions, Hughes shoved him. During the fight Trigg kicked Hughes low and the ref missed it, Trigg tried to finish him off with a rear naked choke (a receipt for some of Hughes’ comments about how he beat Trigg before) but Matt escaped, and carried Trigg all the way across the Octagon and slammed him, which caused the crowd to go nuts. Matt remembers being so mad that he wanted to hurt Trigg, and he was happy when Trigg didn’t give him his back, so that he could throw more elbows. Hughes gets a near naked choke and wins again.

002: Chuck Liddell vs. Wanderlei Silva - UFC 79
Dana says that this was a fight people wanted for years. Silva says there was always pressure to fight Liddell and Liddell says that he wanted to fight Silva for a very long time. Dana says this was one of the few fights that lived up to the hype, because they were both tough guys who liked to stand up and trade punches. Silva got opened up pretty good, and he credits Liddell for outsmarting him by taking him down during the fight. Liddell thinks that if they were able to go five rounds instead of three rounds, then he’d have won by KO, and if not, the fans would have gotten two more rounds of great fighting. Dana says that winning doesn’t matter to him as long as the fight is great and the fans enjoy it.

001: Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar - The Ultimate Fighter I Finale
Dana says it was the most important fight in the history of the UFC. Randy Couture credits this fight with proving to the mainstream world that MMA is actually a sport with discipline and respect. Joe comments that as the fight went on the ratings just kept going up and up, which tells him that people were calling their friends and telling them to turn on Spike. Griffin and Bonnar both wanted the UFC contract so bad that they gave the fight their all, and everyone could tell. Forrest was in trouble after his nose got busted open and the fight was stopped. Forest bought himself some time by pretending he thought the doctor was someone else. By the end of the fight everyone was cheering and Dana felt like everyone won that night. Forest won by unanimous decision, but they both got contracts out of the deal. Griffin laments that, had he lost and not gotten the contract, he’d have stopped fighting and gone back to his old job.

The 411: Like I said after the first half, how much this appeals to you depends on your point of view. I personally thought this was a great DVD, although the eight disc set obviously looks much better, so I'd definitely advise getting it. But it's not really for the longtime UFC fan, it's more for newer and/or casual fans.

Final Score:  8.5   [ Very Good ]