The Sprawl and Brawl Video Review: UFC 66 - Liddell vs. Ortiz II
Posted by Randy Harrison on 09.10.2007
My first review for 411Mania and it's quite a line-up. Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz renew their rivalry with the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship on the line, Michael Bisping makes his debut in the Octagon after his victory on the Ultimate Fighter Season Three, and Forrest Griffin tries to continue his ascent up the rankings in the 205-pound division. No wonder this show smashed the UFC's buyrate records. Was the action on the card worth all of the hype preceding it or did it fall flat and fail to live up to expectations? The answer is just a click away.
First of all a big thank you to Ashish and Caleb for allowing me the opportunity to write here at 411mania. I've been a big fan of the site for a long time and I hope to do it justice in my time here. With that out of the way, it's on to the review.
It's December 30, 2006 and the UFC is finishing the biggest year in the history of the company. Pay-per-view buys are through the roof and the Ultimate Fighter reality series and UFC Unleashed are going strong on Spike TV. This particular card in general, and the main event specifically are being thought of as a watershed moment in the popularity of the sport. It's a big-time event with a big-time feel and the company is hoping this will be a springboard into even more success in the coming year of 2007. They were right as this show did over a million buys and set the stage for an even bigger fight with Chuck Liddell vs. Quinton Jackson II in May of this year. Well, enough with the preamble...Let's get it on!!!
Cue the opera singers, cue the gladiator, and cue the smack-talk interviews because it's fight night in Las Vegas!! Forrest Griffin, Keith Jardine, Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz all offer their opinions on the night's proceedings and strangely enough all of them are guaranteeing victory. I guess they'll have to fight over that later or something.
We're live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena and the announcers, as usual, are Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan.
Undercard Fights
Match One: Heavyweights
Christian Wellisch (6-3, 0-1 UFC) vs. Anthony Perosh (5-2, 0-1 UFC)
Both men are coming off of losses in their last fights so each should be hungry for the win to prove their worth to the UFC. Wellisch was knocked out by Cheick Kongo at UFC 62 and Perosh was defeated a month previous by TKO at UFC 61 by Jeff Monson. This one could either be very entertaining with two fighters wanting to stay in the big time with a win, or it could be very slow with neither wanting to make the huge mistake that results in a second straight loss and most likely a trip out of the UFC.
Round One
Glove touch to start the round as Perosh works the legs early with a couple of solid kicks. He shoots a single leg takedown against the fence which Wellisch defends. Joe raises the point about both men being in their second fights in the octagon and them being over the octagon jitters that accompany a first fight in the UFC, and that the second fight is usually a better indicator of the skills a fighter possesses. Wellisch lands a flurry of punches sending Perosh back against the cage. Perosh scrambling to defend as blood trickles from his nose, and Wellisch is on it, landing more heavy right hands to the face. Perosh tries for another single leg and gets the takedown this time but he can't hold Wellisch to the canvas. A bit of clinching and Wellisch gets a takedown into side control but Perosh fights back to his feet. Into the clinch again and Perosh eats a big knee and right hand from Wellisch and goes down. Perosh is in serious trouble here as Wellisch falls back into side control and begins raining down some hammer fists and punches but Perosh manages to weather the storm as the horn sounds to end the first round.
Some good action in this round with Wellisch dominating the activity and clearly winning the round, hurting Perosh in the process. The replays between rounds confirm the fact that Perosh took a pretty good pummeling.
Round Two
The second round opens with Perosh looking a little wobbly from the punishment of the first when out of nowhere he lands a BIG straight right hand and Wellisch goes down. Perosh trying to finish, picks a leg and takes Wellisch down into a turtle position. Perosh takes his back and continues to work punches and hammer fists. He tries to sink a hook in on Wellisch but as soon as that happens, Wellisch rolls out of it and reverses, escaping to his feet. A very nice display of ground work by Wellisch against an opponent with strong jiu-jitsu in that exchange. Another takedown by Perosh into the turtle position and the crowd begins to get a little restless at the lack of activity from this position. Wellisch wins them back with another reversal, this time ending up on top in Perosh's half-guard. Wellisch begins working elbows and punches to try to open up the guard and both men seem winded at this point as the pace slows considerably. Referee Herb Dean calls for a stand-up and both men can barely pick themselves up off the canvas to resume the fight. Wellisch scores again with the right hand which Perosh has been seemingly unable to find an answer for this whole fight and the round comes to an end, with Joe Rogan speculating on an injury Wellisch may have incurred that he noticed during the referee's stand-up.
The pace lagged a lot at the end of the round as both men were showing the effects of landing some heavy shots on each other. Solid round for Perosh and things should be even at one round apiece at this point.
Round Three
Joe and Mike continue to discuss the injury to Wellisch, with Joe offering that it might be a toe injury as Wellisch seems to be putting a lot of his weight on the heel of his foot throwing his balance off. Wellisch fights through it and continues putting combinations together despite a slight limp. Both men circling and throwing and Joe wonders why Perosh has stopped throwing leg kicks after they worked well for him early in the fight, especially now with the potential injury to Wellisch's foot. Crowd boos another lull in the action as both men seem visibly exhausted. Wellisch landing punches repeatedly in the stand-up and Perosh's face is beginning to show the effects of eating punch after punch as he is bleeding badly and starting to swell. Perosh catches Wellisch with a right and shoots for a takedown against the fence as this round has begun to move at a pace that would make glaciers jealous. Perosh is a bloody mess as Wellisch continues to land combinations at will. Nearing the end of the round, both fighters start to swing for the fences bringing the crowd back into it as the round ends and drawing a good applause for the effort of both fighters.
Wellisch easily took that round as well, as the little action that occurred was him landing punch after punch with no real defense from Perosh, and the judges confirm that. Scores of 29-28, 29-27 and 29-28 for Wellisch.
Winner: Christian Wellisch by Unanimous Decision
Match Two: Middleweights
Rory Singer (10-5, 2-0 UFC) vs. Yushin Okami (18-3, 2-0 UFC)
I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that during the pre-fight introductions, Goldberg refers to Okami as "Yushi". Congratulations Mike, another PPV where you've managed to mangle the English language, and though in his defense it's a Japanese name, it's still not a good sign for the rest of the evening. Singer comes into this one from The Ultimate Fighter's third season and has a three fight win streak under his belt. Okami has a four fight win streak on the line and both are looking to keep their streaks intact and climb the middleweight ladder.
Round One
Steve Mazzagatti is referreeing this one with his tremendous porno mustache, and we are under way. Tentative circling for the first thirty seconds of the first round as the orthodox fighter Singer, and the southpaw Okami feel each other out. Jabs and more circling before Okami throws a high kick that is blocked by Singer. Joe begins to build up Rory's "technical" style a minute into the round which leads me to believe he might be expecting a snooze-fest here and I'm afraid I might have to agree. A minute and a half in with little to no activity and the crowd is not appreciating that, which Joe immediately attributes to the energy of the crowd for the main event fight tonight and not the seemingly methodical nature of the fight so far. Another head kick attempt by Okami is blocked and Singer replies with a good leg kick. Joe begins sounding apologetic halfway through the round for the lack of action, as I can count the strikes both men have landed on one hand so far. Right hand and an uppercut by Singer as he starts to move forward to press the action, but Okami takes little to no damage from any of the strikes. The announcers are reduced to mentioning that Singer has a degree from the University of Georgia in Biological Engineering. When you're having to bring up Biological Engineering to have something to talk about while there is a fight going on that is a really bad sign. More circling and feinting as the round mercifully comes to a close.
Just WOW. Absolutely nothing of note for five minutes as Joe calls it "a close round". I call it a boring round but I guess it's just semantics at this point. Good luck finding replays of any action from that first round I think to myself, and as soon as I think it, it's confirmed as between rounds we are in both corners listening in with no replays to be found. Thank God.
Round Two
Joe finally calls it like it was and says that the first round was a little boring. Okami presses forward and cinches a body lock on Singer against the cage. A leg trip into a takedown soon follows and Okami is in Singer's half-guard for a split second before being pulled back into full guard. Okami lands a couple of punches from the guard and Singer pushes back up and we're back on the feet. A mid kick by Okami lands hard to the solar plexus of Singer, the first really solid strike of the entire match leaving me to think it's too bad it took almost a round and a half for it to happen. Another clinch against the fence and Okami falls forward on top of Singer for a takedown into Singer's guard. Singer turtles to his belly and goes for a leg but Okami sprawls out of it and pushes forward and back into Singer's guard. Okami stands above Singer attempting to find an angle to throw a punch and eats a HARD up kick right to the chin. Singer continues landing kicks from his back to the knees and thighs of Okami, appearing to buckle a knee momentarily with one particularly hard heel strike. The round ends to you guessed it more boos from the sold-out crowd and quite frankly I can't blame them in this instance, as much as I hate booing fighters.
Replays of the up kick between rounds and so far it seems like on the strength of those two takedowns in the second round Okami is ahead at this point but with all of the inactivity it's really tough to try to pick a winner so far.
Round Three
More circling and throwing with no connections to start the third and final round. Hard body kick by Singer and both men are up against the cage. Okami with another takedown and Singer's corner is screaming at him to get up and do something. Okami moves towards side control and starts landing elbows and after a couple of them land, Rory bucks up onto his stomach and moves to his elbows and knees on the canvas before finally making it back to his feet. Okami lands a couple of solid knees while holding Singer in a front-face lock which immediately drops Singer back to all fours to avoid more knee strikes.Okami back on top of Singer and working for side control as the action slows again. Singer's corner is very vocal at this point for him to, and I quote, "get off your fucking back" just as Okami manages to mount him. Elbows and punches landing on Singer now as Okami works away from the mount and lands a big right, pounding Singer with punches until he is forced to tap.
An interesting fight where in the flashes of activity Okami looked great, but he showed no real desire to press the action or become the agressor, instead preferring to counter-attack. After the takedown in the third round Okami managed to show some vicious ground and pound but he is no Tito Ortiz. Singer, well, at least he has a degree in Biological Engineering to fall back on in case fighting doesn't work out for him.
Winner: Yushin Okami, TKO at 4:03 of Round Three
Match Three: Heavyweights
Gabriel Gonzaga (6-1, 2-0 UFC) vs. Carmelo Marrero (6-0, 1-0 UFC)
Gonzaga enters this fight having won four fights in a row including his first two bouts in the UFC. His last match was a rather convincing win over Fabiano Scherner at UFC 60, which saw Gonzaga pick up the TKO. Marrero also won his last fight, albeit in somewhat less convincing fashion, with a Split Decision win over Cheick Kongo at UFC 64. Despite being undersized for the heavyweight division Marrero has an undefeated record up to this point and is putting it on the line here.
Round One
Both men circling to start and within seconds Gonzaga lands a strong left hook that sends Marrero backwards and they clinch into the cage. Leg trip takedown by Gonzaga into Marrero's half-guard, which is quickly turned into a full mount for Gonzaga. Gonzaga working from the top to try to sink in an arm triangle choke and he finally does so, locking it in and moving to side control to increase the pressure, which is big trouble for Marrero. Gonzaga transitions back to mount and releases the choke but begins raining punches down to the head of Marrero with referee Herb Dean warning Gonzaga about strikes to the top of the head. A series of transitions by Gonzaga, who is in complete control here, making Marrero look foolish on the ground before mounting him again. More punches from the top and Gonzaga tries for an arm submission before shifting into an armbar and drawing the tap out from Marrero.
Gonzaga dominated this fight and showed all the tools that led to him becoming a number one contender in the heavyweight division.
Winner: Gabriel Gonzaga, submission at 3:22 of Round One
Match Four: Welterweights
Thiago Alves (10-3, 3-2 UFC) vs. Tony DeSouza (10-2, 1-0 UFC)
Round One
Big John McCarthy makes his first appearance of the evening in this one as our referee and we're underway. A tentative start from both fighters until DeSouza shoots in for a takedown, which Alves defends well with a sprawl and we're back up on the feet. A minute or so in and there's been very little action which seems to be a pattern for the night so far. Another takedown attempt by DeSouza and another well-executed sprawl by Alves. DeSouza tries another approach and attempts a bullrush takedown this time but that also gets stuffed. DeSouza is 0-3 in takedown attempts so far and that's got to be disheartening for the BJJ ground specialist. A quick exchange and Alves catches DeSousza with a HUGE right hand that drops him to the mat, but perhaps unluckily for Alves, he drops right into DeSouza's full guard and is unable to capitalize on his advantage. Big John stands them up and there's a definite trickle of blood from the nose or mouth area of DeSouza from that huge punch earlier. Feinting and sizing up from both men with not much in the way of strikes thrown before DeSouza attempts another takedown, from the clinch this time, and again it's not happening. DeSouza tries for a trip this time in a desperate attempt to finally get this fight to the ground but it backfires as they both land on their heads and Alves ends up on top of DeSouza in guard. DeSouza inexplicably lets go of the guard and is rewarded for his mistake by taking a LOT of punishment from the heavy-handed Alves. A lightning fast flurry of punches and hammerfists as Alves tries to end things with 30 seconds left in the round. Alves gets full mount with 15 seconds left and continues raining down hard hard blows with McCarthy looking close to stopping things just as the round comes to a close.
Huge round for Alves who clearly dominated on the feet and kept DeSouza from getting the takedown and being able to work his ground game. The replays show that the right hand at the beginning of the round connected cleanly with DeSouza's nose which means it could very likely be broken at this point.
Round Two
DeSouza is looking very shaky to start the second round after the beating he took in the first and it shows as he shoots in for a very sloppy takedown which is easily stuffed by the fresher Alves. Alves shrugs DeSouza off and throws him across the octagon to the mat which leads to DeSouza trying a desperation ankle pick which again is stopped by the much stronger Alves. DeSouza rushes wildly in with what looks like a possible knee attempt that is met by Alves throwing an uppercut. Another takedown attempt by DeSouza, though this one gets timed perfectly by Alves who lands a CRUSHING knee to the face of DeSouza, knocking him cold.
Just like that this fight is finished in a very impressive performance for Thiago Alves. He had great takedown defense and there was nothing that DeSouza could do standing up to survive the onslaught of the Brazilian's heavy hands.
Winner: Thiago Alves, KO at 1:10 of Round Two
Main Card
Match Five: Light Heavyweights
Michael Bisping (11-0, 1-0 UFC) vs. Eric Schafer (7-1-2, 1-0 UFC)
Allow me to begin this fight by saying that while I am partial to Bisping, who is making his long-awaited UFC PPV debut here, I am also wanting to say that the nickname "Ravishing Red" that Eric Schafer brings with him into this fight is one of the greatest nicknames I have ever heard in all of MMA. This is Bisping's first official fight in the UFC since winning the Ultimate Fighter Season Three crown, as there were issues in getting his visas and paperwork settled which stalled previous attempts to get him a fight.
Round One
A much quicker start to this one as Bisping comes out swinging from the get-go and Schafer pulls him immediately into a clinch against the cage. Bisping throws a leg kick which Schafer catches and uses to grab a takedown for a moment before they scramble to their feet with Schafer still holding a leg. Good takedown defense from Bisping to hold off Schafer as they move to a Muay Thai clinch briefly before they reset themselves standing. Bisping tries for a straight kick which gets caught again and turned into another takedown by Schafer and you can get a sense of the strategy he'll be employing in this fight against the dangerous striker Bisping. Schafer into side control for a split-second before Bisping pulls him right back into half guard. Schafer tries an arm triangle and sinks it in fairly deep but Bisping defends it well and gets things back into a full guard position before scrambling to his feet. In doing so he gives up his back to Schafer who holds onto it even while Bisping stands up. Bisping drops forward from a bent position to the floor trying to slam Schafer on his head and succeeds partly but once they're on the ground Schafer transitions to full mount. Bisping recovers to half guard and then uses the fence to stand back up fully to the delight of the crowd. Schafer clinging to a body lock to try bring things back to the ground and his advantage but Bisping keeps it standing. They separate and Bisping lands a head kick, which in reality was more of a knee/shin combination than an actual kick, and Schafer looks rocked. Knees to the body by Bisping and Schafer has begun to bleed from his mouth. Schafer catches another leg kick and used it for another takedown before almost immediately moving into back control. Bisping pivots against the fence to move into Schafer's guard and stands up to posture and starts dropping hard punches down on Schafer. Bisping landing a ton of unanswered shots as Schafer tries to roll and scramble away but it is to no avail and Mario Yamasaki is forced to step in and stop the fight.
Replays show the high kick that landed and spelled the beginning of the end for Schafer, as well as the heavy punches that finished the fight. An all around strong performance from Bisping who fought through initial adversity and a tough opponent to claim the win.
Winner: Michael Bisping, TKO at 4:24 of Round One
Match Six: Heavyweights
Andrei Arlovski (9-5, 6-4 UFC) vs. Marcio Cruz (2-1, 2-1 UFC)
This is Arlovski's return fight after his two losses to then-UFC Heavyweight Champion Tim Sylvia. It was a different Arlovski in the last two fights of that trilogy than it was during the first fight against Sylvia or the fights before that earned him his title shot. The earlier fights saw a hungry Arlovski annihilate his opponents with power and hand speed while in his two losses to Sylvia, he was intent to jab and slow the pace considerably. Which Andrei Arlovski will show up tonight against Marcio Cruz? Let's find out.
Round One
I'm not entirely sure about which Andrei Arlovski is going to show up but the one in the octagon at the moment looks to be channeling Teen Wolf with his fang mouthpiece and rather impressive full beard. That thing could gain him a spot in ZZ Top if he wanted to go that route, but I digress. Glove touch to start out and Arlovski looks VERY angry tonight. Cruz shoots for a takedown but Arlovski sprawls and works his way on top of Cruz and into Cruz's half guard. Joe immediately points out the danger of Arlovski being on the ground which is definitely the domain of the BJJ wizard Cruz. Cruz tenaciously holds the leg through a scramble and keeps a lock on it, pushing Arlovski's back to the cage. Excellent takedown defense and balance by Arlovski to keep this fight on its feet as he spins and moves on one leg to avoid the takedown. Cruz tries a different approach and drops down for a heel hook and the fight finally ends up on the ground. While on the ground I notice out of the corner of my eye that referee Herb Dean is rocking a rather sporty pair of Chuck Taylor Converse shoes tonight which is an interesting fashion choice to say the least with the all black referee's attire. Both men trying for ankle locks now and Arlovski stands but his leg is still being trapped by Cruz on the ground. Arlovski on his back again and scores with a heel kick to the face of Cruz with both men down which causes Dean to step in and admonish Arlovski for the illegal blow. Herb stops the fight to talk to Arlvoski and Cruz gets involved as well and in a somewhat surreal and confusing moment, all three men chat for about 10 - 20 seconds or so. As soon as Dean steps back to let the fight continue Arlovski comes out of nowhere with an absolute ROCKET of a right hand, stunning Cruz and hurting him badly. Cruz turtles up and Arlovski hammerfists and punches Cruz's head to knock him out cold and the fight is over.
An incredibly odd sequence there with the stoppage and all three men conversing between each other about what should happen next after the illegal blow. Cruz is up now and looks none to pleased with how the final moments of the fight played out.
Winner: Andrei Arlovski, TKO at 3:15 of Round One
Match Seven: Middleweights
Jason Macdonald (17-7, 1-0 UFC) vs. Chris Leben (16-2, 6-1 UFC)
Jason Macdonald is fresh off of an upset win over Ed Herman at UFC The Final Chapter and is riding high having won his last five fights. Chris Leben is trying to continue the momentum he picked up after beating Jorge Santiago at Ultimate Fight Night 6, while still trying to erase the memory of the crushing loss he suffered at the hands of Anderson Silva a few months previous.
Round One
Speaking of the man himself, Anderson Silva, the current UFC Middleweight Champion, is shown in the crowd as the round begins. Leben catches a leg kick and fires over the top with a straight left taking Macdonald down almost immediately. Leben trying to posture up and throw some punches but Macdonald does an execellent job of keeping his guard tight and not allowing Leben to get any room for movement for strikes. Back up and a clinch against the fence and Leben grabs the cage to avoid a takedown before referee Steve Mazzagatti seperates them and resets in the center of the octagon. Macdonald tries hard to get this fight back to the ground with a single leg but to no avail and they separate again. Leben lands a knee and swings wildly at Macdonald before Macdonald moves back to the clinch against the fence to avoid Leben's heavy hands. Both men throwing knees and strikes inside with the odd one landing before they separate to the middle again. Leben lands a couple of hard punches to Macdonald, who seems stunned momentarily, but he regains his composure and nothing comes of it. Knees to the body from inside the Muay Thai clinch score for Leben to the ribs of Macdonald and both do more clinching inside work and kneeing to end the round.
Lots of clinch against the fence and lots of back and forth struggling without a lot of action one way or the other that round. During the between round break we see Andre Agassi throwing air punches at his wife Steffi Graf and hamming it up for the camera. Steffi looks rather shell-shocked and I'm going out on a limb here but she may not be there completely voluntarily. Who knows maybe she was just pissed at Andre for raising a hand to her, you know how those German women can be sometimes. Joe scores the round for Leben.
Round Two
Macdonald throws a high kick right off the bat that is blocked by Leben and it ends up being a carbon copy of round one as Macdonald throws the leg kick that Leben catches and throws the straight left to counter followed by the takedown. Macdonald holds Leben in a tight full guard and catches Leben with an up kick before Leben manages to move past guard and into side control. Leben works for punches and Joe is beginning to sound like Jim Ross on commentary, continually calling Jason Macdonald Rob Macdonald. Macdonald (Jason, not Rob) uses a kimura to attempt to regain his footing and gets back to his feet as they trade knees and punches inside. Macdonald trying again for a single leg against the cage with Leben showing good takedown defense before Mazzagatti breaks them up again and resets them in the middle. Another leg kick thrown by Macdonald is caught and followed by a straight left from Leben as Joe theorizes that it is a possible strategy by Macdonald to throw that kick continually and get taken down to get the fight to the ground so he can use his jiu-jitsu against the weaker ground fighter in Leben. No takedown on this exchange however as Macdonald again shoots for the single and tenaciously holds it until a leg trip takes Leben down to the mat. Macdonald working from Leben's half guard trying to open it up while his corner is yelling at him to pass the guard. Leben tries to sweep out from underneath but leaves his head hanging out and Macdonald grabs a hold of it. He turns it into a modified guillotine choke and finishes Leben, who tries to tap but instead passes out even before his hand can come down.
This fight makes it two for two for Macdonald against Ultimate Fighter alumnus and was a great display of his jiu-jitsu skills to slap the choke on quickly as soon as Leben stuck his head out and made the mistake. Macdonald has proven with two tough wins that he doesn't deserve to be a steppingstone, which is what he feels the UFC brought him in to be.
Winner: Jason Macdonald, Submission at 4:03 of Round Two
Match Eight: Light Heavyweights
Forrest Griffin (13-3, 4-1 UFC) vs. Keith Jardine (11-2-1, 3-1 UFC)
Forrest Griffin is coming into this fight after handily defeating Stephen Bonnar at UFC 62, in a rematch of their three round war that was the climax of the first season of The Ultimate Fighter reality show. Keith Jardine comes from the second season of the same show and his last fight was a tough unanimous decision win over Wilson Gouveia at The Ultimate Fighter Three finale. Can Griffin keep his momentum and continue to move closer to title contention or will Jardine be able to throw a wrench into those plans and position himself near the top of the 205 pound division?
Round One
Randy Couture has joined Joe and Mike in the booth for this fight as Big John McCarthy gets us underway. Griffin lands a leg kick early and both fighters seem very willing to exchange standing in front of each other. Jardine responds with a chopping leg kick of his own and they resume throwing punches back and forth. Griffin lands a left hook and another leg kick and Jardine seems stunned momentarily. Forrest is clearly getting the better of the exchanges at this point using his superior boxing to avoid Jardine's punches and land solid combinations of his own. The crowd begins to chant for Forrest as both men throw leg kicks and land with them. Griffin lands a good right hand which is immediately answered by a straight left from Jardine and the fight is on. A great two-punch combination lands for Griffin and backs Jardine up considerably. This draws another chant for Forrest from the crowd and as soon as that dies down, Jardine lands a vicious uppercut and left hand that rock Griffin. He follows up on his advantage and lands several hard shots sending Griffin down to the canvas, pulling Jardine into his guard. Jardine postures up and lands repeatedly with the right hand over the top and Forrest has no answer for it leading to Big John stepping in and calling the fight.
A HUGE upset here as no one thought that Griffin would be beaten by Jardine and many were predicting that with a win Griffin could have been next in line for the winner of the main event. Jardine picked his spot and capitalized, shocking the sellout crowd and solidifying his spot in the light-heavyweight division. Griffin is devastated by the humiliating defeat, breaking down and crying in the corner after the fight.
Winner: Keith Jardine, TKO at 4:41 of Round One
Match Nine: Main Event - Light Heavyweights
Chuck Liddell (19-3, 15-2 UFC) vs. Tito Ortiz (15-4, 14-4 UFC)
For The UFC Light Heavyweight Championship
Liddell and Ortiz have had bad blood for quite some time and have fought once before at UFC 47 with Liddell scoring a convincing victory. Those who thought that would be enough to quell this bitter feud were wrong and with both men riding long win streaks inside the Octagon, it comes time for them to clash again. To call the pre-fight interviews tense would probably be comparable to calling Chernobyl a brush fire. The referee for this contest is Mario Yamasaki which is a bit of a surprise as one would have expected Big John McCarthy and his wealth of experience to be calling this one but apparently Mario got the call. Randy Couture stays with us for commentary on this fight as well and we're set to get the biggest fight in UFC history underway!
Round One
A low leg kick lands early for Liddell and the crowd is roaring chanting for Tito before it slowly turns into boos for Ortiz. Liddell lands a hook and immediately Ortiz shoots for a single-leg in response, which Chuck sidesteps easily. Tito lands a couple of right hands and both begin to throw wild haymakers back and forth for a good 15 seconds. My earlier fears about Mike Goldberg are proven accurate here as in response to Ortiz throwing looping punches like Liddell, Goldberg states that he is "taking a book out of Chuck's chapter". Oh Mike, Mike, Mike, what are we going to do with you? Otiz scores with a couple of leg kicks and throws a high kick for good measure. Ortiz begins to bleed from a cut over his right eye and Chuck moves in smelling the blood, throwing hard, looping lefts and rights trying to finish the fight right here. Liddell is just stalking Ortiz against the fence, cutting off the Octagon and slowly cornering Ortiz, which pays off as he lands a HEAVY left hook that staggers and finally drops Ortiz against the cage. Huge punches raining down from Liddell now as Tito covers his head and defends himself as best as he can in the fetal position. Mario Yamasaki moves closer and tells Tito repeatedly to defend himself and get out of there or he's going to stop the fight, but Ortiz weathers the storm and with 45 seconds left Liddell backs up allowing Ortiz to get back to his feet. Both men circle for the last few seconds until Ortiz rushes and Liddell catches him with a nice uppercut to end the round. Ortiz smiles at the end of the round and they touch gloves with Chuck acknowledging Tito's toughness.
A great first round for Liddell and an absolute disaster for Ortiz. With things going similarly to the first fight so far, Ortiz has to be wondering what he can do to turn the momentum in his favor and try to avoid Liddell's heavy hands. The replays show that the left that Liddell landed clipped Ortiz squarely on the temple which explains the staggering before Ortiz going down. We also see how close Yamasaki was to stopping the fight after that punch alone as he was a second or two away from pulling Liddell away and ending it after that hard shot.
Round Two
Ortiz swings and misses with a big right hand and shoots in for a double-leg takedown but Liddell sprawls well and shrugs Tito right off of him. Huge Chuck chants from the crowd as the action slows momentarily, and it's interesting to hear Randy Couture on commentary talking about Tito needing to fake more and change levels to try and confuse Liddell on whether he's throwing a punch or shooting for the takedown. Interesting, of course, because this is the exact same strategy that Couture himself would use three months later to defeat Tim Sylvia for the Heavyweight Championship. Tito scores with a body kick and a punch to the stomach as another loud Chuck chant makes its way through the crowd. Tito's cut has re-opened and he shoots in for another takedown but it is another lazy, telegraphed shoot from far outside and Liddell easily sprawls and defends against. Mario Yamasaki calls for action as Tito lands a short right over the top on Liddell. Ortiz shoots and spins behind Liddell's legs and takes his back with both men standing before dragging him down to the canvas with the takedown. Liddell stands immediately and spins into Ortiz's clinch and they're back face-to-face with Liddell's back pressed to the cage. Chuck breaks the clinch with a hard elbow to the head of Ortiz and that does it for round two.
A much better round for Ortiz as he picks up some momentum and actually was able to take Liddell down which has to be a huge confidence boost for him. The replays show the nasty elbow that Liddell used to break the clinch. Ortiz probably won that round with the takedown which would put them at one round apiece and Eddie Bravo, scoring the fight for the broadcast, says the same thing.
Round Three
Chuck lowers his hands to start out the round and Ortiz immediately tests it by throwing a head kick that is blocked by Liddell and a couple of inside leg kicks that aren't blocked. Ortiz with another sloppy takedown attempt that gets easily stuffed by Liddell, who punishes Tito with a few good lefts and rights before allowing Ortiz to stand back up. A hard right by Ortiz and he fakes a takedown before landing another solid leg kick. Liddell responds with three HARD shots to the body before faking the body shot and taking a swing at Ortiz's head which narrowly misses. Ortiz tries the takedown again but again it's stuffed by Liddell and Tito ends up eating a right hand off of the miss that puts him onto his back. Liddell loads up with three or four good right hands to the left eye of Ortiz working the cut and opening it up even wider before he backs off to let Ortiz back up to his feet. Liddell lands a hard right hand and uppercut square on the chin of Ortiz, who gives as good as he gets, and catches Liddell's chin with a left hand and they're both throwing wildly. Chuck hits Ortiz with a good combination and staggers him and Ortiz is left to try for a desperation takedown. Tito ends up back in the fetal position off of the miss and is taking numerous unanswered punches from Liddell before the referee steps in to call the bout and the fight is OVER!!
Winner: Chuck Liddell, TKO, 3:59 of Round Three
Liddell again proves he is the MAN in the light heavyweight division in the UFC, and shows that he might indeed have Tito Ortiz's number in the Octagon. A little longer than their first match-up but no difference in the outcome as Liddell out struck Ortiz standing up and stuffed nearly all of his takedowns, negating Tito's biggest weapon, his ground and pound. A great win for Liddell that keps his impressive winning streak in the UFC going, leading into the biggest fight of his career, a rematch with Quinton "Rampage" Jackson.
The 411: A big upset in Jardine over Griffin, and a main event that delivered a solid fight between Liddell and Ortiz made the main card portion very entertaining, and it's thankfully enough to overcome a somewhat lackluster undercard. The Perosh/Wellisch and Okami/Singer fights are a bit of a chore to get through but luckily they're the first two fights on the card and the action picks up considerably after that point.
