History of the UFC 05.12.08: UFC XL - Vendetta
Posted by Matt McEwen on 05.12.2008
The UFC reaches another level as Ken Shamrock re-enters the Octagon to settle a feud with Tito Ortiz, and one of the most star studded undercards lines up to perform for the biggest MMA audience in years.
Are you ready to hit the big time?
That's the question you could ask MMA, the UFC and most of it's top fighters as they closed out 2002 on November 22nd with UFC XL - Vendetta.
Since the buying the UFC at the beginning of 2001, Zuffa had put together strong cards, seen a new breed of fighter emerge as stars - most notably Matt Hughes and Chuck Liddell - and worked hard at bringing the UFC back to the attention of the masses and at their fingertips via wide spread PPV distribution.
Welcome to the culmination of two years of hard work.
The coup de gras was bringing the marketing face of the early UFC events - Ken Shamrock - back from the world of the WWF and into a grudge match with the de facto face of the UFC, Tito Ortiz.
Shamrock learned a trick or two about promotion while he was away in sports entertainment, and Ortiz knows how to hype a fight as well, so the video pieces aired preceding the event - and throughout the event itself - do an absolutely great job of promoting the fight as something special. Essentially, it comes across as a pro wrestling story line, except that the fight at the end is real.
Beyond the main event - which in reality just about anyone with a brain was more sizzle than steak - was where the real meat of the card was. Rightfully expecting to have one the biggest audience since the purchase and their return to national PPV, the UFC loaded up the undercard with a who's who of those they saw as their likely flag bearers going forward.
Dynamic 20 year old, Militech trained KO artist Robbie Lawler would kick off the main card against Team Punishment brawler Tiki Ghosn, former welterweight champion and marketing friendly Carlos Newton starts the climb back to a title shot by taking on the up and coming Pete Spratt, current 170lb kingpin Matt Hughes takes on Gil Castillo in a match seemingly designed to test Hughes' limits and, last but not least, Chuck Liddell puts his #1 contender status and guaranteed title shot on the line against the Renato "Babalu" Sobral. Sounds good to me....on with the show....
So, we're at the MGM Grand Garden Arena (where I'll be in a mere two weeks for Ill Will) with a then-record crowd of just over 13000 and a gate of over $1.5 million, also a record at the time. As mentioned later on in the broadcast, this is a sport with zero media coverage - no Sports Illustrated, no ESPN, no anything - selling out a 13000 seat arena on the power of the Internet and PPV alone. Not too shabby I'd say.
And where did that astute observation come from? Why, from the most intelligent voice in MMA broadcasting, Joe Rogan. He's FINALLY back full time as Goldberg's color commentary partner, bumping the rather annoying Jeff Osbourne to in ring interviews and random pointless comments. Of all the color commentators that have been used over the years, the only one that comes close to Rogan talent wise has been Randy Couture, and think that's because each guy is a fan of MMA first and foremost.
Before the show went on the air, there were three prelim fights. Phillip Miller (14-0, 1-0 UFC) defeated Mark Weir (9-1, 1-0 UFC) in Miller's last fight inside the Octagon, Travis Wiuff (11-2) made his UFC debut just 9 months after his MMA debut and lost to Vladimir Matyushenko (11-2, 1-1 UFC), and Ian Freeman (13-5, 3-1 UFC) failed to follow up on his upset of Frank Mir as Andrei Arlovski (4-3, 1-2 UFC) scored a first round TKO victory.
Welterweights
Robbie Lawler
(6-0, 2-0 UFC, 5'11, 170lbs)
vs.
Tiki Ghosn
(7-2, 0-2 UFC, 6', 170lbs)
Still no entrance music for most fights. I hate the generic entrance music, so I hope that changes sooner rather than later. As for the fight, Lawler is riding a hot streak and is the top young fighter in the UFC, if not the sport as a whole, at just 20 years old. It says something if your tabbed to open what promises to be the biggest PPV for the company in years. For his part, Tiki (just one name now) thinks Lawler is overrated and is about to face his mirror image. Wait...does that mean Tiki thinks he's overrated himself?
Round 1
Tiki comes out using leg kicks as his jab. When you're a striker like Tiki is, using a leg kick as a jab screams "I DON'T WANT THIS GUY TO HIT ME" to me. That being said, the leg kick is a pretty effective weapon and it is frustrating Lawler in the opening moments. Tiki gets a bit greedy though, and follows one of those kicks in and lands enough punches that it looks like he might finish the fight, but one nasty right hand by Lawler drops him, and brutal left hand puts Tiki out for light.
Highlight reel KO victory for Lawler, and a brutal cut above his left eye and another below it for Tiki.who falls to 0-3 in the Octagon. Post fight, he claims they stopped the fight due to the cuts, so I'll assume the KO knocked him silly.
Quick shot of wrestler JBL in the crowd, presumably there to support former coworker Shamrock.
Welterweights
Carlos Newton
(10-6, 2-3 UFC, 5'9, 171lbs)
vs
Pete Spratt
(11-3, 1-0 UFC, 5'9, 169lbs)
Looks like Spratt has been training a bit with Team Punishment as he has Ricco Rodriguez in his corner. He obviously wants to keep the fight on his feet as he is a high level kick boxer and a low level ground fighter.
They try to pump Newton up as one of the top 170lbers in the world, but I haven't really seen it. If he hadn't gotten that weird choke against Militech in a fight he was being dominated in, he'd be 1-4 in the UFC.
Round 1
The game plans are obvious, but Spratt didn't work hard enough on his sprawl as Newton scores the immediate takedown. He passes to side control and things look bad for Spratt. They look a lot worse as Newton casually positions himself for a tight kimura and CRANKS it for the quick tap out.
I eat my words, as Newton looks great getting the submission quickly here. He's humble after the fight, saying that he's young and experienced, and knows he has to bide his time and build himself back up to get another title shot.
Welterweight Title
Matt Hughes
(31-3, 5-1 UFC, 5'9, 170lbs)
vs
Gil Castillo
(6-1, 1-1 UFC, 5'9, 170lbs)
So, Castillo took part in the first 185lbs title fight, but his natural weight is 170lbs where he is 5-0. He's a lifetime wrestler with good strikes, and since he's moving down a weight class, he should theoretically be a tough match up for Hughes.
We get a three man booth for this fight as BJ Penn - who will be facing Caol Uno for the lightweight title at the next event - giving his thoughts on the fight.
Hughes says the he wants to "let his hands go" in this fight. That never works out well for him, so I don't know why he has such a fixation with it.
Round 1
As per usual, an ugly, ugly stand up stance from Hughes to start out, but he is able to land a respectable right though. He follows that up with a big slam and then just starts pounding away in Castillo's guard with punches and some NASTY elbows. Hughes easily avoids any sub attempts and looks way stronger than Castillo. As he passes to 1/2 guard, you cans see that Castillo is bleeding above his left eye. Castillo's only offense the rest of the way is a weak triangle that goes nowhere. The round ends with Hughes on top pounding.
10-8 round for Hughes as Castillo did next to nothing. On replay, you can see that the cut was opened up by an inadvertent headbutt. The cut isn't bad, but due to an "eye injury", the fight is stopped and Hughes wins by stoppage.
Hughes looked absolutely dominant, and has now officially entered that "future hall of famer" mode. Post fight, he says that he's looking forward to a match up with Sean Sherk. That should be pretty good I think.
Big in ring announcement by a still not shaved head Dana White, as another big name from the early days will be returning to the Octagon - Tank Abbott. This will be entertaining if only to see how much the sport has passed Tank by.
They discuss how Liddell did not have to take a fight on this night and would have still been guaranteed a title shot at the winner of the main event. He says he doesn't train as well when he doesn't have a fight, so going up against a top level competitor like Babalu will keep him sharp if he's able to win.
Light Heavyweights
Chuck Liddell
(11-1, 7-1 UFC, 6'2, 205lbs)
vs
Babalu Sobral
(17-4, 2-1 UFC, 6'1, 204lbs)
Liddell gets the biggest ovation of anyone so far on the night, so you know the marketing of him as a star is starting to take hold. Now, I don't mean that derogatorily, as in order to make the marketing mean anything, you have to back it up in the cage, and Liddell has been doing that the last few fights.
Round 1
Stand up game to start and - surprise surprise - Liddell gets the best of it. Babalu tries hard for the shot, but Liddell's sprawl is too strong and he is able to keep the fight up, where he is beginning to peck away with nasty right hands. He uses though right hands to set up a beautiful left leg high kick that puts Babalu down and out.
After the big highlight reel KO victory for Liddell, Rogan says there is no way that the winner of the main event can duck Chuck. We'll see about that....
Time for the main event...well, not really. Since every fight has been a first round finish, it's actually time to talk about the main event. Lucky for you, I listened to the whole thing, then watched the fight, so you get to skip all the superfluous babbling.
Light Heavyweight Title
Tito Ortiz
(9-2, 8-2 UFC, 6'2, 205lbs)
vs
Ken Shamrock
(25-7-2, 6-2-2 UFC, 6', 201lbs)
I've got to say that while Shamrock looks absolutely ripped, coming in at 201lbs is not a good thing. Rogan makes the good observation that Shamrock has been training only with the Lion's Den, while Tito has been brining in the best of the best to help him get better. Two strikes Kenny.
The third are those god awful mutton chops he's sporting. Nasty things.
One quick note - while this would mark his first UFC fight in nearly 6 years, Shamrock will actually not be the rustier fighter coming in. He had lost a decision to Don Frye in PRIDE nine months prior, while Ortiz hadn't fought in over a year due to a knee injury (and probably some complaints about his pay).
Round 1
Shamrock comes out and tries to clinch, but Ortiz just whips him around and lands some big knees and right hands out of the clinch up against the fence. Shamrock is wobbly, but is able to land a decent left hand before Ortiz grabs him into the Thai clinch and a take down. He spends the rest of the round beating the holy hell out of Shamrock with elbows and punches. All Shamrock is doing on the bottom is holding on and trying not to die.
10-8 round for Ortiz as he absolutely dominated Shamrock. This is a good example of why washed up fighters should avoid holding grudges.
Round 2
Shamrock comes out swinging wildly and looks tired to start the round. Ortiz easily takes him down and pound away with shots that start Shamrock's face swelling rather nastily. Shamrock is able to scramble up to his feet with about a minute left after eating a series of elbows, but can't do anything on his feet save one decent left hand.
10-9 round for Ortiz. Would have been 10-8 again, but the scramble up and light boxing at the end were enough to avoid that.
Round 3
Ortiz grabs the Thai clinch to start again, and lands a knee and then some nice elbows before he slams Shamrock down to the mat. He passes a lazy sweep attempt by an exhausted and over matched Ortiz and gains side control. Shamrock is able to scramble up to end the round again, but just gets beat up there as well.
10-8 round for Ortiz as that was an absolute ass kicking. Shamrock's corner must have agreed, as they throw in the towel to give Ortiz the easy victory.
The hype for Tito vs Chuck begins, and you get a quick look at Rampage Jackson shaking hands with Shamrock's corner.
The 411: Good show. The main event is anti-climactic with Ortiz dominating, but if you like finishes, you get a nice range of first round stoppages in the first four fights of night. This was a big business success too, as 150,000 PPV buyers took in the show, making this the most successful UFC in over 5 years. You think they might be onto something here?
