History of the UFC 06.30.08: UFC XLIV - Undisputed

Posted by Matt McEwen on 06.30.2008

Champion versus champion as Tito Ortiz returns to try and prove that Randy Couture is just a pretender to his throne.

Last time out – which was UFC XLIII in June of 2003 – Chuck Liddell was supposed to get his long awaited title shot at Tito Ortiz and settle once and for all who the top 205lb fighter in the UFC really was. Tito had some other plans though. He backed out of the fight for a second time and appeared to be on his way out of the Octagon permanently due to contractual disputes.

In his place, former two time heavyweight champion Randy Couture dropped down a weight class – where he would no longer have to fight 5 rounds against men 40lbs heavier than him – and filled in for what would be an interesting fight in its own right. For the “interim” Light Heavyweight title – which would become the official championship once Ortiz was officially gone – the fight was anticipated, but didn’t go quite as planned. Most experts thought that Couture was getting older and wouldn’t handle the dominating “Iceman”, but ended up dominating the stand up, slamming the untakedownable Liddell several times and winning his third title by TKO.

Now, 3 months later, instead of being declared the champion, Couture finds himself in a unification match against the returning Ortiz. In 2003, Ortiz had been the dominant 205lber for nearly 6 years and was thought by most to be unstoppable. It was considered a near foregone conclusion that Ortiz would dismantle the older Couture and then finally head into his long awaited showdown against former trainer partner and possibly former friend Liddell.

Oh....the folly of picking against “The Natural”....

Quick note about my copy of the show – I’m back to that “all fight, no blight” style here, and the show clocks in at just over 2 hours, but I get EVERY fight on the card. Can’t complain about that at all. So, without further ado, live from the Mandalay Bay Event Center, it’s September 26th 2003, the light heavyweight title is about to be unified, and its UFC XLIV: Undisputed.

Lightweights
Hermes Franca
(5’7, 155lbs, 7-0, 1-0)
Vs.
Caol Uno
(5’6, 155lbs, 15-5-3, 3-2-1)

The Set Up: I don’t know what their plans were in regards to the lightweight title, but I do know there won’t be a new champion for more than 3 years after this fight. That being said, the 155lbers were actually a pretty deep division. Franca debuted with a win and is a fairly interesting and exciting fighter, while Uno could be said to be fulfilling contractual obligations at this point. Not the most exciting fighter and not with the greatest record inside the Octagon, Uno is nonetheless a solid opponent for anyone, and a good measuring stick for a young fighter like Franca.

The Fight: Franca is a black belt in BJJ, and Uno can box a bit, so you’d assume that he would want to keep the fight standing. To start the first round though, he initiates the clinch game and gets put on his back for his troubles. Franca scrambles for a leg lock, but Uno is able to pull free and eventually they end up back on their feet, but not before Uno lands a few decent leg kicks to a downed Franca. Uno seems unconcerned about the ground game of Franca and takes him back down. He gets a few punches in, and few more leg kicks when he postures up, but Franca eventually grabs hold and waits out the round. Not the greatest round, but it goes 10-9 to Uno as Franca spent a lot of time laying his back taking kicks.
The second starts with a decent head kick by Franca, but Uno tries a takedown at the same time. They scramble around, and Franca comes out on top for a second before the get up against the fence with Franca having double underhooks. He uses the position for a nasty judo toss that accidentally spikes Uno on his head. That leaves the Japanese fighter groggy and open for a big right hand that finishes the fight with a KO.

The Breakdown: Big win by Franca. Sometimes the finish means more than the journey, and a highlight reel throw and right hand should let people forget his less than stellar first round. As for Uno, this was his UFC swan song, though he continues to fight in Japan, having just main evented DREAM 3 and pulling of an upset win.

Welterweights
Jeremy Jackson
(5’11, 170lbs, 8-3)
Vs.
Nick Diaz
(6’, 170lbs, 7-2)

The Set Up: This is the UFC debut of both fighters, but it’s the rubber match of a series between the two. In September 2002, Jackson defeated Diaz by first round TKO in the finals of a one night, eight man tournament. Diaz got revenge in July 2003 by beating Jackson by first round stoppage when the latter couldn’t get up once he was taken down. Now, just two months later, the rubber match is on the big stage and the winner should get a good boost in the UFC welterweight division.

The Fight: First off, I know this is 5 years ago, but Diaz looks fantastically better than he does today. He’s lean and ripped at 170...you could do a before and after for The Munchies here. Jackson lands a good right hand to start the fight, but Diaz slips under and scores the takedown. A quick up and down later and Diaz is using shoulder shrugs to break Jackson’s body lock, which he does, but gets too aggressive going for mount and lets Jackson up. He makes up for it by putting Jackson back down, where his only real answer is decent upkicks. Diaz is looking to land shots while he’s standing, and does get a right hand that looks like it hurts Jackson. Diaz lets him up and goes in for the kill, but Jackson is just playing possum and land a good punch to close out the round. A funny ending, but Jackson still loses the round 10-9 due to sever lack of ground ability.

The second starts with more of the same as Diaz takes the fight down immediately and lands some nice body shots and then some good elbows out of the guard. A quick scramble leads to Diaz taking his back and trying for a chock but Jackson is able to turn over and get into Diaz’s guard. He lands a few punches before Diaz tries pulling up the rubber guard for an omaplata, but lets it go and just locks Jackson up to close out the round. The big strikes by Jackson outweigh the early control by Diaz, and I give him the round 10-9 to make it all even going into the third.

Diaz obviously wants no part of the standup now, and gets an early takedown, only for Jackson to pop back up. Diaz shoots again, and eventually scores another takedown. He gets side control, but Jackson is able to get up again. This time, Diaz grabs a guillotine and pulls guard to try and finish it, but Jackson pulls his head free. Unfortunately for him, he leaves an arm behind and gets tapped out by a quick armbar.

The Breakdown: Hell, if you’re gonna make a debut, it might as well be in a fight like this. Both guys showed their strengths and weaknesses, but most importantly put on an exciting, fun fight on a big stage. Diaz getting the win here sets him up for some bigger fights down the line, and I’ve got to say this reminded me why Diaz is so popular. Before his current incarnation as an easy bleeding, light punching, trash talking arse, he really was an exciting fighter. As for Jackson, even losing this kind of fight should open up some doors in the future, but he wouldn’t see the inside of the Octagon again until TUF 5: The Comeback, which didn’t go all that well for him either.

Lightweights
Gerald Strebent
(5’9, 154lbs, 6-2)
Vs.
Josh Thompson
(5’10, 154lbs, 5-0)

The Set Up: Two more debuting fighters here, but without the compelling back-story of Diaz/Jackson. Nonetheless, two exciting fighters in Strebent – an Eddie Bravo trained BJJ specialist – and “The Punk” Thompson, who trains out of the American Kickboxing Academy and is always full of surprises (right Gilbert?).

The Fight: Did I mention that Strebent has good jiu jistsu? If you didn’t know, then you would in the opening seconds as he takes the fight to the ground quick. He tries a leg lock, and looks good and aggressive doing it. Can’t secure a leg, so he switches to the rubber guard and tries a gogoplata. Have I ever mentioned how much I love the gogoplata? It’s a bitch to lock in right – I know, I try it in class all the time – but when a really flexible guy is able to, there is no sweeter move in MMA in my opinion. This time however, it doesn’t get locked in, and Thompson is actually able to get Strebent’s back, who tries to roll to ½ guard. Thompson stays very calm and collected in the face of an aggressive attack. Strebent tries to roll for another legbar, but if you’re a big MMA fan, you know the inherent problem with leglock and kneebars, especially on a standing opponent – you’re left wide open for shots. In this case, it’s a nice hammerfist that catches Strebent on the temple and rocks him. He stands up, but promptly falls right back down, with Thompson on top of him. Strebent’s only defence is to turtle and that leaves John McCarthy no choice but to stop it.

The Breakdown: God Damn.....THAT is a fun one round fight! Action from start to finish, with good submissions, nice transitions and the nicest hammer fist I’ve ever seen in MMA. How can you go wrong here? I’m not sure why, but in spite of looking really good, Strebent never fights in the UFC again, which is a shame. He took 2006 off, but has fought as recently as last January. As for Thomson, he’s got a few more Octagon trips before he moves on to getting suspended for wearing a naughty T-shirt and proving everyone wrong by taking out Melendez Saturday night.

Welterweights
Dave Strasser
(5’10, 170lbs, 20-3-4, 1-0)
Vs.
Karo Parisyian
(5’10, 169lbs, 9-2 )

The Set Up: Strasser is an older veteran fighter who’s making his second appearance after willing himself to victory in his debut. He’s got skills, but I can’t see him being considered a title threat at this point. This is Parisyian’s first trip inside the Octagon. An oddity as a judoka who can actually make it work in the cage, Parisyian only losses at this point were a pair to Sean Sherk. And for the record, I’ve stood next to Karo before (while he was calling some guy a f&^%ing idiot) and if he’s 5’10, then I’m 6’6. For the record, and in case you missed the sarcasm, I assure you I’m not 6’6.

The Fight: Karo comes out aggressive and grabs a body lock. You know he’s looking for a throw, and Rogan is drooling at the possibilities. He ends up with a nice toss over the shoulder and ends up on top in ½ guard. He lands a few right hands and moves for a leg lock, but Strasser is able to get out and up. We get a little bit of sloppy stand up from both before Karo grabs Strasser and throws him again. He rolls for a kneebar, but Strasser defends and gets right back up again. Karo grabs him again, except this time he locks up a kimura before rolling for the takedown, then cinches it in for the tap.

The Breakdown: Hell of a debut for Karo. I’ll go on record and admit that I’m an unabashed fan of Karo’s style – when it works Judo looks so bloody nice in the cage. His two throws here are nice, and his kimura throw-into-submission was nice too. He was only 19 at this point, so he’s got a lot to look forward too. This was Strasser’s swan song, though he’s still active as a fighter and a trainer.


Light Heavyweights
Rich Franklin
(6’1, 204lbs, 11-0, 1-0)
Vs.
Edwin DeWees
(6’1, 198lbs, 29-4)

The Set Up: Franklin is the up and coming future star of the light heavyweight division, and is making his second straight PPV appearance after dismantling Evan Tanner. DeWees, like Tanner, comes into the fight considerably under the 205lb weight limit, and that’s never a good thing. He does have a nice record of 29-4 despite his young age, but his biggest win to this point was over Drew Fickett, who now fights at 170lbs.

The Fight: Rogan says that the rumour mill has been saying that Franklin has a torn/pulled groin and wants to avoid the ground game. That’s bad news since Dewees takes him down right off the bat. Franklin has him in ½ guard, but DeWees locks in a guillotine. Franklin pulls his head free and stands up. So much for a good start. On their feet, Franklin lands a good knee to the body and then some nice right hands that hurt Dewees. Franklin grabs the clinch again and rocks him with more knees. He goes down, but Franklin lets him up only to drop him again. This time Franklin lands a soccer kick to the body and lands some knees to the body on the ground, forcing the ref to stop in.

The Breakdown: Can you say steamroller? Franklin looked like a beast here, while DeWees was just plain overmatched. He’d show back up one more time before showing up on TUF: The Comeback, where he’s most famous for bleeding like an open faucet. As for Franklin, his undefeated record would be wiped out in his next fight when he fought Lyoto Machida in Japan. A second round TKO at the hands of the Dragon would set Franklin’s move down to 185lbs in motion.
Middleweights
David Loiseau
(6’, 185lbs, 9-2, 1-0 )
Vs.
Jorge Rivera
(6’1, 184lbs, 5-1 )

The Set Up: Loiseau is the first of the Montreal crew to make the big show, and would have to be considered a middleweight contender due to his well rounded skills. Rivera is making his debut here, and if I’m not mistaken, I think he’s the first Mark Dellagrotte trained fighter to get in the cage as well. One thing of interest might be that Loiseau weighed in initially at 4lbs over the 185lb limit, but did cut the weight in time to make an official fight. That’s a lot of weight to cut...

The Fight: They clinch quickly, and spend the opening two minutes of the fight trading short knees to each other’s thighs, but with Loiseau also lining up some short elbows to the head and face. They break and reclinch, with Loiseau getting the better of it all and the short elbow open up two NASTY cuts on the side of Rivera’s head. They stop the fight so the doctor can take a look, but the let it go. A few more elbows land by Loiseau after the restart, but he gets a shot stuffed ant the round ends tied up against the fence. Easily 10-9 for Loiseau, but still a good round. Nice scrap.
The second round is a bit slower, but Rivera starts to take control and be more aggressive. He throws a lot more, and while Loiseau blocks a lot of them, he’s still winning the round. They spend a lot of time in the clinch though, and it’s there that Loiseau is able to still land those elbows. I’d give it 10-9 to Rivera, but its close.
They open up the third round with another two minutes in the clinch, except this time the body attack by Rivera is more effective. He spends the entire round coming forward and pressing the action. Loiseau is able to get a few shots in, but Rivera drops him just as the round comes to an end and would have finished the fight if the round didn’t come to an end. Rivera takes the round 10-9, so I give him the fight 29-28.

The Breakdown: The scores are 29-28, 29-27 (no way was there a 10-8 round there), and 29-28, giving Rivera the unanimous decision. Hell of a good fight, and a bit of an upset. Loiseau heads back to Canada for the next 18 months, while Rivera makes a move into title contention. Not that there is a real middleweight champion at this point, but that’s another story.

Heavyweight Title
Tim Sylvia
(6’8, 262lbs, 17-0, 2-0 )
Vs.
Gan McGee
(6’10, 264lbs, 12-1, 2-1 )

The Set Up: This is Sylvia’s first title defence, and I’ve got to imagine that McGee is getting this title shot as much for the visual of Sylvia being the shorter fighter as much as his wins. McGee does train with John Henkleman and Chuck Liddell though, so you know he has some skill. Note to remember later – Sylvia looks to be in much better shape than usual...

The Fight: They want to box a bit to start, with Sylvia looking the sharper. McGee keeps his left hand really low, which can be a problem with a guy like Sylvia who has a big......RIGHT HAND drops McGee and 7 or 8 jackhammers later finishes the fight off.

The Breakdown: Nice statement win by Sylvia in his first defence of the title. He just plain outclassed McGee, who for his part would lose his next two fights and then retire. Now, remember what I mentioned about Sylvia looking better than usual? Well, turns out he would test positive for Winstrol, a powerful steroid. Post fight, Sylvia would be stripped of his title, fined $30,000 I believe and suspended for 9 months. To his credit, he never tried to pass the buck, and admitted his usage, saying it was for vanity as much as anything. Ah....Big Tim has body image problems. They really could have used that marketed him to teenage girls.

Heavyweights
Andrei Arlovski
(6’3, 243lbs, 5-3, 2-2 )
Vs.
Vladimir Matsyushenko
(6’, 219lbs, 13-2, 2-1 )

The Set Up: Arlovski is a big striker who you get the feeling the UFC really wants to be a top guy. At 2-2 though, it’s been one step forward, one back for the most part, but at least he’s been exciting up to this point. Matyushenko is too small to fight at heavyweight, but he got beat up by Ortiz in his 205lbs title shot, so what’s a Janitor to do? Though, to his credit, he is coming off a decision win over Pedro Rizzo.

The Fight: Arlovski opens up with a big right hand, but a stunned Matyushenko shoots on him. Arlovski stays standing, and another big right hand drops Matyushenko. He pounces and pounds, but Matyushenko gains guard, then uses his wrestling skills to stand up. Arlovski slips as he throws a big punch, and Matyushenko grazes his head with a knee while Arlovski’s knees are still down. No damage down really, but it’s still illegal and the ref takes a point away. On the restart Matyushenko tries a takedown, but trips himself up and gets mounted. Arlovski takes his back and lets him up (?). He floors him with a big right uppercut, and that’s all she wrote.

The Breakdown: Big win by Arlovski here. He knocks out an opponent that no one ever had before, and looked dominant in doing so. Sadly, for Matyushenko, this loss also knocked him out of the UFC. He’s gone on to become the ligh heavyweight champ of the recently deceased IFL, so who knows where he’ll end up know. With the heavyweight title being vacated, Arlovski has to be in line for a shot, as he would have probably been next in line for Tim Sylvia anyways.

Light Heavyweight Title Unification
Tito Ortiz
(6’2, 205lbs, 10-2, 9-2 )
Vs.
Randy Couture
(6’2, 205lbs, 11-5, 8-2 )

The Set Up: Go back and read the intro...that about sums it up. Though one thing to add – All the “celebrities” (and I’m also making those annoying hand quotes when I say that) in attendance pick Ortiz by destruction. Oh, make that two things to add – In the prefight hype video, Couture says: “I’ve wrestled at the elite level. I’ve wrestled for 30 years. Tito wrestled at junior college. For one year.” Now THAT is trash talk.

The Fight: In a shocking twist they come out and....clinch. Ok, maybe not so shocking considering these two. Couture is able to defend Ortiz’s single leg attempt and work his way into the Greco Roman clinch where he lands a few knees and starts to – surprisingly – muscle Ortiz around. Couture takes him down, takes his back and tries for a choke. He only gets one hook in though, and Ortiz is able to roll to top control. It might not be the way he would have planned to get there, but that’s where Tito wanted to be. Only Couture pops up. Oh oh. On their feet, Couture grabs a body lock and SLAMS Ortiz down. Talk about turning the tables. Out of side control, Couture lands some knees to the body and ends up in ½ guard after an attempted sweep ends the round. I be those celebrities feel stupid now that Couture just schooled their boy and took the first round easily 10-9.

Ortiz opens up the second round by trying a high kick, but gets caught in the clinch and pushed around for a bit before being taken down and pounded on with hard elbows. Couture just mauls him for two full minutes, then passes to ½ guard. Ortiz tries to get up with about a minute left in the round, but can’t muscle out from under Couture. A few more elbows land as the round ends. Not a big write up for this round....I could have said Couture beat him up and that would have worked out just as well. 10-8 round for Couture, making it 20-17 overall.

They come out boxing for the third round before Couture shoots and takes Ortiz back down with a single leg. I feel like a broken record here. On his back, Ortiz looks for a kimura/sweep, but ends up giving up his back and getting caught in a crucifix. That is not a good place to be, and he eats a lot of shots. He manages to squirm out and grab a single leg of himself and actually gets control, but Couture reverses and is right back on top. That has to be disheartening. Nice ground and pound against the fence, and Couture even mounts with 30 seconds left. Ortiz is able to shrug him off, but Couture still controls through the end of the round to sew up another 10-9 round. 30-26 in my book at this point.

Couture opens up with a sh....oh...actually he nails a big right hand first, THEN takes Ortiz right back down. He takes his back about two minutes in, and tries the choke with one hook again. He ends up in the mount and lands a lot of punches. Ortiz covers up and blocks most, but he’s not responding. He tries wrist control, and the fence to reverse, but ends up on his side eating nasty elbows. Pure dominance by Couture there, and I’m giving him a 10-8 round there again, so that makes it 40-34. Jeesh...that’s an ugly score.

So, with that in mind, Ortiz needs to finish big. Actually, he needs to FINISH. After a while spent in the clinch, Ortiz pushes off and lands a good right hand, but Couture clinches again. He ends up scoring a takedown after dropping for a single, and ends up in ½ guard and continues mauling Ortiz. He’s able to get up, but Couture holds onto him and suplexes him back down. Damn...this is an ass kicking. Back to ½ guard, which is Couture’s always made good use of. Ortiz keeps trying for a sweep, and even rolls for a kneebar, but Couture stands up and spanks Ortiz. Literally. SPANKS him. Then punches him in the ass, and finshes the fight landing nasty hammerfists. I’m voting 10-8 again, as Ortiz was dominated again.

The Breakdown: I scored it 50-42 for Couture, but the judges see it 50-44, 50-44, and 50-45, giving Couture the unanimous decision. Honestly, Tito got some benefit of the doubt in those scores. Ortiz was classy in defeat – which, to his credit, he always is – but this was the end of an era for him, as once the bully got beat up, he just could never be the same bully again. Couture served notice that he’s not done at 40 by any means. Lurking on the horizons for both is the cold shadow of the Iceman...

The 411: Maybe I'm just in a good mood this week, but this was a wicked good show. Loved it. Let me know what you think of the newish style...

Final Score:  9.5   [  Amazing ]