History of the UFC 07.14.08: UFC XLVI - Supernatural
Posted by Matt McEwen on 07.14.2008
Two titles, a debut of a future superstar and a move to Saturdays. It all makes for a SUPER show.
Super Bowl Saturday. I believe this if the first time they moved from Friday to the now usual Saturday night events. It's January 31st, we've got two title fights on the card a chunk of debuting fighters, one of which you might recognize right now.
You may have noticed that I don't mention much about the production values/presentation anymore. That's because we've pretty much entered the modern age - the gladiator openings, music is the same, Rogan and Goldberg in the booth, etc. Wow...when I write it out that way, it makes me realize that they've been doing things the same way for nearly 5 years.
Oh well, on to the show, from the Mandalay Bay....
Lightweights
Jeff Curran (5'6, 154lbs, 13-6-1)
vs.
Matt Serra (5'6, 154lbs, 5-3, 2-3)
The Set Up: Not much of one. Curran took the fight on 9 days notice and is the FOURTH opponent they lined up for Serra. He's a BJJ black belt, but usually fights at 145lbs, so he's giving up some size, especially when you consider that Serra would go on to win the 170lb title.
The Fight: Serra rushes, clinches up against the fence and takes Curran down. Now, their both BJJ experts, but Curran does not want to be on the bottom of Serra. He does have a nice defensive guard, but he still eats some elbows. Serra passes to 1/2 guard a few times, but Curran always gets back to full, and eventually gets to his feet. Serra misses a throw and ends up on the bottom for a second, but he manages to sweep and finishes out the round on top for an easily scored 10-9 round. He looks too big and strong for Curran here.
The second starts out with both guys' stand up looking sharp, but then a back suplex by Serra, and floats into the mount. Nice work there. Curran is crafty enough to make it to 1/2 guard, but eats some big right hands. Serra still can't pass, but he stacks Curran up and pounds on him a bit. Curran, crafty like I said, sweeps and gets to top control, but Serra just pushes him off and stands up. He throws Curran back down and lands a few punches out of side control, then holds him down to finish out another 10-9 round.
The third goes a bit different as Curran lands a nice combo, followed by an uppercut that rocks Serra. He tries to lock in a guillotine, but Serra pulls free and ends up on top. A nice little scramble - not sloppy, very technical escape and reverse attempts by both guys - and Curran is able to get up for a second before Serra grabs a body lock and takes him back down. Repeat that last bit, and the round is over. 10-9 for Serra even though he ate a few punches early on.
The Breakdown: I score it 30-27 for Serra in a pretty entertaining fight, and all three judges see it that same way. This would be Curran's one and only UFC appearance, but he has been an active fighter, and had a very entertaining fight with Urijah Faber at WEC 31. Serra is making a claim to being a contender at 155, especially with BJ Penn moving up a weight class, but the only problem is that there is no champion, and no solid plans for there to be a champion.
Lightweight
Josh Thompson (5'10, 155lbs, 23-1, 1-0)
vs.
Hermes Franca (5'6, 155lbs, 8-0, 2-0)
The Set Up: For not having a actual title in a full two years, they do have some talent at 155. Both these guys have looked good and exciting inside the Octagon, so this should be another decent fight.
The Fight: Thompson opens up using leg kicks essentially as a boxer would a jab. Then he throws a spinning backfist. Way to be conservative. Franca lands a big right hand, and starts to use that to counter any strikes by Thompson. With that going on, Thompson decides to take the fight to the ground. That's kind of surprising considering Franca is the ground expert here. He tries a nice omaplata, but Thompson avoids. Franca gets up and scores a takedown of his own to end the round. Thompson's top control and more controlled striking wins him the first 10-9.
The second starts with Franca making a sloppy shot, and eats some nasty knees for his troubles before he's able to score the takedown. Omaplata attempt by Thompson this time, then he transitions into a heel hook, but Franca pulls free. He ends up in side control, and then North/South, but Thompson rolls. That doesn't works so good as Franca mounts, then takes his back. Normally that's death, but Franca slips up and Thompson ends up on top. Franca's guard is much more active this time around, and he ends up trying a heel hook, but he eats a back fist (same ending to Thompson's last fight) and lets it go. He tries to stand up but he looks exhausted. He locks int his guard and tries an omaplata again, but they get back to their feet with 20 seconds left. Thompson lands a big knee, but falls and eats a big right hand on his back. 10-9 Thompson, but a good ending showing Franca still has a shot.
Thompson looks pretty tired and gets dropped by a big right hand to start the third. Franca jumps and goes for the kill, and ref Larry Landless looks like he's going to stop it, but Thompson grabs a leg and Landless stops just short. He manages to close his guard, and the pace slows. They spend 2 1/2 minutes here not doing much. Thompson tries a triangle, but Franca pulls free and passes to 1/2 guard. Thompson gets up with 30 seconds left and after a quick stoppage for some loose tape, they sprint to the finish with Thompson throwing a spinning back fist and then shooting for a takedown. Even still, I score the third 10-9 for Franca.
The Breakdown:All three judges score it 29-28, and Thompson hands Franca his first career loss. Both guys are still in a holding pattern while the UFC figures out the division.
Welterweights
Georges St. Pierre (5'10, 167lbs, 6-0)
vs.
Karo Parisyan (5'10, 169lbs, 10-2, 1-0)
The Set Up:Parisyan came into the UFC with some good hype due to his judo credentials, and pulled off a nice win in his debut. St. Pierre is coming in from the TKO promotion in Montreal and while he's young and relatively inexperienced, he's good.
The Fight: A little bit of boxing to start before GSP shoots and takes him down. Parisyan tries to tie up an arm in a kimura (same way he beat Strasser), but GSP rolls. Parisyan is on top and almost has the kimura, but GSP pulsl free and rolls into top control. Parisyan throws up a triangle, but GSP avoids and passes to 1/2 gurad for a second. He lands a few punches while Parisyan shows a lot of movement from the bottom. 10-9 for GSP in an ok round, that was mostly a battle for position.
GSP opens the second with a left hook and a takedown. Parisyan tries a triangle, but gets dumped on his head for his troubles, then eats a few elbows. Parisyan rolls for a leglock but GSP defends it well. Couple of nice punches by GSP opens up a cut over Parisyan's right eye. A little "hump slam" by GSP, and he's doing a much better job on top in this round. He lands a few more elbows and Parisyan really slows down as the round wears on. Easily 10-9 for GSP here.
GSP opens up with a leg kick before his shoot. Parisyan grabs that kimura attempt again and actually uses it to sweep GSP and eventually lock the arm, but GSP just brute powers through it and comes out on top. Damn...that was impressive. A little ground and pound, but they get stood up with 1:30 left. Nice body kick by GSP, followed up with an uppercut, but a high kikc misses. Parisyan tries to body lock him, but GSP shrugs him off. Parisyan tries one more kimura as the round ends. 10-9 for GSP again.
The Breakdown: A nice debut for GSP as he wins a unanimous decision, but boh guys served notice that the new generation of welterweights were arriving in the Octagon.
Middleweights
Lee Murray (6'3, 182lbs, 7-1-1)
vs.
Jorge Rivera (6'1, 185lbs, 6-1, 1-0)
The Set Up: Rivera won his UFC debut and wants to get in the mix at the top of the division...if they ever crown a new champ here too. Murray....well, he has an interesting story to say the least. He trained some with the Millitech camp, and when the UFC was in London, there was a bit of brawl that broke out, with MFS members and some Team Punishment guys. Murray, as the legend goes, squared off with Tito Ortiz and knocked him cold with one punch. So the legend goes...
The Fight: Rivera lands a big overhand right, locks him up and takes Murray down. From the bottom, Murray looks for an armbar, then transitions to a triangle and wins the fight in under two minutes.
The Breakdown: For a guy known for his fists, Murray seems to have a good sub game. Too bad we'll never see it again. He had one more fight after this - a unanimous decision loss to Anderson Silva at a Cage Rage event - and then, well, let's say he moved on to more interesting lines of work. He was the purported mastermind of a bank heist that was the biggest in England's history. Sports Illustrated did a fantastic story on him a few months back. Give him a google if you want to learn a bit more. As for Jorge...we'll see him again later in the year.
Heavyweights
Wes Sims (6'10, 238lbs, 6-2, 0-1)
vs.
Frank Mir (6'3, 249lbs, 6-1, 4-1)
The Set Up: This is a rematch of the notorious fight when Sims went all batshit and stomped the bejesus out of Mirs face while he was pinned up against the fence. Prior that though, Mir was dominating, so now we get the rematch.
The Fight: Just for the record, Sims looks like a douche as he huffs and puffs waiting for the fight to start. ONce it does, Mir slams him, takes side control and mounts. He spends the next 4:50 punching, trying submissions, taking his back, etc. Pure dominance. AN easy 10-8 round, but by the end of it Mir looked gassed, so the second could be interesting.
And it is. Sims come out on top after a scramble, but Mir gets up from under, picks up Sims and slams him hard. The end up with Sims on top of Mir in a sprawl like position, punching him in the ribs. Mir drives forwards and gets on top, but they get stood up with a minute left. Mir is so tired that he checks out the clock, then lands two big knees, a right hand a left and it's all over. Huge KO.
The Breakdown: Hopefully this shuts Sims up, but Mir is the more important component here. A good showing in the first, but his stamina is a big question. BIG question. That being said, next time we see him, it'll be for the heavyweight title.
Welterweight Title
Matt Hughes (5'9, 170lbs, 34-3, 8-1)
vs.
BJ Penn (5'9, 169lbs, 7-1-1, 6-1-1)
The Set Up: Hughes has dominated the 170lb division, and pretty much ran through all the challengers of this generation. To that end, here comes BJ Penn. Widely considered the best 155lber in the world, there being no title at that weight class, he's moved up to challenge Hughes. He's a big underdog, but his jiu jitsu is good from the bottom, which is where super powerful Hughes is likely to put him.
The Fight: They box a little bit, and Hughes tries to get the body lock, but Penn is able to get free. A shot by Hughes doesn't go as planned, and he ends up on his back under Penn. Hmmm...interesting. Penn in 1/2 guard, takes his back for a second, back to 1/2 guard where Hughes lands a nice short elbow from the bottom that gains him full guard. Back to 1/2 guard eventually in a good positional battle. Penn lands a big straight right hand from the top and mounts behind it. Hughes rolls and gives up his back. He tries some sort of foot lock, but Penn locks in that a RNC and forces Hughes to tap.
The Breakdown:HUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE upset here. Penn is ecstatic over his win, and Hughes says he's actually relieved to have finally lost. Strange comment. Even with the loss, Hughes is still at the top of the division, and isn't going anywhere. Going somewhere though, is Penn. He never defends the title, instead getting into a legal dispute with the UFC and heading off to Japan, thus vacating the title. So, in a company with 6 weight classes, we have two bloody champions. As of this point, there is no heavyweight, middleweight, welterweight or lightweight champion. Kinda pathetic.
Middleweights
Renato Verissimo (6'1, 175lbs, 3-0)
vs.
Carlos Newton (5'9, 175lbs, 12-7, 3-3)
The Set Up: This is a middleweight bout since Newton couldn't make 170lbs. That's never a good sign. Verrisimo is Penn's BJJ coach - now that's saying something - and while he's relatively inexperienced, you've gotta figure he's got some skills.
The Fight: Newton tries a take down immediately, but Verissimo defends and avoids for a second, but Newton does score the takedown eventually. Verisimo tries an armbar from the bottom, but can't get it, though he does have better luck with a sweep, as he ends up in the mount. He takes his back and flattens Newton out. He tries to punch a bit but can't get a choke. Newton is able to hold on to the end, but got his ass handed to him there. 10-9 for Verissimo and if not for the early takedown, probably would have been 10-8.
Newton comes out in the second with a left and and tries a takedown, but Verrisimo takes him down instead. 1/2 guard and some pounding, which gives him the mount. Back to 1/2 guard, and now Newton is bleeding. The stand back up and Verissimo misses a high kick and eats some body shots before taking Newton down again. Spends the last minute of the round moving from side control, mount and taking his back. I've gotta say 10-8 for that round.
The third starts with an exchange on their feet, in which Newton gets tagged. A nice knee is followed by a takedown by Verissimo. After a minute and a half, they get stood up. Newton looks tired and eats a big knee, but scores the takedown and takes side control. Not doing much though, and Verissimo rolls over, gets to his feet and takes Newton down. He rides out the round on top. 10-9 for Verissimo.
The Breakdown: I score it 20-26, all three judges score it 30-27 giving Verissimo the shockingly easy win. The was it for Newton, and while he kept fighting in PRIDE and the IFL after this, he's only won once since this, while losing five. Verissimo made a hell of a showing, and will be back.
Light Heavyweight Title
Randy Couture (6'2, 204lbs, 12-5, 9-2)
vs.
Vitor Belfort (6', 205lbs, 14-3, 8-2)
The Set Up: In 1997, in Couture's third pro fight, he went up against the unstoppable phenom in Belfort, who had been decimating everyone. Not Couture. The legend of "The Natural" was born that night as he beat up Belfort, who has never been the same since. So now, over 6 years later, we get the rematch. On a non-sports note, Belfort's sister had been kidnapped in Brazil and was missing at the time. For a guy with a questionable mental state at the best of times, that can't be good.
The Fight: Couture throws right and shoots in. Belfort throws a left that looks like it misses, but Couture is wincing really bad as they clinch against the fence. Ref McCarthy stops it for the doctor to look it. She stops the fight as a grazing punch tore the bottom eyelid of Couture, and exposed the eye. Post fight, you can see that the eye is swollen shut and the doctor says he'll need immediate surgery.
The Breakdown: Your winner and most anti-climactic champion ever - Vitor Belfort! He has the class and grace not to celebrate winning this way. As soon as Couture is ready, there will be a rematch, but in the meantime, Belfort is the champ.
The 411: While the main event is anti climactic and takes some of the shine off of the show, it's pretty good all around. Not a bad fight on the show really, and even the one real mismatch (Verissimo vs Newton) was fun just because it was the underdog who dominated. Now, I'm going on a two week vacation, but when I come back, it's THE match everyone has been waiting years for - Liddell vs Ortiz.
