The Solomon Review: UFC 52 - Couture vs. Liddell II DVD
Posted by Jonathan Solomon on 08.07.2008
One of the biggest PPVs in UFC history features several of the top fighters in the sport. Couture vs. Liddell for UFC Light Heavyweight gold, Hughes vs. Trigg for UFC Welterweight gold, St. Pierre vs. Miller and much more.
411 DVD Review: UFC 52: Couture vs. Liddell II
April 16th, 2005
MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada
Rewind yourselves three years back to the beginning of the MMA boom in the United States. Absolutely nobody knew where the sport would go or how America would react, but it surely was exciting. This was before the UFC held monthly pay-per-view events. UFC 51, held on Super Bowl weekend in 2005, was the first UFC PPV held after the first season of The Ultimate Fighter began airing on Spike TV. However, this show with a main event of Randy Couture fighting Chuck Liddell was hyped for three months on cable television and it resulted in great business. The UFC upped their PPV price to $34.95 for the first time for this highly anticipated match-up.
According to reports, this show did a record 280,000 PPV buys for the UFC. That record would stand until the following year when the brand took off on the backs of Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock.
The DVD menu gives you the options to check out the bonus features (I will cover those later), audio (English or Spanish) and select each individual fight. As this is a DVD, there are noticeable edits and cuts. The only entrances and post-fight interviews during the show are for the two championship fights. The entrance music is edited to your average UFC metal music. They edit the fights so you go straight from the end of a round to the start of the next, so no rest period.
With all that said, let's check out the action.
Play-by-play man Mike Goldberg introduces us to the sold out MGM Grand Garden Arena and informs us of the hype in Vegas for the event. They showed a blackjack table with Couture vs. Liddell 2 plastered all over the place. I wonder if the Fertitta's paid themselves for the advertising. Anyway, to our opening fight.
Preliminary Heavyweight Fight
6-3 (34 years old, 6'0", 225 pounds) John Marsh vs. Mike Van Arsdale (39 years old, 6'2", 215 pounds) 7-1
Arsdale has been out of the cage for seven years and makes his return here. His last fight was a win over Joe Pardo at UFC 17. Marsh is a powerful heavyweight making his UFC debut. Steve Mazzagatti is the referee to start the show.
The fight begins and for over a minute, the two walk around the cage without any action. The Vegas crowd let's them hear it. First action comes with a Marsh leg kick before Van Arsdale clinches him and sweeps him to the mat. Van Arsdale is in side control and drops elbows to the face and body. Marsh's left eye is cut. Van Arsdale's elbows to the body are loud and vicious. Van Arsdale sends knees to the body and shoulder as the referee warns him to send none to the head. Eww, Marsh's eye looks nasty. Marsh has no answer for Van Arsdale's dominant positioning. Under ten seconds to go, Marsh finally gets out and stands up. This round ends with the two standing. A dominant performance from Van Arsdale and he has to get a 10-8.
The second round begins similarly to the opener with both men circling the cage and looking for their spots. Marsh obviously doesn't want to get taken down again. Marsh connects with a right and has Van Arsdale back peddling. Van Arsdale shoots in for the takedown but Marsh defended. They're in the clinch as Van Arsdale is working for a takedown. Marsh lands a knee and they're standing once again. Marsh charges with a combination and backs Van Arsdale to the cage. Van Arsdale is downand Marsh lands a knee as he looks to take the back. Marsh lets him up. Marsh counters a punch with a leg kick before Van Arsdale lands a beautiful right but Marsh doesn't look phased one bit. Van Arsdale shoots and Marsh sprawls to avoid the takedown. In the clinch, Van Arsdale tries for a takedown but fails. Instead, it's Marsh who sweeps and gets the takedown. Marsh is on top with about fifty seconds left in the round. Marsh, in half-guard, fights out and takes Van Arsdale's back with ten seconds left. He has a rear naked choke locked on as the round ends. Big round for Marsh as it appeared Van Arsdale may have gassed. 10-9 for Marsh.
The third and final round begins as Joe Rogan opines about MMA scoring. He questions whether the first round was 10-8 worthy. The action picks up with Marsh charging, again, and forcing Van Arsdale to back up. Marsh lands a knee and then in the clinch, lands another knee. Van Arsdale looks gassed, although he lands a couple knees. Marsh is breathing heavy as well. Marsh lands a big knee to the body and Van Arsdale is down and taking punishment. The crowd smells a finish as Marsh is swept and Van Arsdale is on top, in half-guard. Wow. Van Arsdale now drops some strikes, switches to side control a la the first round. Van Arsdale is back to dropping elbows on Marsh's face. Marsh looks tired and his face is battered. Van Arsdale is doing a great job of staying active and avoiding a stand-up. The final minute, plus is Van Arsdale dropping strikes. Big round for Van Arsdale after it looked like he was about to lose. That sweep changed the fight completely. 10-9 for Van Arsdale in my book, which would make it 29-27 for Arsdale.
All three judges score it 29-28 for the winner, MIKE VAN ARSDALE (unanimous decision).
Preliminary Middleweight Fight
5-1 (25 years old, 5'11", 185 pounds) Patrick Cote vs. Joe Doerksen (27 years old, 6'3", 185 pounds) 29-6
Before this fight, Cote stepped forward to fight at 205 against Tito Ortiz after Guy Mezger was injured. Cote fought Tito in a losing effort but went to a decision. These fighters are two of the best Canada have to offer (the best perhaps, is coming later in the show). Herb Dean is the referee.
After exchanging kicks, they clinch as Doerksen works for the takedown. Doerksen brings Cote to the center of the cage, sweeps him and gets the takedown and goes to side control. Cote tries to roll over and flip Doerksen off but Joe stays grounded and takes Cote's back. Doerksen has both hooks locking Cote in. Cote is fighting off the choke attempts. After about two minutes of defending the choke, Cote flips and is in Doerksen's guard. Cote stands up and kicks Doerksen who jumps to his feet. Cote swings and misses an uppercut as Doerksen shoots in and takes him down. Doerksen goes for the kimura with twenty seconds left. Cote keeps his hands locked until Doerksen changes to a triangle as the bell sounds. Exciting display of submission attempts. Doerksen gets the 10-9 in the first round.
The next round kicks off (pun intended) with an inside leg kick from Doerksen. Cote lands a big straight right that rocks Doerksen for a moment. Cote lands a body punch and a big left head kick. Doerksen lands a left jab, goes for the takedown but Cote stands right back up. Doerksen, in the clinch, gets the takedown and is back in side control. Doerksen works again for a triangle as Cote slams him and gets out. Back on their feet, Cote tries a flying knee. He ties up Doerksen and nails two or three knees. On the ground, Cote is on top in half-guard. Cote lands big shots before Doerksen gets back to his feet. He looks a bit tired, then he takes Cote down with under twenty seconds to go. He throws a few shots as the round ends. This is a tough round to score but because of the stand-up and the damage done, I am giving it to Patrick Cote, 10-9.
The final round starts with Patrick Cote landing a big left. Cote lands a body shot, an overhand right followed by an uppercut to drop Doerksen. Cote pounces on him and throws some strikes but Doerksen looks like he is not out just yet. In Doerksen's guard, Cote throws strikes until Doerksen works out of the position. Doerksen does a great job of flipping Cote and taking his back. In a repeat of the first round, Cote defends against the choke but Doerksen has it. Patrick Cote TAPS! Wow, amazing technical skills shown by Doerksen in this fight.
Your winner is Joe Doerksen via submission (rear naked choke) at 2:35 of the third round.
Preliminary Middleweight Fight
10-3 (34 years old, 6'0", 184 pounds) Ivan Salaverry vs. Joe Riggs (22 years old, 6'0", 185 pounds) 21-5
Riggs claims nobody has seen his best yet, well, what is he waiting for? Salaverry told us he doesn't like to talk bad about anyone but Riggs isn't ready for him. Mario Yamasaki is the referee.
A feeling out period begins the fight for over a minute. Salaverry ducked a punch but Riggs jumped on him for the clinch and tries several knees that are blocked. Salaverry pulls him down into his guard on the mat. Riggs takes his back but Salaverry grabs a kimura until Riggs gets out. Riggs gets out of the guard as Salaverry stays on his back looking for kicks. Riggs is nailed twice with upkicks before falling into a triangle. Joe Riggs taps out to the triangle.
Your winner is Ivan Salaverry via submission (triangle choke) at 2:42 of the first round.
MAIN CARD
Light Heavyweight Fight
24-5 (29 years old, 6'1", 204 pounds) Renato "Babalu" Sobral vs. Travis Wiuff (27 years old, 6'3", 203 pounds) 34-4
Wiuff is walking into the octagon with an active 18-fight win streak outside of the UFC. He claims he is not just a wrestler who will lay on his opponent for the decision. Isn't that what he did in 2008 for YAMMA? Anyway, Babalu also returns to the UFC. He is coming off wins against Shogun Rua and Jeremy Horn in the IFC. Herb Dean is the official referee.
They start and Babalu landing some punches. In the clinch, Babalu lands elbows before Wiuff flips him for the takedown. Wiuff had side control but Sobral moved him into his guard. They stand up and Babalu gets the takedown with the aid of a foot stomp. Babalu, in Wiuff's guard doesn't do much. Wiuff gets up but Babalu takes his back before Wiuff powers his way out. Herb Dean pauses the action so Wiuff can get his mouthpiece back in. FIGHT resumes and Sobral immediately shoots in for the takedown. He throws some big shots as Wiuff tries to get to his feet. Sobral does a good job of keeping Wiuff down. Wiuff escapes a guillotine before getting his own as Babalu also escapes. Babalu, on top, in the guard (as they show Andrei Arlovski watching intently from the crowd), shoving elbows to Wiuff's face. Wiuff stands up and fires away but doesn't land much. In the closing seconds, they clinch and breathe. Definitely a Babalu round, 10-9.
The second round kicks off with a Wiuff takedown. Babalu has the triangle armbar and Wiuff taps out. That was quick.
Your winner is Renato "Babalu" Sobral via submission (triangle choke) at 0:24 of the second round.
Welterweight Fight
8-1 (23 years old, 5'10", 170 pounds) Georges St. Pierre vs. Jason Miller (24 years old, 6'1", 170 pounds) 12-3
This was GSP's return to the UFC after losing to Matt Hughes at UFC 50. For Mayhem Miller, this was his UFC debut and for whatever reason, his last fight with the promotion. Big John McCarthy is the referee.
Two of the youngest and talented fighters start out with kicks. Mayhem sends a kick that is caught by St. Pierre who gets the takedown. He sends a stomp down to the body of Miller. Mayhem goes for the ankle but St. Pierre escapes and they are back on their feet. St. Pierre lands some nice rights before missing a spinning backfist. Miller likes those kicks and even tries a flying knee but it is blocked. St. Pierre's punches look crisp. St. Pierre goes with a superman punch which either hit Mayhem or grazed him. St. Pierre gets the takedown but let's Miller up. In fact, Mayhem does a kip up but eats a GSP kick. Miller is bloodied as St. Pierre lands a straight kick. Miller has his hands up trying to block as GSP gets a kimura before Miller slips out. As they stand up in the clinch, Mayhem's face is a bloody mess. St. Pierre lands a spinning back kick before getting another takedown. St. Pierre moves to side control as the round ends. An easy 10-9 round for St. Pierre.
The second round begins with wild strikes. They clinch and Miller tries to pick GSP up with what Joe Rogan refers to as, 'retard strength.' GSP takes Miller to the mat and is back in half-guard. GSP tries for a kimura but Miller escapes it again. GSP mounts and takes Miller's back until Mayhem rolls out of it and back to his feet. Miller just cannot take GSP down as McCarthy warns GSP not to grab the cage. GSP slaps on an armbar with ten seconds left and somehow, Miller's arm doesn't break as the round ends. 10-9 for GSP again although I wouldn't question a 10-8.
Miller has to finish this fight to win since GSP handily took the first and second rounds. St. Pierre shoots in for the takedown, and lands big elbows from the guard. St. Pierre mounts with under two minutes left. The ground and pound begins, then GSP switches to an armbar. Miller blocks it and transitions to side control with 80 seconds left. Miller drops elbows and knees until GSP flips him over. GSP finishes the fight with the ground and pound. After the fight is over, Mayhem just smiles in dismay. Another 10-9 for GSP and he will take this fight.
All three judges score this fight 30-27 and your winner is Georges St. Pierre via unanimous decision .
Middleweight Fight
13-3 (34 years old, 6'0", 185 pounds) Matt Lindland vs. Travis Lutter (31 years old, 5'11", 185 pounds) 7-1
Lindland made his return to the UFC here after losing to David Terrell at UFC 49. Lutter entered the UFC in spectacular fashion at UFC 50 with a knockout victory over Marvin Eastman. The referee is Steve Mazzagatti.
Lindland lands a left then immediately clinches Lutter. Lindland lands a knee, takes the back and gets a big takedown. In the guard, Lindland stuffs Lutter against the cage. However, Lutter uses his jiu-jitsu to sweep Lindland and is now on top and in the mount. Lutter lands body punches as Lindland sweeps and they return to their feet. Lindland lands some nice elbows from the clinch until Lutter takes him down with a double leg takedown. They end the round on their feet in the clinch. Tough round to score since neither man did much damage.
The second round opens with Lindland swinging, then he gets the takedown. In a funny conversation on commentary, Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg discuss how far the UFC has come. Rogan talks about local small sponsors back in 1997 while Goldberg recalls eating at a cracker barrell in some small Louisiana town. Anyway, Lindland is still on top on the mat. Not much action until Lindland sinks in a deep guillotine choke as Lutter taps.
Your winner is Matt Lindland via submission (guillotine choke) at 3:13 of the second round.
Championship Welterweight Fight
38-4 (31 years old, 5'9", 170 pounds) Champion Matt Hughes vs. Challenger Frank Trigg (32 years old, 5'9", 169 pounds) 13-2
B.J. Penn defeated Matt Hughes for the Welterweight Championship at UFC 46. Penn's UFC contract expired and he signed with K-1 so the UFC stripped him of the belt. Hughes defeated GSP for the vacant belt and Trigg was his first challenger. In the summer of 2005, Hughes would appear on the second season of The Ultimate Fighter and see his popularity (positive or negative) shoot to the sky. Trigg made his UFC debut at UFC 45 in a loss to Hughes in a title fight. He went on to defeat Dennis Hallman and Renato Verissimo to earn another title shot. In the pre-fight video they show the Hughes choke on Trigg to win their first fight. Trigg pleads he had an off night while Hughes proclaims he had no idea how to defend a rear naked choke, "that's day one stuff right there." Gotta love Matt Hughes. Trigg claims Hughes is just a farmboy who does nothing to help the sport while Hughes says Trigg talks nice to your face then talks crap to the media. Oooh, a grudge match.
The referee for this five round championship fight is Mario Yamasaki. After both men enter the cage, Trigg won't look at Hughes. Dolph Lundgren is cageside watching, which lets Mike Goldberg sneak in a "if he dies, he dies" Rocky reference. During the referee instructions, Trigg finally looks at Hughes and goes nose to nose leading to a Hughes shove. Trigg responds by blowing a kiss. MINDGAMES~!
We are underway, in the clinch they trade knees. Trigg hits Hughes with a knee to the groin (accidental, I'm sure) and as Hughes looked to the ref, Trigg didn't lay off. A few punches send Hughes to the mat and this looks like it may end quickly. Trigg mounts Hughes and lands punches. Hughes try to buck hi off but Trigg keeps his position. Trigg takes Hughes' back, and wants a rear naked choke. Hughes defends, but Trigg sinks it in. WOW. Hughes somehow gets out as the crowd ROARS, stands up, picks Trigg up, walks to the other side and SLAMS him down. WOW again. The crowd is going bananas. Matt Hughes moves to the mount and his ground and pound begins. Trigg rolls over and Hughes takes his back. Trigg rolls over again and Hughes is still in the mount and the ground and pound commences. Some sick elbows cause Trigg to roll over and Hughes takes his back yet again. Trigg rolls over, allowing Hughes to sink his hooks in and apply the rear naked choke. Trigg TAPS as blood trickles from his eye. WOW! Trigg and Hughes hug afterwards as Hughes' corner runs into the cage to celebrate.
Your winner and STILL UFC Welterweight Champion is Matt Hughes via submission (rear naked choke) at 4:05 of the first round.
In the post-fight interview, Hughes said Trigg and Yamasaki did nothing wrong about the unintentional low blow. He also challenged Matt Lindland. Wrestling warriors.
Now, it is time for the highly anticipated fight of the evening. Before it begins they show several celebrities among the fans. Of course, Kevin James, Michael Clarke Duncan, Cindy Crawford with hubby Rande Gerber, Pamela Anderson, Vanilla Ice and Chuck Zito.
MAIN EVENT Championship Light Heavyweight Fight
13-6 (41 years old, 6'2", 203 pounds) Champion Randy Couture vs. Challenger Chuck Liddell (35 years old, 6'2", 204 pounds) 14-3
These two legends first fought at UFC 43 for the interim-UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. According to Couture, then champion Tito Ortiz refused to fight Chuck Liddell. Couture won the fight and became the first man to hold belts in different weight classes. To the surprise of everyone, Couture did better than Liddell standing. Liddell said looking back, he did not train well and was out of shape. Chuck claims he is in shape for the rematch here. For Couture, after beating Tito Ortiz to become the undisputed 205-champ, he lost to Vitor Belfort before beating him to take back the championship in August 2004. Big John McCarthy is the referee for this main event fight.
Randy comes out throwing strikes and Chuck looks to counter punch. Randy lands an overhand right followed by a cross and he clinches with Chuck. Before Randy can start the dirty boxing, Liddell breaks free. McCarthy calls time as Couture looks like his eye was poked. The doctor's check it out as you can imagine how Dana White was panicking. The doctor tells Big John that Randy is fine and able to continue. Fight RESUMES...Chuck lands a left that stuns Couture who charges at Chuck. Randy throws but lands nothing while Liddell lands a right and another right and RANDY COUTURE IS DOWN. Chuck pounces on him with a few more strikes as Big John McCarthy steps in and stops the fight. Liddell is pumped up and is one happy man. They cut to the crowd and Forrest Griffin looks stunned.
Your winner and NEW UFC Light Heavyweight Champion is Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell via KO at 2:06 of the first round.
In the post-fight interview, Chuck says he want's the PRIDE belt and wants to knock out Wanderlei Silva. Randy Couture says he will be back...if he only knew.
BONUS DVD FEATURES
In the bonus section, there are about twenty minutes worth of extra footage.
Chuck Liddell in a radio interview tells the new UFC fans that he got his mohawk on his way to a Slayer concert.
The fighters have their weights checked the Friday before the show. Trigg clocked in at 171.5 pounds on that Friday morning. Hughes weighed in at 175 and when he tried to find out Trigg's weight, the doctor "forgot." GSP was at 171 and told us he either had to "spit" or "go to the bathroom." The wonders of weight cutting.
During Randy's medical check, the doctor tells him of people asking her if she knows Chuck and Randy. MMA's popularity rising was a major theme throughout this show.
Clips are shown from the weigh-ins and everyone made weight. Funny note, Mayhem Miller's teeth bling weighed one pound.
Hours before their fights, Trigg, Riggs and Hughes are shown. Hughes and Jeremy Horn roll around the cage to get some work done.
Joe Stevenson (pre-TUF and UFC days) speaks about Jason Miller. After their fight with cotton in his nose, Miller tells someone over the phone that "I got my ass whooped!" At least he's honest.
Hughes watches the show from the back with a pocket bible by his side. Pre and post fight backstage footage is shown for Hughes, Trigg, Liddell and Couture. Liddell jokes that he's been fighting for the UFC for a long time and they still can't spell his name right (the name by his locker room was spelled Lidell).
The 411: What an amazing show. Both championship fights delivered even though, combined they didn't last one round. It is fun to see how much love and respect has been given to Randy Couture over the years, and even in 2008, he's still considered one of the best. We get to see Chuck Liddell's dominant start as champion and Matt Hughes right smack in the middle of his dominant run. For a lot of people, this was the first UFC PPV they saw, and that's a great thing.
