History of the UFC 08.11.08: UFC XLVII - It's On!
Posted by Matt McEwen on 08.11.2008
Two men, one broken friendship and two years of build up collide head long as Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz meet in the biggest fight in the history of MMA.
April 2nd, 2004.
It's a big day in MMA history. On that day, the biggest grudge match in the relatively short history of the UFC took place as Tito Ortiz finally stepped into the Octagon to take on Chuck Liddell. Whether it was just expert building, or legitimate problems, it took nearly two years to get to this fight, and it had A LOT of buzz behind it.
Back to Liddell's early days in the UFC, he had trained some with Ortiz, and often could be seen in his corner celebrating after wins, and vice versa. After gaining a few wins and moving back to training with John Hackleman at The Pit, Liddell moved into the #1 contender slot for the Light Heavyweight title - held by Ortiz.
When asked about a potential match up with his ostensible friend Liddell, Ortiz said in the cage after a fight that he'd have to see. He flat out said they'd have to pay him more money in order to get in the cage with Liddell, who he claimed as a good friend and whom he said he had a pact with to never fight.
When Liddell was asked if he'd fight Ortiz, he said, and I quote, "Yup."
So, whatever the relationship was, it's clear Ortiz thought more of it than Liddell did. But that wasn't the only stumbling point. With a guaranteed title shot in the bad, Liddell stepped aside and let Ken Shamrock fight Ortiz in a previous grudge match. Good for business, yes. Good for Liddell, maybe, maybe not.
After that fight, Ortiz took his ball - and the title - and went home. For a while it looked like he would be gone for good, and gearing up for that, the UFC braintrust had Liddell battle former heavyweight champion Randy Couture for the interim 205lb title, which would become THE championship if Ortiz was officially gone.
That would not come to pass though, as Ortiz would return to defend against the winner of that fight - Randy Couture. "The Natural" had upset Liddell, and then did the same to Ortiz, wiping out the mystique of the "Bad Boy" in one fell swoop.
So now, with both men's UFC careers coming off a loss to Couture (and with Liddell coming in off a loss to Rampage Jackson - Ortiz's teammate - in a PRIDE event), the two friends/rivals FINALLY step into the Octagon to face each other.
It's UFC XLVII, and It's On.
Lightweights
Mike Brown (5'6, 154lbs, 9-1)
vs.
Genki Sudo (5'9, 154lbs, 8-4-1, 1-1)
The Setup: Not much of one really. Thomas is making his UFC debut, while Sudo steps in for the third fight of his three fight contract. In between UFC fights though, Sudo did tap out Butterbean in Japan. That's funny.
The Fight: Brown wants no part of Sudo's antics and bull rushes the Japanese fighter at the first sign of show boating. He grabs under hooks up against the fence, but still manages to land a good right hand in tight. Sudo is able to push off and trip Brown down, but the American bounces right back up. On his feet he goes all Matt Hughes on Sudo and slams him down kinda hard. Sudo goes all Carlos Newton on him and locks in a triangle. Brown tries to smash his way out with hammer fists, but Sudo rolls over, combines the triangle with an armbar and Brown has to tap out.
The Aftermath: A nice little action fight here with a nice submission finish. Good way to start the night. Sudo left and went back to fighting in Japan, until his surprise retirement at the end of 2006. As for Brown, he's one and done in the UFC. He now fights as a featherweight, and even sports a win over Yves Edwards on his record.
Heavweights
Wade Shipp (6'4, 232, 6-1)
vs.
Jonathan Weizork (6'3, 257, 5-0)
The Setup: Two new big guys trying to make a name in the heavyweight division. Shipp is big, bald, tattooed and a good Thai fighter. Weizork is bigger, a full head of hair, and a good wrestler. They also mention he used to weight over 300lbs, and by the look of him, it's not hard to believe. Not exactly chiseled.
The Fight: Wiezork bull rushes right off the bat and eats a big knee. Shipp smells blood and goes for the kill with combinations of punches, knees and kicks. Wiezork has zero stand up, and just keeps trying for the takedown. He gets bloodied for his efforts, but Shipp eventually gasses after throwing punches for 4 minutes and ends up on his back. He rolls over and gives Wiezork his back, and he pounds away with very weak shots until the ref has no choice but to stop it with Shipp doing nothing to defend.
The Aftermath: A lackluster showing by both guys, and neither would be back. They both still fight, and Wiezork actually appeared on an EliteXC event, being used as the sacrificial lamb for Antonio Silva.
Heavyweights
Mike Kyle (6'4, 229lbs, 7-3)
vs.
Wes Simms (6'10, 254lbs, 6-3, 0-2)
The Setup: Two more heavyweights trying to make a mark. Kyle has a pretty good reputation coming in, while Simms has tons of physical talent, but appears to be unable to match that with mental prowess. To his credit, he's taking this fight on 1 days notice. Kyle was supposed to be fighting Cabbage Correira, but when Tim Sylvia tested positive for steroids and was suspended, Cabbage moved up to take on Andrei Arlovski, and Simms got the call for this fight.
The Fight:Kyle shots but can't take Simms - who's put on 20 lbs of muscle - down. He holds on though, and starts in with foot stomps. Simms tries a guillotine but loses it while making an attempt to pull guard and lock it in. His ground game is weak, and a smothering hand by Kyle is actually an effective win. They eventually stand up, but Simms is exhausted and Kyle starts pounding away and gets a KO win with a big right hand that was set up nicely by a couple of good knees.
The Aftermath: Kyle scores a KO in his UFC debut and Simms gets his last Octagon beating. His mixed success career continued into 2007, but he hasn't fought in over a year.
Welterweights
Robbie Lawler (5'11, 169lbs, 10-1, 4-1)
vs.
Nick Diaz (6', 168lbs, 8-2, 1-0)
The Set Up: Lawler has had the full marketing power of the UFC behind him almost since his debut, and seems back on track after suffering his first loss to Pete Spratt. Diaz on the other hand, won a pretty good fight against a good striker in his UFC debut, and seems to be sent into a sink or swim situation here - beat the poster boy and make a name for himself, or - as was more expected - get KO'd and be another highlight on Lawler's ever growing reel.
The Fight: Diaz tries a flying side kick to start. Very karate kid of him, and very ineffective except that it had to of gotten Lawler's attention. They size each other up a bit, with Diaz even taunting Lawler. He lands a nice counter right that stumbles Lawler, but eats a combo himself. Both guys get very aggressive, and the stand up battle is good because of it. Surprisingly, it's Diaz who keeps coming forward an pressing the action, and it seems to be throwing Lawler off a bit. Diaz slaps him, and then rocks Lawler with a right/left combo. Lawler is tough though, and shakes it off to throw punches of his own. They separate a bit, and ref Steve Mazzaggatti actually tells Diaz to stop trash talking. They clinch against the fence and both guys throw some knees before breaking off and going back to boxing. Lawler comes forward and lands some nice shots, but Diaz's straight right hand is starting to take command of the fight as the first round ends. I'd score that 10-9 for Diaz who very surprisingly won the stand up, and never even tried to take the fight to the ground.
Diaz still coming forward as the second round opens up, with Lawler trying to counter but unable to get any real momentum going. He does land a good right hand, but leaves himself open for the straight right hand Diaz has been throwing the whole fight. The only thing is this one lands on the button and turns Lawler's lights out as he drops face first to the mat. The ref jumps in to stop it as Lawler tries to claim he was OK, but it's a good stoppage and highlight KO for Diaz. Go figure.
The Aftermath: Diaz firmly establishes himself as a force to be reckoned with at 170lbs, while Lawler gets a lot of the shine taken off his star. He would move up to middleweight after this fight and try his luck there. Maybe the weight cut was getting to be too much for him?
Heavyweights
Andrei Arlovski (6'3, 241lbs, 6-3, 3-2)
vs.
Cabbage Correria (6'2, 265lbs, 13-4, 2-1)
The Set Up: This was supposed to be Arlovski vs Tim Sylvia for the title, but Sylvia got suspended just prior to this fight and on short notice Cabbage was moved up from a fight with Mike Kyle into this fight, which becomes an unofficial #1 contender's fight. That being said, Arlovski likes to throw heavy punches, and Cabbage is really good at getting punched, so you do the math here.
The Fight: Arlovski opens up with some leg kicks as Cabbage not surprisingly keeps moving forward. It's a fairly slow pace until Arlovski opens up with good punches that result in Cabbage smiling at him. Another punch buckles the big man's knees, but he keeps coming. More punches open up Cabbage's ear, but he keeps coming. A nice combo against the cage by Arlovski, but he slips trying a high kick, and Cabbage keeps coming. Arlovski land a few more big punches and a HUGE knee as the round ends, but he still can't put Cabbage down. 10-9 round for Arlovski as Cabbage did throw a few punches, but I think the most damage he might have done was to Arlovski's fists with his face. Just about any other heavyweight would have been KO'd three times in that round...at least.
The second rounds starts with Cabbage taking the center of the cage and - you guessed it - coming forward. Arlovski just starts teeing off and lands at least 6 flush, brutal punches...and Cabbage keeps coming. A straight left by Arlovski actually drops Cabbage - HOLY SHIT! - and the ref jumps in to stop the fight. Rogan is pissed on commentary that they stopped it, but I'm OK with it in that Cabbage took a lot of shots, and if that one dropped him, then yeah, he was HURT.
The Aftermath: Arlovski keeps himself in contention for the heavyweight title with a win here, and really, he looked the best that he ever had at this point. His next fight would be a title shot. As for Cabbage, this was his last UFC contest, but he and his head "full of cement and stuff" continue to chug along in the MMA world, though his record has dropped to 19-14 overall.
Lightweights
Yves Edwards (5'10, 155lbs, 25-8, 4-2)
vs.
Hermes Fanca (5'6, 155lbs, 8-1, 2-1)
The Set Up: Edwards is looking to position himself at the top of the 155lbs division, and get in line for a title shot if the belt is ever put back in place. Franca is coming off a loss and is looking to stay relevant in the division. On the surface this looks like a striker vs grappler contest, but Edwards has a decent ground game and Franca has one punch KO power in his right hand.
The Fight: Franca shoots about 30 seconds in and takes Edwards down for a second before he gets back up. Franca really wants the fight down thought, so he pulls guard. He tries for a leg lock but that leaves his face open for Edwards' punches. They get back up and Edwards lands a nice leg kick. They dance around each other before Franca's right hand lands and he takes Edwards down again. Repeat of the first takedown and the round ends as Franca tries to pull guard. I'd say 10-9 for Edwards, but it was a fairly close round.
The second opens up with Franca grabbing an Edwards kick and taking him down. Edwards closes his guard though and shows good defense as Franca does no damage at all. No submission or sweep attempts from the bottom though. Franca is finally able to pass to full mount, but Edwards rolls and now he's in Franca's guard. Franca tries another leg lock, and this one is tight, but Edwards rolls through and they get back to their feet. Franca pulls guard again and tries another leg lock, but gives up and goes to his guard one more time. They end up on their feet and Edwards lands a good body shot as the round ends. 10-9 for Franca this time for the takedowns and control and sub attempts, but it was another close one.
Franca comes out with a wild takedown attempt to start the third round. He fails though, and we get more stand up. Franca scores on his second attempt though. Edwards tries a triangle, but gets nothing out of it. Franca passes to 1/2 guard, but Edwards attempts a kimura. Franca rolls to an armbar attempt, but Edwards sees it coming and avoids nicely and they get back up for a second before Franca pulls guard yet again. Edwards is able to pass to 1/2 guard and uses that to stand up. Franca eventually pulls guard again, and they get stood up with 20 seconds left, when Franca tries and fails on one last takedown. 10-9 for Edwards in the third, but another close round that makes me glad I'm not a judge.
The Aftermath: Edwards wins a split decision (29-28 on all cards) and moves himself to the head of the 155lbs class and sets up a fight with the last man to beat Franca, Josh Thompson. As for Franca, he would have to go back to the drawing board, and wouldn't be seen in the UFC again until the lightweights were revitalized in 2006.
Welterweights
Chris Lytle (5'11, 168lbs, 15-10-5, 0-1)
vs.
Tiki Ghosn (6', 170lbs, 9-3, 0-3)
The Set Up: Lytle lost his UFC debut to Lawler, but put in a good tough showing in doing so. Tiki, on the other hand, is a killer on smaller shows who gets killed in the UFC. He's been tapped out twice and KO'd once (though he denied it at the time) in the Octagon, and I'm leaning towards a second KO here.
The Fight: Lytle lands first with a nice body kick. Tiki tries to answer in kind, but Lytle shoves him down and takes his back. Tiki is able to spin around and hop back up though. They then commence aggressively staring at each other. The round ends with them in the clinch, where some right hands by Tiki redden Lytle's ribs. A 10-9 round for Lytle, but that had a lot less fireworks than I expected really.
Lylte is able to score an early takedown, and has a noticeable advantage on the ground. Once he's gained side control, Lytle grabs Tiki's head as he tries to roll away and locks in the classic side headlock choke, doing Carlos Newton proud. Tike has no choice but to tap and drop to 0-4 in the UFC.
The Aftermath: Lylte looked good here and insured himself of some future UFC appearances. Tiki, on the other hand, sealed his fate. He's the only guy to go 0-4 in the Octagon, and he will not be given the chance to go 0-5. He followed this fight up with 3 straight losses in the WEC before ending the losing streak on the undercard of the Shamrock vs Le Strikeforce event last March.
Light Heavyweights
Chuck Liddell (6'2, 204lbs, 13-3, 7-2)
vs.
Tito Ortiz (6'2, 202lbs, 10-3, 9-3)
The Set Up: This is it. Two years of build up has led up to this fight. This was the biggest fight in the history of MMA up to this point. You could even say it was one of the spring boards that the UFC used to begin it's climb to its' current level of popularity.
As for the fighters themselves, they're both coming off of losses. Ortiz was literally spanked by Randy Couture in his previous outing, while Liddell was recovering from his first KO loss to Rampage Jackson in PRIDE. That loss is mentioned in passing by Rogan, but only in that Jackson is a teammate of Ortiz.
And one other thing... Randy Couture joins on commentary and says that while he thinks it will be a close fight, he's leaning towards a Liddell win.
The Fight: Liddell is more aggressive than usual to start, but Ortiz's defense looks good. His stance is low and square, and Liddell has to respect the shot as a result. Once he does shoot though, it's kind of lazy and sloppy and Liddell has no problem shrugging it off. He has better luck with a right hand though, as a big one lands for Ortiz. He doesn't follow up though, and the round devolves to Liddell looking for a big punch and Ortiz looking for a takedown. Liddell gets what he's looking for first, as two nice shots land. Ortiz is game though, and answers with a nice right of his own. Liddell fires back with another right hand and a head kick at the bell. Ortiz goes kind of bonkers and screams, and then pushes John McCarthy as he steps in at the end of the round. Rogan also seemed to think the fight was being stopped, but no, it was just the round, which I would score 10-9 for Liddell as Ortiz landed one or two nice punches, but Liddell started to land at will near the end.
The second opens up with a nice low leg kick by Ortiz. Liddell lands a right hand and it looks like a thumb got in Ortiz's eye as he checks it and shakes his head. Liddell doesn't let up though,and he tees of on Ortiz against the fence and drops his rival in one of the more brutal finishing sequences you'll ever see.
The Aftermath: There's a bit of a muddle at the top of the light heavyweight division at this point, and these guys are both in it, just moving in different directions. Liddell is moving in line for a title shot, but has to wait for Couture and his eye to finish business with current champion Vitor Belfort before he can get a shot. Ortiz has now lost two in a row, but is still one of the two or three biggest names in the sport, and as such is always one or two good showings away from a title shot.
The 411: Great show. A couple of really good fights, nearly all have decisive finishes and you get it topped off with a grudge match between two superstars that ends with one of the most brutal flurries you could ever hope for.
What more can you really ask for?
