The Tap-Out! 10.18.06
Posted by Caleb Newby on 10.18.2006
The Tap-Out returns with a recap of this past weekend's UFC event and the fallout from Rich Franklin's devastating loss to Anderson Silva!
About time I write something MMA related again, eh? Don't worry, I'm not finished with my 411 MMA writing career either. It's just been more sporadic lately with other site related stuff going on. But you didn't come to read that, you came for UFC 64 talk.
So I caught this at a local Buffalo Wild Wings. And due to the environment I couldn't hear much of the announcer's commentary so I may have missed a bit here and there. But I also got to see half the restaurant clear out because of a fight in the parking lot. So there were positives and negatives.
UFC 64: Unstoppable Special Bonus: Look where I switch between past and present tense repeatedly!
Spencer Fisher vs Dan Lauzon
So just as the fight is to get underway, the feed cuts out. I don't know if that was a local issue or across the entire PPV feed but it sucked. We join in progress 1 minute into the fight with Fisher on his back and Lauzon standing picking punches. I thought I'd heard the announcers say that Lauzon took this fight on 2 weeks notice, so Lauzon needs even more luck. Fisher gets to his feet quickly but is dragged down again by Lauzon who is looking alright. Just keep it on the ground and you could make it to the end… nevermind, Fisher gets to his feet again and lands a flying knee. Wonder if his opponents realize he likes that maneuver. A few more punches and knees and Fisher beats Dan Lauzon by TKO in the first round.
Fisher looked confident and strong standing. Add some charisma that the UFC likes to have and he should be continuing to get television bouts.
Cheick Kongo vs Carmelo Marrero
So on the forums it was recently mentioned how dangerous it is for the UFC to have their future stars fight guys with no UFC backround. Say Kongo loses to Marrero, the UFC's recent build of Kongo is wasted, but Marrero doesn't gain a whole lot of credibility either…
Kongo comes out looking for leg kicks while Marrero seems extremely patient not doing much of anything until he flies in for a takedown on Kongo. Once Marrero has him on the ground he proceeds to give Kongo knees and elbows to the body. More of the same and the first round ends.
Round 2 gets underway with Marrero taking Kongo down again, and you can hear Dana start to cry about the state of the UFC Heavyweight division. Wait… scratch that, Kongo has a guillotine choke. Kongo has Marrero in his half guard t'boot and moves it to full guard. The choke looks solid but Kongo has been holding it for awhile and I'm starting to think Marrero will be escaping. Sure enough he does, but it was a nice attempt by Kongo. Ref stands the fighters up and they end up on the ground again. Rinse and repeat. Each time it was Marrero controlling the takedown action though.
Our final round is here and Kongo probably has to finish Marrero to get the victory unless last rounds attempted choke stands out in the judges' minds more than it should. Round starts and the two fighters battle for a takedown… that gets stood back up anyway. Kongo finally stops a takedown attempt and gets on top of Marrero. Kongo tries a sub again but fails, the they get stood up once again and time runs out. Judges give it to Marrero by split decision. Good call, and poor Heavyweight division.
Jon Fitch vs Kuniyoshi Hironaka
I'm not gonna lie, I only saw the beginning and end of this fight in detail so I can't offer up much in the way of insightful commentary. But Fitch won, if you weren't aware.
Another reason I missed part of this is because I think this is when a drunk face-planted down the stairs onto the hardwood floor. Thankfully I caught that out of the corner of my eye and had a jolly laugh.
LW Title: Sean Sherk vs Kenny Florian
I could give 5 rounds of play by play of this match, but it went something like this all 5 rounds: round begins, Florian throws a few kicks, Sherk shoots and takes Florian down, Sherk proceeds to punch and elbow Florian for the rest of the round on the ground, round ends.
Only notable exceptions were near the beginning of the fight, Florian hit Sherk with an elbow to cause him to bleed for the remainder of the fight fairly heavily. Thankfully it was off to the side of Sherk's face so it didn't cause a stoppage. Also in the 5th round, Sherk was able to give Florian a nice slam that looked pretty and added a great change of pace. Good showing by Florian, and better showing by Sherk.
MW Title: Rich Franklin vs Anderson Silva
So for the pick'em contest we do on the 411 forums, I was trying to decide a winner of this fight. My buddy Paul had been telling me that Silva was going to destroy Franklin. Now I didn't think Franklin was guaranteed to win, but his size, strength, and all around skill would be enough to take down Silva's striking I thought…
So the fight begins… and three minutes later it's over with Rich getting TKOed. As I am sure everyone reading this knows, Franklin was just brutalized in the clinch by Silva. Knees to the ribs and face tend to do that to a person, as well as rearrange their nose on their face.
UFC 64 Post Fight Thoughts
- Kongo losing is terrible for the heavyweight division. Sylvia most likely beats Monson, fights the winner of Vera/Mir and then… Arlovski/Sylvia 4? UFC better be looking to sign a name or two.
- I haven't seen the Starnes/Okami bout yet, but Starnes has lost a good deal of the hype surrounding him now with two recent losses. I'm sure he'll get another chance or two, but he better win.
- Speaking of TUF vets, they aren't really being fed gimmie fights for the most part, are they?
- Sherk is a rolling ball of muscle. If he gets a few more slams like he had at the end of this fight, he'll get more fans in no time. And really, that's going to be the way to do it too, since it won't be with stand up.
- I have no idea who they will put in next against Sherk. Thanks a lot Pulver!
- Franklin needs to get some easier competition and work his way back for an epic rematch with Silva down the road. Give Franklin guys like Leben to start with, and a few wins later (provided he doesn't stumble) we could have a very interesting rematch. I say interest because even though Rich got killed, you know he's not going in with the same gameplan.
- Silva's next two opponents need to be Swick and the winner of TUF, just for the highlight real footage that will happen. After that, there are some interesting paths to take. Dust off Tanner and let him get a warm up fight against one of the losers Silva fights to set him up for a match. Sign Lindland who is the odds on favorite to be Silva's toughest match-up, or let Hughes move up to avenge the loss of his buddy Rich. This has become a very interesting division quickly… heck, let Penn fight Silva while we're at it.
And… I'm spent
Remember that PRIDE's show in the U.S. is this weekend, so check that out if you want to see lopsided fights. Seriously, what's with that?!
Also, the next edition of the 411 MMA Top 10 should be hitting the site a week or so after PRIDE's show (you know, like incase Fedor loses we have to be on top of that). So be on the look out for that.
