I was going to say its the year of the upset, but I believe I said that last year. At any rate, UFC 68 delivered a HUGE shock in the main event, as "Captain America" Randy "The Natural" Couture, won every single round in his fight with Tim Sylvia! In a fight where absolutely nobody (including myself) gave Randy a shot in hell, he came out and within 10 seconds, dropped the Champion with a right hook that caused the record sized MMA crowd to erupt with elation. Randy threw the perfect punch and then jumped on the ailing Sylvia, with a barrage of fists, until finally he took Tim's back. From there, Randy made little effort to improve his position, and Tim did a good job of defending, to cause a stalemate, and allow Tim the time to recover from the knockdown. Why the ref didn't stand them up, is reportedly because Randy had position, and as a ground fighter, is allowed more time to maneuver. This is curious, because there was absolutely zero action, and even Randy looked at the ref indicating he wanted stood back up. I have never seen a ref allow so little action on the ground, and not break it up. The crowd began to boo, and everyone was shaking their heads at the odd decision of the ref. The decision seemed shady at best, and by definition of the rules, the fighters should've been brought to the feet for a restart.
The round ended on the ground none the less, and Tim, the crowd, and even Randy were shocked at the 43 year olds start to the fight. In the 2nd, Randy landed jabs, got inside, and took the 6'8 giant down and pounded him. In the 3rd, Randy kept the fight on its feet, pushing the pace, and out striking the big man and causing obvious frustration for Sylvia. The 4th and 5th were more of the same, with Randy beating Tim to the punch, taking him down at will, and punishing Tim until his left eye swelled shut. On top and in control, the crowd counted down the clock, cheering Randy Couture on for his 3rd Heavyweight Title win, and 5th title in the UFC overall!
What seems most amazing to me, is not that at 43 years old, coming off two consecutive KO losses, a short retirement, and long odds against a giant power striker, but that Randy told Tim exactly what he was going to do before the fight, and then went out and executed that exact game plan to perfection. Amazing fight, with Randy proving all the doubters wrong, and shocking the world with his ageless fighting skill.
Rich Franklin proved he is back, after punishing Jason MacDonald so badly in the 2nd, that Jason could not answer the bell for the 3rd round, instead opting for a TKO loss. Rich felt ready, and with Anderson Silva in the ring, a future rematch for the Middleweight title, seems imminent.
Matt Hughes scored a lackluster decision win over the very game Chris Lytle. Chris actually came out and won the first round with a guillotine (though he didn't get the tapout), but in the 2nd, Hughes began to establish his wrestling, and easily won the round. The final round seemed to foreshadow what would happen in the Couture/Sylvia fight, as Matt stalled on top of Lytle, but the ref didn't stand them back up. Chris got beat, but gave Hughes a lot of frustration, and Dana White claims GSP and a title shot, will be next for Hughes.
Jason Lambert scored a big upset himself, knocking down, and knocking out, Babalu Sobral. Babalu controlled the 1st round, but at the start of the 2nd, seemed gassed, and kept his hands down, and sloppily ran in, to get clocked by Lambert's powerful hands. Babalu a once smart fighter, lost focus again (much like in his fight against Chuck Liddell) and now who knows what the future will hold for his career. Lambert is back in the mix as a Top Ten Light Heavyweight looking for another name to build his resume back up.
Martain Kampmann survived a brutal barrage of strikes early, from Drew McFedries. It seemed like Drew was on the way to a quick win, but Kampmann hung in there, landed some shots, got Drew to the mat, and beautifully maneuvered for an arm triangle choke.
Jon Fitch got his 12th win in a row, with a gutsy win over Luigi Fioravanti. OK, what does this guy have to do to get a big time fight? He is straight dominating people, and can't even get on the PPV. Jon says he wants to fight Karo Parisyan, so we will wait and see if he gets that big fight.
Matt Hamill, Jaime Varner, Gleison Tibau, and nobody cares.
Wow, Randy Couture is simply amazing, Tim Sylvia looked embarrassing, and like a bitch, when he went to his loss excuse of being injured. The winner of Cro Cop/Gonzaga, will get the next shot at Randy's Heavyweight Title. Championship rematches are in the future for Matt Hughes and Rich Franklin, while Lambert may soon face someone the caliber of a Tito Ortiz, while you shouldn't be surprised if Babalu gets cut from the UFC. Patrick Cote or Kendall Grove could be good opponents for Martin Kampmann, and how about Tim Sylvia possibly finding himself in the Super-Heavyweight Grand Prix in Pride FC, later this year? That could be interesting.
No comments:
Post a Comment