The past week has been insane for me, as a sports fan. It was hard to keep up with hockey, baseball, mixed martial arts, boxing, and pro-wrestling (okay, so that’s “sports-entertainment”).
Ultimate Fighting Championship had a very busy week on television. Monday night saw a jam-packed five-hour UFC lineup on Spike TV. The real ‘meat and potatoes’ of the night ran from 9pm to 11pm (EST) with “Ultimate Fight Night 2,” followed at 11 by the latest episode of “The Ultimate Fighter.” This was a big night for both UFC and Spike TV, as they were going head to head with World Wrestling Entertainment on the USA Network.
ULTIMATE FIGHT NIGHT 2 RESULTS
I have to admit that I had very low expectations going into “Ultimate Fight Night 2” on Monday night. The show was very poorly promoted by Spike TV (I’ll elaborate on that later), and the card wasn’t even officially announced until days before the event.
Much to my surprise, UFN 2 was a phenomenal show. The card didn’t look all that impressive on paper, but most of the fighters looked extraordinary. There were seven fights on the card, but only four were aired on television.
The undercard results:
- Welterweight Bout: Jonathan Goulet d. Jay Hieron via TKO (cut) in round 1
- Middleweight Bout: Jon Fitch d. Brock Larson via unanimous decision after 3 rounds
- Welterweight Bout: Spencer Fisher d. Thiago Alves via triangle choke in round 2
The televised results:
- Welterweight Bout: Drew Fickett d. Josh Koscheck via rear naked choke in round 3
- Heavyweight Bout: Brandon Vera d. Fabiano Scherner via TKO (knee) in round 2
- Middleweight Bout: Chris Leben d. Edwin Dewees via arm bar in round 1
- Middleweight Bout: David Loiseau d. Evan Tanner via TKO (cuts) in round 2
Fickett vs. Koscheck was a huge surprise. Most people saw the fight as UFC putting Koscheck over, capitalizing on his fame from “The Ultimate Fighter 1,” and having him face a ‘lesser’ opponent. Koscheck was dominating Fickett on the ground for most of the fight, but with 30 seconds left in the third round, Fickett turned it all around. A well placed kick to the head took Koscheck down, and allowed Fickett to lock in a rear naked choke and put Koscheck to sleep. This was a huge upset, and made one hell of a fight even more exciting. This should give Fickett some more credibility as a mixed martial arts fighter, and force Koscheck to train harder to become an even better fighter.
My cable crapped out during Vera vs. Scherner, so I missed the first round, but thankfully it came back on in time to see Brandon Vera’s devastating knee. I would have liked to have seen the entire fight, but we all know the KO is the best part.
I can’t stand Chris Leben, but that was a damn good fight. Seeing Leben win by submission was almost as big of a shock as Fickett defeating Koscheck. Leben is an annoying little prick, but he continues to surprise me by adding to his repertoire.
Loiseau vs. Tanner went pretty much as I expected, but it was still a great fight. Tanner, who has been in pretty rough shape since losing the Middleweight title to Rich Franklin earlier this year, looked bad from the start. Tanner kept going for a submission, but Loiseau was able to counter, get control, and rain down on Tanner with seemingly endless devastating elbows. I think this win will finally shut up Loiseau’s critics who think he’s never defeated a ‘top level’ Middleweight fighter.
The only big disappointment of the night was Stephan Bonnar vs. James Irvin being cancelled. It was announced just days after my last column that Bonnar had broken his hand while training in Chicago.
When all was said and done, UFN 2 brought in a 1.6 rating; exactly what UFN 1 brought in on August 6th. The good news is that the ratings did not drop, and UFC has shown they can bring in decent ratings for a live show on basic cable. The bad news is that Spike TV really f*cked up UFC’s chances of a higher rating.
The lack of promotion for UFN 2 was a strategic move by Spike to deceive, for the lack of a better word, casual WWE fans who were unaware of the network switch from Spike to USA. The network was hoping to gain a ratings advantage with this strategy, but ultimately it did not pay off. The September 26th edition of WWE’s “RAW,” their last show on Spike TV, heavily promoted the network switch. The execs that made the decision to under-promote the UFC show should be fired for their stupidity. They should have known damn well that the WWE would promote the network switch by any means necessary. If Spike had properly promoted UFN 2, like they do with “The Ultimate Fighter,” they would have had a much better chance in the ratings race.
I think we can all stop calling it ‘The New Monday Night War’ now. Spike dropped the ball big time, but at least UFC didn’t get embarrassed as a result of the network’s mistakes.
THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER 2 FINALE
The Ultimate Fighter 2 Finale will be headlined by a Middleweight bout between Nick Diaz and The Ultimate Fighter 1 winner Diego Sanchez. The TUF 2 finale will air live on Spike TV on Saturday, November 5th.
MIKE GOLDBERG IS NOT GOING TO WWE
Before I get into the UFC 55 card, allow me to clear up a rumor regarding UFC’s announcer Mike Goldberg. Rumor has it that Goldberg was offered a contract by World Wrestling Entertainment to replace legendary WWE announcer Jim Ross on “Monday Night Raw” (the dumbest move ever by WWE, if it’s true). Goldberg’s absence from Friday night’s pay-per-view only fueled these rumors. Goldberg had a prior commitment with Fox Sports Network, covering college football, so Chris Hummer filled in for him at UFC 55. According to Dave Meltzer and the Wrestling Observer, Goldberg has opted to reject WWE’s offer and stay with Ultimate Fighting Championship.
UFC 55: FURY MAIN CARD RESULTS
I had the total opposite experience with UFC 55 that I had with UFN 2. I had very high expectations for this pay-per-view, and wound up feeling very disappointed at the end of the night. Granted, this was not one of UFC’s strongest cards in recent history.
First of all, Chris Hummer is goddamn awful. Joe Rogan should have choked him out, spit in his face, and done the show solo. I would rather listen to that atrocious beanie baby-hawking motherf*cker from TNA Wrestling than this clown. It’s a good thing Goldberg isn’t leaving any time soon.
Let’s get to the results:
Welterweight Bout: Joe Riggs – 170 lbs (26-6-0) vs. Chris Lytle – 170 lbs (29-12-4)
Results: Joe Riggs d. Chris Lytle by TKO (cut) at 2:00 of round 2.
Riggs won via doctor stoppage, due to a cut he opened up a cut over Lytle’s right eye with an elbow as Lytle was in Riggs’ guard. It wasn’t a great fight, but Riggs shows more and more potential with each fight he has. Overall it was kind of a lackluster way to start the show.
Light Heavyweight Bout: Chael Sonnen – 198 lbs (15-7-1) vs. Renato Sobral – 205 lbs (26-5-0)
Results: Renato Sobral d. Chael Sonnen with a tapout at 1:20 of round 2 by triangle choke.
This fight, like all of Sobral’s fights, was damn good. Sonnen did hold his own for a while, even escaping from a painful heel hook at the end of the first round, but Babalu was too much for him to handle.
Light Heavyweight Bout: Elvis Sinosic – 203 lbs (6-8-2) vs. Forrest Griffin – 203 lbs (12-2-0)
Results: Forrest Griffin d. Elvis Sinosic by TKO at 3:22 of round 1.
Sinosic has been out of MMA for a few years now, but he looked fantastic last night. The only thing that stopped him was Griffin’s wild barrage of punches. Griffin doesn’t have the strongest chin in the world, and he knew he would have to end it quick. In the end, Griffin clocked The King of Rock n’ Rumble with a heavy left hook. This was a great fight, and I only wish it had gone longer.
Heavyweight Bout: Branden Lee Hinkle – 234 lbs (13-6-0) vs. Sean Gannon – 265 lbs (1-1-0)
Results: Branden Lee Hinkle d. Sean Gannon by TKO at 4:14 of round 1.
Sean Gannon is a f*cking joke. I’ll touch on his history in my next column, for those of you that have never heard of him. This fight was a disgrace, and UFC President Dana White should be embarrassed that he exploited that fat load on this pay-per-view. Hinkle dominated Gannon, forcing a stoppage from one severe ass-kicking. A great bloodbath, but a sad excuse for a UFC fight.
Heavyweight Championship Bout: Andrei Arlovski – 236 lbs (11-3-0) vs. Paul Buentello – 251 lbs (19-9-0)
Results: Andrei Arlovski defeated Paul Buentello with a KO at 15 seconds into round 1.
Yes, you read that correctly: fifteen seconds. Buentello never knew what hit him. I knew he wouldn’t have a chance in hell against Arlovski, but this was ridiculous. Arlovski took a few heavy punches from Buentello, which barely phased him (although he was cut under his right eye), and fired back with a right hand that put Buentello down. Buentello literally fell on top of Arlovski after the punch. Big John McCarthy stopped the bout, and Arlovski exhibited one of the most emotional post-match celebrations I’ve ever seen. This fight had so much potential to be a classic, but Buentello was so out-matched it wasn’t even funny. I don’t care how hard he hits, that sloppy f*ck cannot compete with Arlovski’s conditioning.
UFC 55: FURY UNDERCARD RESULTS
Sometimes there’s a gem or two in the undercard, but unfortunately these fights were rather disappointing as well.
Light Heavyweight Bout: Ron Faircloth – 204 lbs (25-10-0-1) vs. Alessio Sakara 204 lbs (13-3-0-1)
Results: Declared no contest due to Faircloth throwing an accidental kick to Sakara’s groin.
I think every guy watching hunched over in sympathy pain when Sakara took that kick. Faircloth immediately apologized, and Sakara went into the fetal position in the middle of the Octagon. Joe Rogan summed it up best, “Sometimes it’s even worse when you’re wearing a cup, ’cause the cup slams right into the nuts!”
Heavyweight Bout: Keigo Kunihara – 228 lbs (3-2-0) vs. Marcio Cruz – 232 lbs (1-0-0)
Results: Marcio Cruz defeated Keigo Kunihara by tapout (guillotine) at 1:02 of round 2.
They only showed a short highlight montage of this fight, and it still made me sleepy. I guess I’m glad they didn’t pad the show to try and make three hours.
Middleweight Bout: Dennis Hallman – 185 lbs (57-11-2) vs. Jorge Rivera – 184 lbs(13-4-0)
Results: Jorge Rivera defeated Dennis Hallman in a unanimous decision (30-10).
I’ve heard people talk about Hallman like he’s the shit. To his credit, he did defeat Matt Hughes twice. Both fights ended in submission in under a minute. However, that was five years ago. Do you know who he’s beaten in the last year? I don’t either, because I’ve never heard of those people. Then there’s Rivera. Sure, he defeated David Loiseau, but that was two years ago. You know what I remember about Rivera? Watching Rich Franklin make him tap at UFC 50. I think you see where I’m going with this. Both of these fighters looked terrible, and this fight was a piece of shit. The only reason it went three rounds is because Rivera isn’t smart enough to know when his opponent is hurt. I wish they had edited this stinker down as well.
UFC 56: FULL FORCE PREVIEW
It was announced on Friday night that “UFC 56: Full Force” will have both of The Ultimate Fighter 2 coaches in action. Rick Franklin will defend the Middleweight title against TUF 1’s Nate Quarry, and Matt Hughes will defend the Welterweight title against Karo Parisyan.
Bouts rumored for the card:
- Jeremy Horn vs. Mike Van Arsdale
- Tim Sylvia vs. Aussuerio Silva
- Stephan Bonnar vs. James Irvin
UFC 56 will air live on pay-per-view from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday, November 19th.
AND NOW, IF YOU’LL INDULGE ME…
I have to get a few things off my chest.
First of all, if anyone has a good quality MP3 of Stemm’s “Face The Pain,” the song UFC uses in the opening montage of their pay-per-views, I’d really appreciate a hook-up.
The Yankees taking the AL East crown was awesome, but seeing the Dead…er, Red Sox knocked out of the playoffs was beautiful. I’m writing this while watching game three of the ALDS, and hoping the Yanks will pull it off against the Angels.
Thank God, Hail Satan, or whomever you may worship, that the NHL is back! Hockey has been my favorite sport for over twenty years now, and I was going through serious withdrawals. Go Devils!
If the WWE is seriously planning on moving Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler to WWE.com’s Unlimited broadcast of “RAW,” I foresee a big outcry from the fans. This is the dumbest idea they’ve had since…well, John Cena. This is absolutely retarded, if it’s true, and they will completely ruin that show. They already f*cked things up by adding Coach to the mix, and screwing up the chemistry between J.R. and The King. A younger team of announcers will not help the ratings. The fans know, and love, J.R. and The King, and truly enjoy their work together. The folks at WWE corporate, and The McMahons, need to take their heads out of their asses.
Did anyone catch Corrales vs. Castillo II on Saturday night? What a disaster. Castillo had an obvious advantage by not even attempting to make weight for this fight. It was total bullshit. I’m sure we’ll see Corrales vs. Castillo III, but it remains to be seen if Castillo cares enough to make weight so he can have a shot at the title.
One last thing, for all you metal fans: The new album by The Project Hate MCMXICX, Armageddon March Eternal – Symphonies Of Slit Wrists, is out in Europe now. You can purchase it directly from their label, Threeman Recordings.
