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By Wade Keller, MMATorch Supervising Editor
KELLER'S UFC 115 PPV BLOG
JUNE 12, 2010
LIVE FROM VANCOUVER, B.C.
OPENING NOTES
-During weigh-ins, Rich Franklin promised the fans a "great show." I will be happy if another fighter never promises the fans a great show. This isn't a rock concert. This fighting. The sport itself is going to be exciting more often than not if the fighters just go out there and try to win. That's it. Try to win.
Let the "entertainment" aspect fall into place. Otherwise it starts to sound like an exhibition. And once a fighter of Franklin's caliber gives fans the idea that entertaining them is a priority rather than (a fortunate) side-effect of fighters entering the Octagon trying to win a fight, then they'll think it's "controllable" and demand it more often.
Yes, there are situations like Anderson Silva's recent fights or the Ken Shamrock-Dan Severn debacle that deserve criticism, but in general fighters should be concerned about winning, not pleasing the fans, mostly because if they concern themselves with winning they will please the fans often enough for the sport to be just fine.
-The ref stoppage in the Spike TV opener was a real letdown for Mac Danzig. It shined a light on the need for better refereeing in this sport. That really was a bad call. Yves Levigne has screwed up before. In fact, he said "I screwed up" after UFC 96 and he'll surely be saying it again. One bright spot is it gave both fighters a chance to show the great sportsmanship of the fighters. (This also gave Goldberg a justified chance to say his favorite phrase, talking about the fighters being "class acts."
If we could make it through a UFC PPV without either Goldberg saying "class act" or a ring girl blowing a kiss at the camera, I would be blown away.) Danzig was especially gracious. More than I probably would have been in that situation just because in the heat of the moment and with all that goes into training for that moment, you count on the referees to work as hard as you at making sure they're prepared for every situation and know how to handle it.
-I think it marks the first time Mac eating a vegan diet didn't factor into commentary. They didn't have time.
RORY MACDONALD vs. CARLOS CONDIT
-This fight - especially the opening seconds and late in the second round - showed the fun of there being a heavy hometown crowd favorite in an MMA fight (B.C.'s own Rory). After a punch or takedown, the crowd reaction felt more like a hockey game seven crowd after a big check against the boards than a 50/50 split crowd just looking for a good knockout or for their bet to pay off.
-The mutual front thrust kicks at the end of the second round of Rory vs. Condit was pretty sweet looking. UFC officials were probably wishing this fight was on the Spike TV pre-PPV show. Greg Jackson's post-second-round pep talk was quite a sight. Rogan noted he had never seen Jackson like that before. Goldberg's analysis was strong in pointing out that Jackson knows that different fighters are motivated by different coaching styles. It worked, obviously. Condit came out inspired.
-That third round, especially obviously the second half, was possibly going to be seen as a 10-8 round by the judges. This ref stoppage brings up an interesting debate which is whether referees should take the time left in the fight into consideration when stopping a fight. A case can be made that it shouldn't matter and the ref shouldn't be concerning himself with it. A ref stoppage should occur when a fighter is at risk of taking unnecessary punishment while not able to defend himself anymore and is at risk of being hurt. If there's ten seconds left, why should the ref let a fighter take several more punches if he would have stopped it given the situation of the fighters if there was 2:30 left? I'm not taking sides yet in this debate, as I get both sides of it, but I'm just pointing out that that maybe the last thing we should want referees thinking about is the clock rather than just being the caretaker of the fighters until they hear a horn.
-MacDonald was way too humble after the fight. Maybe he didn't remember how well he did in the first and second rounds. Rogan tried to give him credit for winning those rounds, but MacDonald concentrated on getting his ass kicked in the third. That attitude will serve him well, but hopefully he watched back those first two rounds and realizes he was ten seconds away from at least a judges' decision draw. He has a great upside in this division.
-Star Rating (****-)
BEN ROTHWELL vs. GILBERT YVEL
-Rothwell's intro song, Nickelback's "Burn it to the Ground," is also the opening theme to WWE Raw on USA Network right now. Great song for this type of circumstance and setting.
-Big Ben charged at Yvel like Vitor Belfort circa-late-'90s. Wow.
-This looked like a battle between Heavyweight Gatekeepers, not Heavyweight Contenders. It was entertaining early, but not "text book." And then it got really bad. Rogan called it, predicting in the second round that if it went three rounds, the third round would be terrible. It was.
-Star Rating (*): An honest effort at the start, but boy did the second half lag. Not a world class three round performance from either fighter.
MIRKO CROCOP vs. PAT BARRY
-Announcing about-face of the night: Rogan went from saying how cool it was to watch a fight where you know both guys are going to stand and not go to the ground to touting throughout round two Cro Cop's underrated ground game...
-"What Was The Director Thinking?" Moment of the Night: As Mirko was about to celebrate his win by tossing his mouthpiece to the crowd, the director cut to a crowd shot. Uh, let's stick with the fighter in the first ten or fifteen seconds after a win. There's plenty of time for crowd shots. We lost his expression or elation so we could see three cheering fans in the crowd? Seriously? The director was on cruise control there and is cheated viewers out of the story of that moment, which was Mirko in the ring.
-Very good and very cool fight. The friendliness between the two fighters didn't stop them from going all out to win. For Mirko to be taken down twice early and then win the second round on the mat and out-punch Berry and force a tap in the final minute was a storybook ending for him. UFC fans who never saw him in Pride finally got a chance to see some vintage Cro Cop fighting spirit. That is the performance everyone was expecting against Gabriel Gonzaga - a tough fight, but grinding out a classic win in the end.
-As Rogan pointed out, for people like him (and me) with background in karate, it was a blast to see him mix in side kicks, a high hook kick, and even an axe kick.
-Cro Cop finally had a chance to really let loose, smile, joke around, and market himself to newer UFC fans for the legend that he is with a big personality. It's got to be a relief for him to show a new world of MMA fans that he isn't washed up, wasn't necessarily overrated in Pride, and can still fight. But did he show enough to put his name back in the conversation among the elite class of current heavyweights? Certain not yet. But he should be in a position to get a tough follow up opponent where another win, plus his resume, could put him there.
-They showed at the very end of the PPV Cro Cop icing his face. He seemed a little less jovial once the adrenaline wore off and the pain kicked in. I'm sure that's pretty much par for the course for fighters who take punishment but win fights. No pain right away, lots of pain kicking in 30 minutes later.
-Star Rating (****-): That had so many intangibles that made this a special fight above and beyond the action itself.
CHUCK LIDDELL vs. RICH FRANKLIN
-Not to disrespect Franklin's stellar MMA career, but when I hear the start of his entrance song, I think about someone about to get their ass kicked by Anderson Silva. Those were such memorable fights, especially that first one, so the song just triggers that feeling and that sense of doom for Franklin... Speaking of entrance songs, Liddell's was Eminem's new release and Goldberg plugged it and it's release date, so apparently it was sponsored...
-Rogan said Liddell hasn't had a drop of alcohol for almost a year and no partying and sleeping right. He said Liddell felt he owed it to himself. Liddell has his 50s to party, but if he can rebound not just from his lifestyle but also from numerous head-blows over the years and probably many concussions, then he might have another full phase of his career. The strange thing about this fight is that either fighter could lose, but there shouldn't be any shame in that, yet the loser may be considered "washed up" as a result. It depends, of course, on how the fight plays out, not just the outcome.
-Rogan said Liddell is a superstar in public and can't go anywhere without being swarmed.
-Franklin was open to a friendly nod during ref instructions, but Liddell looked to the ref instead, perhaps not wanting to look directly at someone he personally liked that he had to try to knockout seconds later.
-Not that Rogan was rooting for anyone in this fight, but you could hear the air leave his lungs when he saw Liddell go down. It just confirmed the concern everyone had going into this, which is that his jaw was weak now after being hit too many times over the years. Liddell looked in some ways the best he has in a while, really mixing up his offense, yet he fought as if he was someone with an iron jaw; he left himself vulnerable due his balls-out aggressiveness. Not sure if it's the only way he feels he could fight or a lack of discipline or just denial, but given his questionable jaw, there was just no excuse to fight such a reckless style unless he was willing to fully accept the potential of being KO'd and was willing to risk it for a potential spectacular win over a world class fighter in Franklin. Things could have been so different for Liddell had he fought Tito Ortiz, but that said, I think Liddell would rather go down for a final time to Franklin than give Ortiz those bragging rights. I'm sure of it, in fact.
-The shot of Liddell walking back to the locker room after his loss icing his jaw was the Shot of the Night. It told a hell of a story and also, more importantly, let longtime fans of Liddell see that as hard as he went down, he walked out of the Octagon on his feet for potentially the final time.
-The only future fight I could see for Liddell is against someone who is just flat out known for having weak hands and is strictly a ground fighter. Standing against someone with powerful punching is just not good for his long-term well-being. I hope he retires, and I hope UFC kicks up their marketing and production division and finds a prominent place on Saturday's Fight Night to air a tribute video package to Liddell's career. UFC really is weak in terms of reflecting on the past unless it has to do with selling "the next big fight." They should take steps to be better caretakers of the sport of MMA and spend the time (and go to the expense) of reflecting a bit more, even if it's just a two minute tribute video of the Best of Chuck on a live Spike TV special. By paying respect to the past, UFC is telling viewers today that what they're watching will some day be part of a highlight video and remembered forever.
-Great additional extended footage of Liddell not only walking to his locker room right after his fight, but footage of him, clearly dejected, leaving with his girlfriend and trainers. The access of him leaving the building and being consoled was among the most memorable moments of the night.
-Star Rating (****-): This also had some intangible "superfight" qualities that elevated a ***+ fight to the four-star category. Great action, great drama, great aggression, great technique, and a historic finish.
QUOTEBOOK
Mike Goldberg on Chuck Liddell: "He believes the story of his demise has been greatly over-exaggerated [sic]."
Joe Rogan: "Chuck has cleaned up his act, cleaned up his diet, stopped partying, no drinking, no nothing - just training hard to try to get back to the form he was in when he was the Light-Heavyweight Champion of the World."
Rory MacDonald: "It was a just stoppage. He was kicking my ass. He was hurting me from the very start. Just from there it was downhill... I just couldn't figure out his range."
Rory MacDonald: "Don't boo Carlos. He's the toughest fighter I've ever fought. He deserves all the respect for beating me tonight."
Joe Rogan on Gilbert Yvel: "On his calf he has a tattoo that says, 'Real men don't eat honey, they chew bees.'"
Joe Rogan on Rothwell vs. Yvel mid-second round: "I don't know how this fight could possibly go three rounds. If it is, it's going to be the saddest third round in the history of this sport."
Joe Rogan: "I don't think we're going to see another premature stoppage from Yves Lavigne after those Spike fights. I think Yves is going to wait until they bring a hearse into the ring before he stops it."
Joe Rogan on Cro Cop's cornerman: "I wonder why he is he talking to him in English? Is it just for us."
Mike Goldberg in response: "If he is, thank you."
Mirko Cro Cop: "The first one wasn't so hard. I fall down on my ass, but I felt nothing almost. The second one was good... I managed to survive."
Mirko Cro Cop: "I hope Mr. Dana White won't be stingy and will give me at least bonus for Submission of the Night, if not the Fight of the Night as well. Tax-free, of course."
Joe Rogan: "I think this is the end of Chuck Liddell. I hope it's the end of Chuck Liddell. You know, it's so hard for these guys when they've been such incredible warriors, had so much success, it's hard to ride out into the sunset. I believe Chuck has to do that now."
Joe Rogan after watching the replay of the Liddell loss: "What that shows me is two things. One, Rich Franklin has tremendous heart. And two, Chuck Liddell is done. That wasn't even that big of a punch compared to some of the shots he's taken in his career. I think we've seen the end of a legend... It's gotta be. It's gotta be! I don't want to commentate any more of his fights. I love that guy. I'm a huge fan of everything he's ever done. He's one of the greatest fighters in the history of the sport. There comes a time to ride into the sunset. That time is now."
Joe Rogan on Chuck Liddell's legend and legacy: "He was the superstar of the UFC. He was the post boy for the longest time. He was the guy everybody was terrified to fight... He was the first guy to really implement the stand-up strategy using his wrestling to keep the fight standing. A destroyer. An icon of the sport. The most famous mixed martial artist on the planet and a true legend. It's been an honor to have called the very first fight in the Octagon from back in 1998 to today. I believe this is the end. It has been a fantastic career. All good things must end. And it must end with him... He carried this sport for a long time. He was the guy people came to see. He was the guy for a long time in the UFC. That time has come and gone. He has tremendous memories. Now what's important is his health and his family and just relax and enjoy the rest of his life."
FINAL NOTE: Be sure to check back every day this week as MMATorch editor-in-chief Jamie Penick will be writing a five-part series of Career Retrospect articles on Chuck Liddell. Relive his career if you've watched it from the start or learn more about what he accomplished in his career if you've joined in the middle or near the end.
DON'T GO YET... WE SUGGEST THESE MMATORCH ARTICLES, TOO!
Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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Frank Hyden - Rich Hansen
Chris Park - Matt Pelkey
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