...OH, ONE MORE THING - PLEASE BOOKMARK US & VISIT DAILY!
By: Maynard Sweeney, MMATorch Contributor This article is the thirteenth in a series of daily releases counting down the top thirty fights of 2008. We will release a new article each day starting from #30 all the way up until the end of the month.
Top 30 Fights of 2008: #18
Chris "Lights Out" Lytle vs. Paul "Relentless" Taylor
UFC 86: Jackson vs. Griffin – 10/18/2008
Hey, kiddo, you like to punch? I certainly like to punch. That's why I loved this fight. I got about a year's worth of sluggin' in after just fifteen short minutes of fighting. Hooks, jabs, crosses, uppercuts, combinations, hammer fists, dirty boxing, overhands, underhands, you name it, we got it.
As soon as this fight began, you just knew it was going to be a shot for shot twenty five course meal of knuckle sandwiches. It was one of those match ups where the competitors fought like they would in sparring, relentlessly bombarding one another with crazy combinations completely absent of any fear of injury. Only this time there was no gear, and the injury was hanging over their heads the entire time.
The amount of reckless abandon displayed by Lytle and Taylor was a thing of magic. Being a martial artist myself, I've had my fair share of gritty punch for punch meat mallet matches where me and my partner for the love of the art will just try to kill each other. Usually at the end of these sparring sessions, to quote Rocky Balboa, "you're just one big wound."
Needless to say, I can't even begin to fathom what fighting at the level of intensity void of any protective gear would feel like. The chasm of the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham literally echoed with the sounds of meat and bone colliding, crushing one another more and more with each shot.
As soon as the fight ended, it had already become a cult favorite. It will forever be the indie film of MMA, generating an underground appreciation and quietly reverberating it's timelessness. It was one of those fights where there wasn't a decision, just an opinion. Both men gave every ounce of heart and soul that they had, and upon the final bell, dropped their hands and hugged. This was easily the greatest display of sportsmanship in MMA this year.
Where else can you watch two men mercilessly pound each other, both of which being completely determined to render the other unconscious or too hurt to continue, and then smile and hug each other when it's over? It's a type of class that isn't found anywhere else, an incredible semblance of honor which has survived the changing principles of history.
I now hold nothing but respect for both Chris Lytle and Paul Taylor. They have 100% earned their nicknames, and regardless of their standings in the division and rankings, this writer will always be watching them.
Forget the politics of the fight business, forget the economics of the trade, forget the gossip and "who said what" in the media, forget that all. If you're an old school fight fan, and you just want to watch two tough guys give their all in each and every scrap the suits throw them into – Lytle and Taylor are your guys. They've got at least one more lifetime fan in me, hopefully more will follow.
Stay tuned for #17 of the MMATorch Top 30 Fights of 2008, which will be revealed with a full article tomorrow.
Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
STAFF COLUMNISTS: Shawn Ennis - Jason Amadi
Frank Hyden - Rich Hansen
Chris Park - Matt Pelkey
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