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This is the Writers' Roundtable here at MMATorch.com. In this feature our own Matt Pelkey will be providing our questions each week, and then we'll provide the answers from members of our staff here at MMATorch.com. This weekend, we've got Torch Contributors Alex Williams and Frank Hyden, along with Torch Columnist Matt Pelkey and Torch Editor Jamie Penick. We've got three questions for the weekend, and today we present question three:
What is your favorite (not the best, mind you) MMA fight of all time?
Alex Williams, MMATorch Contributor
Wanderlei Silva vs Hidehiko Yoshida I, Pride FC Final Conflcit 2003: A lot of people thought going in that Yoshida might get knocked out by the first punch. At the same time, there was a certain mystique about him, since he appeared dominant once he got fights to the ground. Very few times have I ever heard the normally stoic Japanese fans cheer as loudly as they did when Yoshida took Silva down in the first twenty seconds of the match. The rest of the bout was dramatic, with both fighters demonstrating great skill and heart.
Frank Hyden, MMATorch Contributor
My favorite MMA fight of all time is Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar from The Ultimate Fighter 1 Finale. I've re-watched it several times, and that's the fight I show to new MMA fans to show them how exciting MMA can be. It really just came down to 2 guys who both wanted to win so badly that they were willing to go above and beyond the norm. The punishment both guys absorbed was crazy. The UFC couldn't have scripted a better ending to their first MMA show on Spike TV. It was a total slugfest that lifted the UFC to new heights. Of course this fight wasn't the sole reason for the UFC's surge in popularity but it was the perfect beginning.
Matt Pelkey, MMATorch Columnist
I love technical mat battles, and the well-rounded lightweight contests that have become the norm these days, but I've still never seen anything else like Don Frye vs. Yoshihiro Takayama from Pride 21 on June 23rd, 2002. These were not your prototypical mixed martial-artists of today. These were two heavyweight brawlers who decided they were just gonna trade shots til somebody dropped. What followed has now passed into legend, but it was the most fun six minutes I've ever had watching MMA. If you're relatively new to the sport and don't know the fight I'm referring to, go ahead and look it up on Youtube. I won't ruin it too much for you, but let me just say you're welcome.
Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
This is a very tough one to pick, as there are so many great fights we can all choose from. I'm very partial to the GSP/Jon Fitch bout from UFC 87 as I was fortunate enough to be there in attendance at the Target Center that night, but the fight I always go back to is the bout between Caol Uno and Joachim Hansen from the very first K-1 Heroes event. This is one of those fights where both guys use absolutely every item in their arsenal trying to win this fight, all the while showcasing every great aspect that goes into this sport. From some great stand up exchanges to the incredible ground games used by both fighters to the uniquely creative actions of Uno, this fight has absolutely everything one could want in a fight. Hansen uses some of the best non-finishing up kicks to cause damage in the fight, Uno cartwheels to get in position to use some great ground and pound, they both go back and forth in positioning on the ground and the devastating finish comes from out of nowhere as it looks like the fight will reach the cards. This is just a fantastic fight that's a blast to watch, and it's one that should be searched out by every MMA fan.
DON'T GO YET... WE SUGGEST THESE MMATORCH ARTICLES, TOO!
Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
STAFF COLUMNISTS: Shawn Ennis - Jason Amadi
Frank Hyden - Rich Hansen
Chris Park - Matt Pelkey
Interested in joining MMATorch's writing team? Send idea for a theme to your column (for Specialist section) or area of interest (i.e. TV Reporter) along with a sample of writing to mmatorch@gmail.com.
