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UFC 65 REPORT
NOVEMBER 19, 2006
AIRED ON PAY-PER-VIEW
By Shawn Ennis, MMATorch Senior Columnist
Alright, I'm not sure what happened here, but I lost the first part of my coverage. I went to publish the results of the first fight, and everything disappeared. So I'll rewrite that later. To put it shortly, Joe Stevenson won by guillotine in the first round of the first fight. I gave it a rating of (*+). Yes, there were chants of "USA", and yes, that annoys me a lot.
SECOND FIGHT: BRANDON "THE TRUTH" VERA vs. FRANK MIR
Brandon Vera looks uncharacteristically nervous as he enters the Octagon, while Mir looks pretty good, and he gives us a confident smirk as he walks through the gate. Nothing new there.
ROUND ONE: They immediately exchange punches, and Vera throws a couple of kicks to boot. Mir lands a nice left. But Vera staggers Mir with a straight right hand and grabs a Thai clinch to land a brutal knee to the head. Mir goes down and Vera follows. He pounds away on Mir, and Mir is out of it. No ability to recover here. Steve Mazagatti stops the fight quickly, as the shots are going directly through the defense of Mir.
RESULT: Vera by TKO at 1:09 of round 1.
STAR RATING: (*+) Too short to be extremely entertaining, but Vera landed some nice shots in the short time.
RAMIFICATIONS: I don't know who gets a title shot before Vera after this. Mir has never shown up with great conditioning, so we can't really use that as an excuse for why he lost (if indeed he didn't have good conditioning...that knee would take out the most well-conditioned fighter in the room.) So Vera gets a big victory over a former champ who's a wizard on the ground. I think he's the number one contender. As for Mir, we still don't really know what he has left. Mir is still quite young, but he may need to spend some time in a few smaller promotions to get his confidence back. He hasn't looked impressive at all since his return to the Octagon.
-The Miletich locker room is shown in prayer as they prepare for their fights.
-George St. Pierre is shown to a chorus of cheers followed by boos. I don't get why you boo anyone at these events. Maybe that's just me. There's no home team here, folks. No good guys and bad guys.
-And we get our first drunk chick sighting.
THIRD FIGHT: DREW MCFEDRIES vs. ALESSIO "LEGIONARIUS" SAKARA
ROUND ONE: McFedries starts with a high ckick and looks to push the pace with Sakara. He seems to have no rewervations about trading punches. He lands a couple and Sakara probably wasn't expecting it. Sakara grabs a Thai clinch and lands a knee. They separate and return tot he middle, and Sakara is floored by a nice shot from McFedries. This guy can throw. They're back on the feet, and Sakara looks like he's recovered. He throws a nice combination, backing McFedries into the fence and landing body shots. McFedries lands some more shots. Wow. They're just going toe-to-toe here, with neither guy flinching. Sakara grabs a leg, but doesn't take McFedries down. They stop the fight briefly to retrieve McFedries' mouthpiece. McFedries lands a kick, and Sakara lands a nice left hook that staggers McFedries briefly, and he takes Sakara down, looking to rain down punches. Sakara escapes quickly and they're standing. Sakara is landing some nasty shots here, and McFedries lands a leg kick. Nice left hook by Sakara followed by an uppercut that floors Sakara after Sakara seems to think about falling for a second. McFedries follows him down and lands a few more shots, and Mario Yamasake stops the fight. I have no idea what happened there. It looked like Sakara just sat down. He may have been looking fo McFedries to get into his guard, but that's not the way it went. McFedries landed some brutal body shots to the downed Sakara, which dropped the Italian's guard, allowing McFedries to finish him off. I am quite surprised with how that ended.
RESULT: McFedries by KO at 4:07 of round 1.
STAR RATING: (**) That was just a slugfest, and I can't believe how well each guy took the other's punches. Not very long, but great action while it lasted.
RAMIFICATIONS: McFedries makes a huge splash by taking out such a potent striker as Sakara. He took all of Sakara's shots and delivered some brutal shots of his own. Very, very impressive. Sakara may be in limbo now with two straight losses, but he never pus on a boring fight, so it wouldn't surprise me if he's back in spite of the losses.
-We get another nice short promo of UFC 66.
FOURTH FIGHT: HECTOR "SICK DOG" RAMIREZ vs. JAMES "SANDMAN" IRVIN
That's three straight that ended inside a round, and it wouldn't surprise me if this one ends early as well, since it was a prelim fight. Ramirez enters wearing a chain with a padlock; perhaps his sick dog chain. Ha! Sorry. Anyway, Irvin's teammate and participant in the fight of the night a week ago, Scott Smith, accompanies him to the Octagon. The crowd boos Ramirez, and there are way too many boobirds out tonight. Unless they were barking. But it sounded like boos. I hate that. Boo a hated sports rival, or a fighter that you don't like (if you actually know something about him.) But quit booing people for being from other countries...especially other North American countries. That's stupid.
ROUND ONE: They come out and trade leg kicks to start, and they paw at each other a bit. Irvin lands a body kick, and Ramirez catches another kick attempt and follows with a strike. He backs Irvin against the fence and is able to get a single leg takedown. He's extremely quick. Irvin stands up briefly, but Ramirez grabs a leg again and gets it back to the ground. Ramirez takes Irvin's back and gets a body triangle, looking for the rear naked choke. He's a bit hight on Irvin's back at this poing, so he looks to land some punches to the head of Irvin as the crowd inexplicably boos. Irvin rolls to escape, but it puts Ramirez in a better position, and he looks for the choke. Good job defending by Irvin, and he rolls again. Ramirez is too high on Irvin's back again, and Irvin escapes. They're back on the feet, and Irvin lands a high kick but slips in the process, unable to follow up. He gets up quickly, but Ramirez has recovered and they have a nice exchange of punches. Irvin lands a glancing high kick and slips again. Ramirez follows this time and lands a few punches. He stands back up, dodges upkicks, and gets back down to the ground to take Irvin's back. He pounds irvin's head from the back, but Irvin weathers and stands back up, looking for a spinning backfist to get turned back around. The round ends, and the first probably goes to Ramirez.
ROUND TWO: Irvin is understandably breathing heavily as the round starts. They circle cautiously to start out. Irvin misses a slow punch. Ramirez takes a leg kick and counters with a punch, sending Irvin to the fence, where Ramirez peppers him with body punches. Irvin kicks to escape, and they're back to the middle. Irvin throws a nice leg kick. Ramirez lands a left hook, but doesn't follow up. Irvin sticks with the leg kicks, and the pace has slowed a bit. Irvin throws a Superman punch and glances it. More kicks by Irvin, and Ramirez doesn't seem to be in attack mode. But suddenly he comes in, and Irvin lands a thunderous right cross on the chin that drops Ramirez like a rock. Irvin walks away thinking he's won, but the fight hasn't been stopped yet. So he comes back with a body kick and some elbows to finish off Ramirez. Irvin breaks down as Scott Smith comes in to congratulate him.
RESULT: Irvin by TKO at 2:36 of round 2.
STAR RATING: (**) The fight lost steam in the second round, as both guys were tired, but Irvin finished it definitively.
RAMIFICATIONS: Ramirez will certainly be back. He showed some skill in there despite being knocked out. Irvin gets a nice welcome back into the Octagon, and he should get a higher profile fight his next time out, perhaps on the main card. His ground game is still relatively unproven, however.
-We get a fight recap of everything so far, and then we see Tim Sylvia (in a kilt, mind you) sparring, and Jeff Monson sparring with Josh Burnett.
-They air some highlights of both Sylvia and Monson, replaying the finish of Sylvia-Arlovski II multiple times, which pains me because I'm a big fan of "The Pitbull". But hey--that's the way it goes sometimes.
HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
FIFTH FIGHT: JEFF "THE SNOWMAN" MONSON vs. TIM "THE MAINE-IAC" SYLVIA
Jeff Monson makes his entrance to John Lennon's "Imagine". He appears calm and focused--nonplussed, one might say.
The champ makes his entrance draped, in Old Glory, to Kanye West's "Jesus Walks". He already looks slightly emotional, as the big man is at times wont to be. He's still wearing the kilt, and he enters the Octagon looking calm as ever.
Monson gets a big ovation, while Sylvia gets a few boos. I just don't understand. Whatever. At least the crowd is amped here.
ROUND ONE: Monson wisely shoots immediately, but Sylvia sprawls and escapes. Sylvia lands a right hand, and Monson shoots again. Sylvia sprawls, but Monson keeps a hold of the leg. Sylvia continues to try to escape, and they spin around a few times. Monson holds on tight and they're not moving. Sylvia throws a few body shots as the crowd gets restless and Big John stands them up. Sylvia jabs a few times, and Monson looks to throw a bit, but can't really get to Sylvia. Monson shoots again, Sylvia escapes, and they're back up. Monson looks to grab the arms and throw, but is unsuccessful. Not much action here, as Sylvia looks to pick his shots. Monson shoots and misses again. Sylvia is exerting very little energy here, not throwing many punches. A "Monson" chant breaks out. They circle each other, pawing occasionally. Sylvia said before the fight that he will not throw kicks until Monson is tired, to avoid having his leg caught. Smart, and he's keeping his word. Monson makes fakes a shot and lands a left hand. Sylvia lands one of his own. Monson lands a right hook, and Sylvia looks to throw a high kick at the last second, ala his victory over Tra Telligman a few months back. First round goes to Sylvia.
ROUND TWO: Sylvia feints a couple of jabs. He looks to push the pace ever so slightly, and Monson shoots and is thwarted. Monson looks to come over the top and misses. They stand with little action, and Monson lands a shot to the body. That would probably be a wise course of action, as would leg kicks by either man, but we've yet to see one of those. Sylvia lands a jab and Monson shoots. Sylvia sprawls and Monson stays on his back, as Sylvia lands leg kicks. Monson looks to kick the knees, and McCarthy stands him back up. Monson lands a nice right hand to counter a couple of jabs. The action stalls again, and Monson shoots unsuccessfully. Sylvia lands a combo that is defended well by Monson. Monson throws an overhand right and misses. Another "Monson" chant breaks out, and those who are not chanting are booing. Sylvia looks to get into a groove toward the very end of the round, and the crowd boos as another lackluster round goes to Sylvia. He'll probably come out swinging in the third.
ROUND THREE: Sylvia throws a combo, and Monson shoots in with authority and finally takes down Sylvia. Monson is in the guard, and Sylvia looks to tie him up. Monson lands a nice shot. Monson needs to pass here if he really wants to do something, but he lands a few punches directed at Sylvia's face, but landing more on his chest. He stands up a bit, opening Sylvia's guard, but Sylvia begins to stand, so Monson goes back to the ground. The same thing happens again, but Monson lands a shot to the head of Sylvia on the way back down, followed by another. Monson continues to stand in the guard and throw punches, but he just can't reach Sylvia. Finally is is able to get side control. He looks to get into the north-south position as Sylvia begins to stand. Monson almost sinks in a guillotine choke, but Sylvia escapes and Monson is back in side control. Monson tries for north-south again and gets another guillotine, followed by Sylvia escaping and ending up in the north-south position. The champ stands back up and they stop the action briefly to attend to a cut on Monson's eye. Sylvia throws some shots that land, followed by a couple of flying knees that floor Monson (though Monson appeared to slip) and the round ends. Third round is much more exciting, and it belongs to Monson.
ROUND FOUR: they circle tentatively to start the fourth with a few feeling out punches by Sylvia. This lasts for about a minute and a half. Monson shoots, and Sylvia sprawls, landing on top of Monson and taking side control. He throws some elbows to the head. Monson mostly disappears under Sylvia, then he rolls and Tim takes his back and looks for the rear naked, but Monson rolls again, and Sylvia has the mount. He takes side control and looks for an Americana. That is insane. Monson defends it pretty easily. Sylvia is very confident here, and that could be dangerous. Sure enough, Monson sweeps and lands in the guard of Sylvia. Count me among those who were not expecting two rounds of a ground battle. Monson stands in the guard, and Sylvia looks for an armbar and almost gets it, but Monson escapes. He ends the round in Sylvia's guard, and Sylvia takes round four.
ROUND FIVE: Monson's eyes are both swollen, and that's going to be a problem. Monson shoots, and Sylvia is in the north-south position. They stand up. Sylvia looks to be the fresher of the two, which I was also not expecting. For some reason, though, he's not pushing the action. If he would close in, he'd almost certainly be able to land some heavy shots. There's almost no action at all for the next couple of minutes, as Sylvia seems content to ride out the decision. McCarthy stops the "action" and tells them that this is a fight. Good job by Big John. This is where I wouldn't mind yellow cards in the UFC. Monson shoots and doesn't come close to taking Sylvia down. He stays down and Sylvia lands leg kicks as the crowd is angry. We get more of the same for the last part of the round, and the crowd boos heartily, and they are justified in doing so this time. Save your boos for when they mean something, folks. I'm not giving that round to anyone. Not that it matters.
RESULT: Sylvia by unanimous decision to retain. He looks dejected as the crowd boos him during the announcement of the decision through the post-fight interview.
STAR RATING: (**-) It gets credit for being a title fight, but otherwise it's a one star fight. Two rounds of decent action doesn't make up for three rounds of circling.
RAMIFICATIONS: Sylvia really could have elevated his stock in the eyes of the many had he pushed the pace at the end of the fight. Instead, he wins his second straight lackluster decision. He also doesn't help his case by being shown on camera giving some fans the finger. But he's still the champ, and deservedly so. I'm going on the record right now, though, that Vera will take the belt from Sylvia when he gets his inevitable title shot. Speaking of which, Sylvia calls Vera out at the end of the post-fight interview. Monson never really had a chance, as he just didn't have an answer for Sylvia's size. He'll stick around, but he won't get another shot for a long time.
WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
SIXTH FIGHT: GEORGES "RUSH" ST. PIERRE vs. MATT HUGHES
Time for our main event. St. Pierre looks stoic, and he pauses at the gate to soak in some cheers. Hughes comes out to his regular theme of "A Country Boy Can Survive" to a nice ovation. Hughes is unflappable and unreadable as always. I'm loving both guys stalking back and forth during the intros, and occasionally glancing at his opponent, otherwise pretending the other man isn't there. Great stuff. Both guys get good ovations, though St. Pierre gets a fair amount of boos. Seriously, I'm a Philadelphia sports fan, and I have no idea how you boo either of these guys.
ROUND ONE: No handshake to start. Extremely stupid "USA" chant breaks out. St. Pierre lands a straight punch. Hughes looks to kick. St. Pierre lands a couple of punches, and Hughes smiles. "GSP" chant breaks out as St. Pierre looks for more strikes. Spinning back kick by GSP, and they exchange a high five. Hughes paws at St. Pierre, and GSP lands a leg kick. They exchange jabs, and it looks like Hughes takes a kick to the groin. On the replay, it appears the toes caught the groin, but that was all. They restart, and immediately it happens again, except this one hits flush. Nasty stuff. St. Pierre is warned, but it's obviously not intentional and Hughes knows it too. They start it back up, and GSP kicks a little higher, followed by some stiff jabs. Hughes looks for a combo and misses mostly. St. Pierre lands a punch and looks to clinch, but Hughes escapes. Kick by Hughes is caught by St. Pierre, and GSP lands punches. The same thing happens again, and GSP is in Hughes' guard. St. Pierre looks to pass, and Hughes stands, but takes a Thai knee from St. Pierre in teh process. Hughes catches a kick from GSP and gets a body lock, but can't take St. Pierre down. They go back to the middle, and GSP lands a big Superman punchthat floors Hughes and Hughes is almost out, but he's saved by the bell. Outstanding round goes to St. Pierre.
ROUND TWO: They touch gloves to start this time. St. Pierre lands a jab, and Hughes back soff. Hughes gets another body lock and lands some knees to the inside, but the fight does not go down. Leg kicks by GSP almost put Hughes down. St. Pierre is supremely confident and lands a stiff jab to Hughes' chin. Hughes looks to shoot and GSP lands a head kick that floors Hughes. St. Pierre follows him down and lands punch after punch, and the fight is stopped. We have a new welterweight champ, and his name is Georges St. Pierre.
RESULT: St. Pierre by TKO at 1:25 of round 2.
STAR RATING: (***+) Had it gone longer with the same pace and action, it would have gotten five stars. Seeing Hughes dismantled like that was amazing.
RAMIFICATIONS: What do you need me to say here? Hughes is hardly diminished in his loss. He'll get the rubber match, and it'll probably be GSP's first title defense after he beats Matt Serra. This is where the idea of the TUF 4 winner getting an automatic title shot hurts the continuity of fights in the division if you ask me. In the end, though, St. Pierre could be on top for as long as Hughes was. He was absolutely fantastic tonight.
SHERMAN "THE TANK" PENDERGARST vs. ANTONI HARDONK
Pendergarst says in the vignette that Hardonk isn't a mountain that he has to climb, but rather a pebble that he needs to step over. Big words.
ROUND ONE: Pendergarst goes out like he's going to touch gloves, then rushes Hardonk. He takes some Thai knees for his trouble. Pendergarst is able to take Hardonk down and he looks for side control. Hardonk gets him in the full guard, but Pendergarst has Hardonk up against the fence and looks to pound. Hardonk grabs a hold and looks to be trying to get the fight stood up. This continues for a while, with Pendergarst landing the occasional blow. Pendergarst stands up, and he's tired. Hardonk stands up as well, and he lands a jab followed by a nasty leg kick. Hardonk is having his way with Pendergarst on the feet. He chops the big man down with another leg kick and Pendergarst goes down and it's obvious that he's done, so Big John stops the fight.
RESULT: Hardonk by KO at 3:15 of round 1.
STAR RATING: (**-) Not all that long, but it was a kickboxing clinic by Hardonk while it lasted. He could be dangerous. It'll be interesting to see what he can do against a proven heavyweight (not that there are many in the UFC right now).
RECOMMENDATION: Well, there were some solid set-up fights leading up to the heavyweight championship fight, but that bout took a lot of steam away from an otherwise decent show. As it is, I'd recommend buying the replay, but it'd be a can't-miss with a few longer fights, or if the welterweight title fight had gone another round or so. So get the replay and skip Sylvia-Monson, and I think it'll flow a lot more smoothly.
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