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UFC 67 PPV REPORT
FEBRUARY 3, 2007
LAS VEGAS, NEV. AT MANDALAY BAY
BY SHAWN ENNIS, MMATORCH SENIOR COLUMNIST
Ladies and gentlemen, it's Saturday, February 03, 2007, 10:00 p.m., and you know what that means. the brand new Zuffa animation! the brand new horrid gladiator montage! See the black and white interviews! It's time for UFC 67: All or Nothing!
As you have doubtless heard, the title is no longer on the line in tonight's main event. But that's alright, as there's no way Silva was losing that fight anyway. On the bright side, we'll get to see another big knockout by Anderson Silva, not to mention of course the debuts of Cro Cop and Rampage. Let's get this party started, shall we?
Enter Mike Goldberg with some nifty new graphics on the screen. Very nice. I like the presentation. They're showing a post-weigh in interview with Lutter here, and he's got to be incredibly embarrassed here. Next we get an interview with the champ, and he is not impressed. He feels disrespected, as he should. So now Silva is angry, and Lutter can't be in the best shape of his life. This has gone from bad to worse for Lutter. We've got a poll up now about who will win between Silva and Lutter, like we had last month for Liddell-Ortiz. Those results should be interesting. But anyway, enough of that. We've got some more pre-fights hype, and then we move on to our first bout of the evening:
FIRST FIGHT: PATRICK "THE PREDATOR" COTE vs. SCOTT "HANDS OF STEEL" SMITH
ROUND ONE: Leg kick to start by Cote, and another follows. They circle each other, and Smith seems to be waiting for his opening. Cote with another leg kick. Good strategy her by Cote. Smith charges with some punches and a high kick, but largely comes up empty. Cote answers back with some glancing shots, and they clinch against the fence. Big left by Smith to get out of the clinch, and they go back to the middle. Cote continues to try to work the leg kicks. Smith with a leg kick of his own. They continue to measure each other, as a smattering of "USA" chants break out. Nice leg kick by Smith, and they clinch again. Smith lands a couple of good punches and elbows, and they continue to clinch on the fence. Cote grabs a leg as Smith looks to land a knee and gets a nice slam. Smith is back up quickly after absorbing minimal punishment, and they clinch again. They separate and Cote lands another leg kick. Cote with a body kick and Smith swings and misses. Smith charges again and misses again. Nice knee to the body by Smith, and the round ends shortly thereafter. The crowd is restless for some reason, as a close round probably goes to Cote.
ROUND TWO: They circle in the middle, and Smith lands a leg kick. Smith is searching for a window here to nail Cote, and Cote lands a glancing Superman punch. Smith misses again and Cote throws an uppercut that misses. They clinch and Cote lands a couple of shots, then tries for a takedown against the fence. Smith defends nicely. The crowd doesn't like the action against the fence, and the ref would probably do well to separate them, and does so. Smith wanders in and is nailed with a big right hand. He is staggered badly, but Cote doesn't capitalize. He makes faces and acts like he's going to attack, then doesn't. Weird. Smith then fakes a crane kick right out of karate kid and misses a kick for real. Cote could have ended the fight right then and didn't. Smith was in la-la land. Odd. They go back to the middle, where each man is hesitant to strike. This is seriously weird. Cote is not going for the kill. They clinch against the fence and Smith defends another takedown (?), and Cote lands a leg kick. Smith is still not right, but Cote is just not pushing the pace. We get a couple more tentative exchanges, and what should have been a crowd pleaser is not pleasing the crowd. Round two goes to Cote.
ROUND THREE: Smith comes out swinging and knows he's behind. Cote lands a body kick and Smith goes for a leg. Probably not the best idea. He lets it go and they clinch against the fence again. They're separated again. Neither man is eager to engage, which is not characteristic for either of them. Smith is hanging back, and occasionally comes in and misses some punches. Cote just hangs his left hand out there but does nothing. Finally Cote lands a punch and Smith backs up. He is still not right. Cote finally attacks against the fence, but backs off when Smith misses a counter punch. Body kick from Smith, and he lands a couple of punches to the hands that are against Cote's head. They clinch on the fence and are separated. They still stand like a couple of statues out there until Smith charges and lands some punches and kicks. Cote clinches and they're against the fence again. They take turns pushing off and throwing punches, but no real damage is done. Cote will probably take the decision here, but the crowd doesn't like it either way. Neither do I, quite honestly. Smith probably takes round three, but not by much.
RESULT: Cote by unanimous decision.
STAR RATING: (*+) A couple of decent exchanges, but considering what these guys can do, it was a monumental disappointment.
RAMIFICATIONS: None really to speak of. This should have been a showcase fight for one or both guys, but ended up being a tentatively played un-slugfest.
-Cote says in the interview that he'll be back and the crowd can boo him again. Nice. So we're off to a lackluster start, and I'm 0-1 in my picks. Let's see how the rest of the night turns out.
-We get a shot of Rampage sparring in the back, and then a promo for UFC 68. That should really be a good card. It's already sold out, which is a good sign. Dear UFC: Please take more shows away from Vegas. Including cards on free TV. In fact, especially cards on free TV. Love, Shawn.
SEOCOND FIGHT: MARVIN "THE BEASTMAN" EASTMAN vs. QUINTON "RAMPAGE" JACKSON
Eastman calls himself the monkey wrench in his pre-fight interview, saying he's going to be what keeps Liddell-Jackson II from happening. Eastman surely does look the part, as he is chiseled and looks as good as ever. He makes his way to the Octagon looking mean, and Jackson follows with his trademark howl and scowl. Very cool to see Jackson here. He gets to the Octagon and pulls out his contact lenses, which marks the first time I've seen that. Tito Ortiz is a couple of rows back, and snaps a couple of pictures of Rampage. Nice ovation for Jackson. In a sloppy bit of announcing, Bruce Buffer calls Eastman "The Beast", rather than "The Beastman". Oh well. They're treating this just like a main event, with the pre-fight instructions and a staredown to start it off. Nice touch.
ROUND ONE: Eastman comes out swinging, and he looks pretty quick. Rampage takes the shots without flinching and comes forward. Rampage lands a couple of glancing shots. They clinch on the fence, and Eastman lands an elbow. More clinching with no action, and Big John separates them. Jackson seems hesitant for some reason. Eastman shoots and is stuffed. Jackson lands a couple of knees to the body as the crowd gets restless yet again. Jackson takes a thumb to the eye and lets Big John know. Brief exchange again with not much going on. Jackson lands a leg kick, then throws some bombs, landing a couple. He looks to trip to a takedown, but Eastman remains standing. Great balance there by Eastman. The clinch and are separated. Eastman comes with a flurry but misses. Rampage lands a left hook that staggers Eastman, and he smells blood. He comes in and lands a couple more, but it's too close to the end of the round, and the horn sounds. Round one goes to Jackson, but Eastman had a good showing to start.
ROUND TWO: Jackson looks much better coming out of the chute, with a little more bounce in his step. Eastman charges in and misses with some punches, and Jackson answers with a knee as they clinch. They struggle for position and Jackson lands a punch to separate. Jackson swings and glances, and Eastman lands a short elbow. Rampage continues to throw straight lefts and Eastman continues to duck them. Nice right cross by Jackson, but he doesn't capitalize. Jackson lands another nice right hook, but Eastman can take some punches. They clinch, and Jackson looks for knees, but Eastman backs out. Eastman is going back to the short elbow when he charges in. Rampage comes in with a flurry and catches Eastman with a few uppercuts. Eastman is wobbled and he goes down. Jackson follows and Big John stops the fight.
RESULT: Jackson by KO at 3:49 of round 2.
STAR RATING: (**+) The gravity of Jackson's debut gives this a boost, as does Eastman ending up being a pretty game opponent. Very impressive knockout.
RAMIFICATIONS: Eastman wasn't steamrolled, which is good for him. He may be back once more. I can't imagine that Jackson won't be the next challenger to the throne of Liddell. Pretty straightforward ramifications here.
-Rampage says he loves Marvin, but this was time for "black on black crime". He says he needs to spar a little more before fighting Chuck, and he's willing to pay for sparring partners. He also says it's his first time ever being booed, but he had some jitters to work out. Great interview by Rampage.
-Surprisingly, only 77% of the voters think that Silva will win the fight tonight.
-With that fight, I'm 1-1 so far, but I predicted the round and method of victory here, so that's got to count for extra, right? Right?? Randy, help me out here.
THIRD FIGHT: JOHN "THE HURRICANE" HALVERSON vs. ROGER "EL MATADOR" HUERTA
Did I mention I like the new graphics and animations that the UFC is using on this show? Well I do. Huerta makes his way to the Octagon with Jens Pulver.
ROUND ONE: Halverson lands a nice body kick, but slips and goes down immediate. Huerta lands a knee to the head which floors Halverson, but unfortunately, it looks like Halverson was down when the knee landed. Huerta immediately takes Halverson's back and pounds on either side of Halverson's head. How the fight wasn't stopped at least temporarily after the knee, I don't know. Goldberg and Rogan discuss the knee and wonder the same thing as I did.
RESULT: Huerta by TKO at 0:19 of round 1.
STAR RATING: (*+) Too short to amount to much, with a fair amount of confusion also taking away from it. The confusion was cleared up a bit afterwards, as Huerta says he hit Halverson in the shoulder, which looks to be the case from the right angle.
RAMIFICATIONS: Halverson may be back, as he didn't get to show much here, and Huerta moves up the ladder. He's a young guy, and could make a big impact in a few fights. I'd like to see him fight Melvin Guillard again, as their first fight was fantastic (though it ended in a No Contest when the athletic commission decided that Guillard was too greased up).
-As I noted, Huerta says he caught Halverson in the shoulder. It looks like that is indeed the case, but he may have also caught Halverson's chin. Hard to tell, but it's understandable why Huerta kept attacking. I still think the fight should have been stopped temporarily though. Whatever. That moves me into the black, at 2-1 so far.
-We've got another UFC 68 preview, and they really need to figure out a better way to promote the next PPV with the current PPV. Showing promo after identical promo is woefully ineffective. Though this isn't nearly as bad as the promos for the Wanderlei Silva PPV special during Pride's Shockwave event on New Year's Eve.
-Randy Couture joins the crew as they prepare for Mirko Filipovic's debut.
FOURTH FIGHT: EDDIE SANCHEZ vs. MIRKO "CRO COP" FILIPOVIC
Cro Cop says multiple times that he's not underestimating Sanchez, and I actually believe him, even though we've seen debuting and returning superstars who underestimate their opponents and end up getting beaten (I'm looking at you, Heath Herring). Eddie Sanchez enters the Octagon looking cool and calm, while Cro Cop makes his way down the aisle looking stone faced as ever. Half-decent ovation for the Croation Sensation (!), which is nice. Looks like we've got a small but vocal Croatian contingent in attendance tonight. Bruce Buffer leaves off Cro Cop's last name, which was customary in Pride as well, but I've never understood it. His name isn't Mirko Cro Cop. It's Filipovic. Whatever. Maybe I'm being nitpicky. We get a staredown for this fight too, and Eddie Sanchez looks like he knows he's staring into the eyes of his doom.
ROUND ONE: Sanchez comes out swinging wildly, and Cro Cop evades. He lands a pinpoint accurate left hand, and Sanchez knows now that he's in trouble. Cro Cop is stalking and throws some kicks. Nasty stuff. Straight right hand stuns Sanchez. Cro Cop continues to stalk and lands another shot, but Sanchez lands a decent counter. Cro Cop is measuring him for a kick, and Sanchez is continually backing away. Nasty left kick to the body lands for Cro Cop. He glances a left high kick. Great reaction by the crowd to each kick. Sanchez lands a couple of decent shots, but Cro Cop keeps coming. He clinches, then lands a straight left. Sanchez is really in trouble here. He's breathing through his mouth, and Cro Cop smashes a leg kick into him. Big left hand by Cro Cop hurts Sanchez, as does another left high kick. Sanchez should be sleeping right now. Huge left hand by Cro Cop, and Sanchez falls. Cro Cop follows and mounts, pounding Sanchez. Sanchez isn't giving up though, and he covers up pretty well. Cro Cop starts picking his shots from the mount, and that's the end for Sanchez, as Mazagatti stops the fight. Absolutely dominant performance by Mirko Filipovic.
RESULT: Filipovic by TKO at 4:33 of round 1.
STAR RATING: (***-) Not competitive in the least, but the crowd was great, and I got goosebumps multiple times watching the fight. It lasted a lot longer than I expected it to, and had Sanchez tried to push the action, it would have been over a lot more quickly. Lots of fun to watch, though, if only for the importance of the debut.
RAMIFICATIONS: Eddie Sanchez isn't going anywhere, as he showed a lot of guts in just taking the fight. He fought a smart fight, picking his shots and backing away, but he never had a chance. It's hard to say what happens next with Cro Cop. Does he challenge immediately, or rack up some victories first? The timing is right for a title shot, as Sylvia fights next month, but I could see the UFC wanting to get Cro Cop a highlight reel before he challenges.
-We get a promo for the movie The Number 23, which is a joke. Not the movie, but the fact that there's a full-blown commercial on a pay-per-view event. I don't mind sponsorships, but I do mind commercials on an event that I pay for. And I know I'm not the only one.
-Next up is our main event, and about 80% of voters are looking for Silva to pick up the win. And by the way, I'm 3-1 so far.
-We get a short highlight reel for Silva, as really they could show both of his UFC fights in their entirety before the fight starts and it wouldn't take long. In fact, I'm betting that the ring entrances and intros to this fight take longer than the fight itself. Let's see.
FIFTH FIGHT: TRAVIS LUTTER vs. ANDERSON "THE SPIDER" SILVA
Lutter makes his way to the Octagon looking dejected already. Not a good sign for him. Silva, of course, looks completely cool. But hey—Silva is a cool guy. Mike Goldberg says essentially that Travis Lutter is to grappling as Michael Jordan is to basketball. This is ludicrous, of course, and Rogan calls him on it. Sometimes I love Joe Rogan. He doesn't stand for over-hyping guys, and I dig that. Lutter is booed when his weight is announced, which is great. He looks like he wants to go home. Silva looks the same, but he looks like he wants to smack someone around first. Silva gives Lutter the disappointed Dad look in the staredown, which is fantastic. Hey! There's Charles Barkley!
ROUND ONE: They circle to start out, and the crowd is booing. Alright, guys, that's enough. Booing Lutter is one thing, but let's give the fight a chance, shall we? Silva throws a high kick, and barely misses Lutter's head with a flying knee, resulting in Lutter getting a gimme takedown. He's in Silva's guard, which turns into a body triangle. Lutter looks to back up and land something, but he's unable. He lands a few shots to the body and backs up again, and Silva pushes him back and stands. Lutter shoots and gets Silva's foot, which gets the champ back to the ground. Lutter looks slow and plodding, and almost gets caught in an armbar. He backs up and takes a few upkicks, eventually getting back down into the guard. He backs up again, and out of nowhere, he scrambles into side control. He looks to mount, but gets caught in the half guard. Lutter is able to transition to mount, and he looks to land shots, but Silva keeps him at bay and ends up doing a beautiful job getting his legs up and kicking Lutter off. Lutter grabs half an armbar, but Silva escapes easily and tells Lutter to get up. The crowd is loving it. Lutter shoots horribly and ends up on his back. Silva attempts and misses with an axe kick, then backs up as the round ends. Astoundingly, I kind of have to give that round to Lutter.
ROUND TWO: Lutter still looks dejected before the round starts. He shoots immediately and gets the takedown. He's in Silva's guard and backs out again, but takes an upkick. On the way back down, Silva sinks a nice triangle. Lutter defends by putting his hand on his ear, and Silva continues to throw elbows and pull down on the triangle. Lutter is showing some heart by staying in the triangle, but Silva is relentless with the elbows, and Lutter taps.
RESULT: Silva by submission due to strikes at 2:11 of round 2. (They announced that it was due to a triangle, but it looked like he tapped because of elbows to me.)
STAR RATING: (**+) If Lutter had been in better shape, this fight could have been great. It was entertaining as it was, with Silva landing some of those nasty back elbows. Just beautiful technique by the champ. Could have been better, and would have been more exciting regardless had it been a title fight, but still not too shabby.
RAMIFICATIONS: Well, Silva would have kept his belt either way, and it will be interesting to see what the UFC does with Lutter from here. He'll need to string together a lot of impressive wins to earn another shot.
-In case you're keeping score, I'm 4-1 right now.
SIXTH FIGHT (prelim): FRANK "THE ANSWER" EDGAR vs. TYSON GRIFFIN
I like watching still shots of Griffin. A lot of fighters look "chiseled" when you refer to physique. Griffin's face has the chiseled look when he does his stare. It's like he's a statue of an angry guy. Good stuff. As if that's not enough, Griffin then makes his way down the aisle to the strains of "Eye of the Tiger", by Survivor. He is now my favorite fighter.
ROUND ONE: Steve Mazzagatti is our referee, and Steve, if you're reading, please lose the mustache. I'm begging you. They come out swinging, Edgar landing a few punches, but Griffin lands some big shots to Edgar's chin, which he absorbs impressively. They continue to circle, and Griffin lands a right hook. Edgar is no slouch on the feet either, and lands some shots of his own. Edgar shoots in quickly and gets a nice takedown. Griffin grabs a guillotine, but Edgar gets to the side and escapes. Griffin stands up and grabs a body lock on Edgar, which he uses to get a great slam. Edgar recovers immediately, though, and they get back up with Griffin still holding the leg. Edgar lands a few shots, and they stand back up in the middle. Nice right cross by Griffin and a knee to the body. Edgar counters and he's hanging with Griffin pretty impressively. Edgar lands a knee and some punches. Nice left hand by Edgar, and Griffin wades in wildly. Edgar seems to have the crisper striking. Edgar shoots and Griffin tries to time a knee to the head, but Edgar doesn't dip his head low enough to catch it and gets the takedown. He gets side control and almost takes Griffin's back. They stand up and Edgar looks for a Superman punch, but catches a knee to the chest for his trouble as the round ends. Fantastic first round probably goes to Edgar, surprisingly enough (to me).
ROUND TWO: Griffin comes out swinging again, and Edgar continues to play the smarter game with striking. Edgar misses a leg kick, as does Griffin. Griffin catches Edgar with a jab, followed by a stiff uppercut. Griffin goes in for the takedown and gets both legs. He gets both legs and pushes Edgar against the fence, but Edgar defends very well. He stands back up and tries for a takedown of his own. Very impressive showing by Edgar. They're standing in the middle now, and Griffin might be a little tired. Edgar may be tired himself, and Griffin lands some big blows to the head of Edgar. Edgar can take a shot though, and keeps coming. He lands a right hand, but takes two leg kicks that resonate throughout the arena. Edgar gets a takedown, and Griffin looks for a kimura. Edgar escapes and almost takes Griffin's back as they stand up. High kick lands for Griffin. Three leg kicks by Griffin put Edgar down briefly, but he gets back up and gets another takedown and escapes another kimura. They scramble and Griffin gets another slam. They stand again and Griffin almost gets a suplex, but ends up mounted and taking a few shots as the round ends. Another great round. This one could go either way, but I'll give it to Griffin for probably doing a little more damage.
ROUND THREE: Both men have jaws agape as they head to the middle of the Octagon. They trade leg kicks, and Griffin is going to get the better of those every time. Takedown attempt by Edgar, but Griffin sprawls and takes a few punches. Griffin throws a couple of punches, and Edgar misses a leg kick. Nice right by Griffin is countered by Edgar. Griffin stuffs another takedown, but he looks tired. Griffin lands another leg kick. They clinch, and Edgar lands some knees. One of the knees looks to have lnded a bit low, but the action continues for some reason. Edgar capitalizes and does some damage with punches. Edgar pushes Griffin into the fence and continues to punish him. Griffin is completely winded. Edgar gets another takedown and lands some more shots. Griffin continues to take more punishment and he is exhausted. Out of nowhere, he grabs a very tight kneebar on Edgar as Edgar is getting up. He is hyperextending the knee, but there's less than a minute in the fight, and Edgar refuses to tap. Unbelievable. Edgar's knee is very hyperextended and has got to be in about 40 pieces right now, but the round ends and he is going to win the fight. Another phenomenal round will go to Edgar in what has to be considered a sizeable upset.
RESULT: Edgar by unanimous decision.
STAR RATING: (****) Fight of the night. That was great stuff. Relentless pace, back and forth action, good striking and good grappling, momentum changes throughout…I can't say enough good things about it.
RAMIFICATIONS: This is a huge, huge win for Edgar. He came out of nowhere to beat a guy who has been unstoppable up to this point. Griffin, meanwhile, doesn't lose much ground with this loss, as both guys looked great.
SEVENTH FIGHT (prelim): TERRY MARTIN vs. JORGE "EL CONQUISTADOR" RIVERA
ROUND ONE: Leg kick by Rivera lands, but Martin then catches a kick to the body and floors Rivera with a punch to the side of the head. Martin hangs on to the leg and throws two more punches to finish off Rivera. The middleweight class just let out a collective "Uh-oh".
RESULT: Martin by KO at 0:14 of round 1.
STAR RATING: (*+) Nice knockout to be sure, but it was only fourteen seconds, people.
RAMIFICATIONS: Martin called out Mike Swick after the fight, and that one would have some fireworks. Martin is built, as Mike Goldberg said, like Mike Tyson, and he's got ground skills too. He's going to cause some trouble at 185 sooner rather than later. You heard it here first. Stay tuned for the UFC 67 wrap.
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