FACEBOOK TWITTER RSS APP PODCAST Torch Flashbacks 10 Yrs Ago - UFC 13 PPV: Keller's detailed original report including Vitor Belfort vs. Tank, plus Ortiz, Couture

Jun 4, 2007 - 6:57:00 PM
By Wade Keller, Torch editor
This is the original report by Torch editor Wade Keller from the Torch Newsletter ten years ago this week covering the UFC 13 PPV from May 30, 1997 followed by Torch columnist Chris Zavisa's analysis...

UFC: ULTIMATE FORCE
Vitor Belfort demolishes Tank
By Wade Keller, editor

When: May 30, 1997
Where: August, Ga. -- Civic Center
What: Three hour PPV event
Attendance: est. 3,000

Bruce Beck & Jeff Blatnick previewed the program, focusing mainly on the main event, drawing on the contrasts between the two fighters. They pointed out that they have yet to see Belfort take a punch or fight on the ground, contrasting that to Tank giving tough fights to UFC class fighters like Dan Severn and Oleg Taktarov. UFC has dropped the roman numerals from their events and are now considering the tournaments to be vehicles to find contenders for the title bouts on future shows. In the past, they treated winning a tournament as an end in itself and now it is means to an end -- i.e. being considered for a title shot.

(1) Guy Mezger (Submission Fighting, 29, 190, 6-1, Dallas, Tex.) beat Christophe Leninger (Kodokan Judo, 37, 200, 6-0, Phoenix, Ariz.) via judges decision after a 15 minute draw in the first light weight semi-final match. Leninger, 0-1 in the Octagon, lost to Shamrock in Shamrock's longest fight outside of Dan Severn and Royce Gracie back in UFC3. Leninger's strength was considered grappling, with striking being his question mark. Mezger, 2-0 in the Octagon, trains at Ken Shamrock's Lion's Den.

Mezger began by grabbing Leninger's uniform with his left arm and punching away at him with his right arm. Leninger fought back with wild swings of his own. At 0:45 Leninger went for leverage by grabbing Mezger by his black wrestling tights. Fans began booing at 1:30 because of the grabbing and lack of action. At 1:55 Leninger dropped to the ground on his own to go into the guard. At 2:50, after each man struggled for position on the ground, Mezger backed off. Leninger stood again, also. Leninger looked a bit more winded than Mezger. They ended up grabbing each other's clothing again, turning into a judo match of sorts, playing to Leninger's strength. At 4:00 Leninger swept Mezger to the mat and went for an armbar, but Mezger slipped out of it. They returned to their feet. At 5:00 Leninger judo flipped Mezger to the mat, but Mezger quickly rolled through and ended up on top of Leninger, who went into a full guard. Mezger tried to work in some punches and landed a few in the process over a period of several minutes. At 7:00 fans got restless again. Ref John McCarthy told the fighters to keep working. At 7:50, after a period of inactivity, McCarthy stood them up. Leninger was the more tired looking, but he threw some kicks at Mezger as they got into fighting stances. Leninger tried to catch Mezger's leg as he kicked. Leninger landed a few punches and Mezger returned with a quick front roundkick to Leninger's head. Leninger banged his face with his hands in acknowledgment of the kick and nodded, signalling he appreciated Mezger's kick, but also showing he wasn't hurt by it. They circled tactically keeping a safe distance from each other at 10:00. They clenched again and Leninger dropped to the mat to try to flip Mezger, but Mezger dropped his weight down quickly so Leninger went into the guard. Beck and Blatner portrayed Leninger as dropping to the mat because he was lost on his feet, rather than just saying Leninger was playing to his strength. Mezger stood, but Leninger stayed on the canvas for a moment, but eventually got to his feet as the 12 minute main period ended. The fans booed, although it was a heck of a battle of styles. The three minute overtime began with jabbing Mezger in the face, but Mezger wasn't phased. At 0:40 they clasped again and threw punches with their open arms. At 1:43 Mezger dropped to the ground as he leveraged for a choke. Leninger rolled onto his back into the guard and that's how the fight ended. The judges ruled 3-0 for Mezger. It was another example of a judo/ju jitsu fighter playing to his strengths, yet getting punished because it wasn't as aggressive looking, even though Leninger went for several takedowns and took Mezger to the mat with a sweep, landed some blows of his own, and was never in danger of losing -- although he appeared to be the more winded of the two. This deserved to be ruled a draw, not a win or loss for either man, but someone had to move on to the next round. A really good, tactical fight.

Joe Rogan (of NBC's News Radio) interviewed Mezger, who said Leninger had good defenses, threw better punches than he expected, and absorbed good blows and didn't give up.

(2) Enson Inoue (Shooto, 30, 199, 5-11, Omiya, Japan) beat Royce Alger (Freestyle wrestling, 32, 200, Iowa City, Ia.) at 1:37 to advance to the light-weight finals. Enson, born in Hawaii and living in Japan, said his best chance of winning would be to knock out Alger early or apply a submission. Alger, who trains with Mark Coleman, said he wanted to be to his division what Coleman is to the heavyweights. Coleman accompanied Alger to the ring. Alger brought A-team wrestling credentials to the ring with him, being a two-time NCAA wrestling champion, a two-time World Cup champion, an eight-time U.S. Olympic team member. He was also a golden gloves boxer in his youth. Alger was the heavy favorite.

Alger went for the double leg takedown, Coleman's trademark. Inoue smartly jumped his feet back to escape his grasp, throwing off Alger's gameplan. Inoue went behind Alger and went for an armbar submission. Alger ended up with the leverage advantage on top. Inoue held Alger in tight while on his own back. They exchanged some blows from that position, with Inoue staying in a form of the guard. Alger went for some killer punches, but in the process Inoue saw an opening and grabbed Alger's left hand and arm. From there he leveraged Alger onto his stomach, torqued the arm, and Alger fervently tapped out. Alger is probably the fighter with the most credentials to lose to a relatively unknown first-timer.

(3) Steven "3D" Graham (Extension Fighting, 23, 290, 6-1, Fayetteville, N.C.) beat Dmitri Stepanov (Muay Thai Kickboxing/Sambo, 29, 217, 6-3, Minsk, Russia) at 1:30 via tapout to advance to the heavyweight finals. Stepanov said he wanted to follow in the footsteps of Oleg Taktarov and Igor Zinoviev. Graham's strength was stand-up fighting.

Graham charged at the start, picked up and slammed Steponov to the mat. Both grasped each other's head. Fans chanted "USA, USA." Steponov struggled underneath Graham until Graham torqued his arm with a keylock and rolled him backward, prompting the frenzied tapout. Beck compared Graham to a larger Gary Goodridge. Beck referred to the fights as "no rules," which only plays into the political problems they face.

(4) Randy Couture (Greco-Roman Wrestling, 33, 225, 6-1, Corvallis, Ore.) beat Tony Halme (Shoot Fighting, 34, 300, 6-4, Marina Del Ray, Calif./Helsinki, Finland) at 1:00 to advance to the heavyweight finals. In his pre-fight interview Halme said he goes in the Octagon to kill or be killed. "I'm not afraid of anybody," he said. "I go there to rip the head off or I die trying." Beck acknowledged he wrestled professionally under the name Ludvig Borga. Said Blatnick: "We have a professional wrestler vs. an amateur wrestler. Halme is more of a striker because of his boxing background. We all know the WWF is not competition." Couture is a three-time U.S. Olympic alternate and the 1997 Greco-Roman National Champion.

Halme charged at the start just like Graham did, but Couture took Halme down with a double-leg takedown. Halme hugged Couture's torso. Couture broke the grasp and threw a punch, then slipped around Halme who was on his hands and knees, a terribly vulnerable position. Couture locked on a choke from behind for the quick win.

Joe Rogan announced Enson Inoue could not continue due to vision problems from blows to the head he absorbed in his match. They aired the alternate match from earlier in the night where Tito Ortiz (Street Fighter, 22, 200, 6-2, Huntington Beach, Calif.) beat Wes Albritton (Kempo Karate, 26, 190, 5-10, Scotsborough, Ala.) at 0:31 when Albritton's corner threw in the towel. He trained with Tank Abbott, saying they clicked with their attitudes. He was a two time California high school wrestling champion and now a high school wrestling coach, with background in ju jitsu tournaments, also. Ortiz says he has matured since his street fighting days. Albritton walked in way too close to Ortiz if his goal as stated was to stay standing. OrtizÊtook him to the ground and pummelled him with elbows to the back of the head and a series of punches. Albritton's corner threw in the towel. Albritton stood up and appeared just fine afterward, although dejected with his performance. After the fight Ortiz told Rogan that Albritton was no match for him.

(5) Guy Mezger (29, 198, 6-1) beat Tito Ortiz (22, 200, 6-2) with a guillotine choke at 3:00 to win the lightweight tournament. Beck said Ortiz was fighting in UFC as an amateur with no chance at prize money because he is a student at Golden West College and "therefore is fighting because he loves it." Ortiz opened with some blows, so Mezger went for a single leg takedown. Ortiz showed really good balance. Ortiz threw some knees to Mezger's head, opening up a cut on the top of his head. It appeared Mezger tapped out, but McCarthy did not stop the fight. A few seconds later he stopped the fight to check on Mezger's cut. McCarthy explained that Mezger was blocking, not tapping, and "I saw what he was doing." The fight restarted 30 seconds later. They fought on their feet for a minute, then Ortiz went for a double-leg takedown, but Mezger simply applied a guillotine choke on his open neck. He fell back and cinched it on. Ortiz tapped out a few seconds later, similar to Severn leaving himself open to a Shamrock choke. When he got up, he shouted "f---" in frustration. Ortiz showed enough to be brought back.

Rogan interviewed Mark Coleman regarding facing Maurice Smith at the July 27 UFC. Coleman said: "Maurice Smith better learn how to wrestle because I'm going to take him to the mat and pound the sh-- out of him. I'm gonna ground him and pound him. That's my g--damn game. I'm fired up. I'm training my ass off and I'm going to f---in' do something for freestyle wrestlers." Rogan laughed afterward at Coleman's choice of words.

(6) Randy Couture (33, 225, 6-1) beat Steven Graham (23, 290, 6-1) to win the heavyweight tournament at 3:17 when the ref stopped the fight. Couture went for a double leg takedown and succeeded. He stayed on top of Graham and threw punches. Graham tried to stand, but Couture flipped over him and stayed behind him going for the choke. Graham struggled to escape his grasp, but couldn't. With Graham on his stomach, Coutoure threw punches at the defenseless Graham. The ref stepped in and stopped the fight, perhaps a tad early because the blows weren't all that threatening, yet Graham didn't show signs of being able to come back. Graham was the defense the entire time. Coutoure looked strong, but wasn't seriously tested, either.

Highlights aired of Maurice Smith in kick boxing, Pancrase, and even footage of former competitor Extreme Fighting competition. Beck and Blatnick interviewed Smith at ringside. Smith said Coleman can't catch him and take him down, so Coleman better work on his stand up fighting skills. Smith said he has been training with Ken Shamrock, working on his ground game. He said he was asked to join UFC a few years ago, but knew he needed to work on his ground game more.

Beck looked at the camera and told viewers that they need to make a statement and call their local cable company and tell them about wanting to see UFC. Blatnick said, "We are making a call to action. Let them know you want to see this event. This is protecting your rights to watch an event of your choosing and to protect the sport's survival." Beck said: "Don't let your cable company dictate what you can and cannot watch." It's about time they issued a call to action on the air to rally their supporters -- but has it come too late?

(7) Vitor Belfort (Brazilian Ju Jitsu, 20, 215, 6-0, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil) beat Tank Abbott (Pit Fighting, 32, 270, 6-0, Huntington Beach, Calif.) at 0:53. Tank walked in as the aggressor, but Belfort hugged him around the armpits, swept his leg, and took him to the ground with force at 0:08. He went for an armbar, but Tank slipped out of it. Tank backed off. Belfort began overwhelming Tank with punches, dropping him to the mat. Tank had no defense and just covered the back of his head. McCarthy stepped in. Blatnick said Tank bragged that in previous losses, he went back to the hotel for a drink while his opponents took so much punishment they were in the hospital. Tank bragged about not being a member of the quick tap club. He didn't tap out, but Beck said now he is a member. Abbott sought out Belfort to shake his hand and hug him, which Blatnick pointed out he never does, which showed that Tank respects Belfort. Beck and Blatnick pointed out that Belfort wants to represent Brazil in boxing in the 2000 Olympic games. He said UFC may lose him to boxing where there is big money to be made, but if he sticks with UFC he may bring the sport to be bigger than boxing. Rogan interviewed a smiling, gracious, personable Belfort afterward. He thanked his mother for cooking for him, and his trainers, father, and friends. Belfort has definite crossover superstar potential. Renowned boxing trainer Al Stenke compared him to some of the more special boxers of recent history. Belfort hasn't beat the competition Coleman and Smith has, yet Belfort against the winner of that match will be one of the bigger UFC fights ever.

COLUMNIST COMMENTS

Chris Zavisa, Torch columnist: If Semaphore did not have enough problems with cable carriers dropping them, Friday's event did not help matters. When all is said and done, UFC right now is a one match event. The only real match they have left that is a true marquee bout worthy of the build-up is Mark Coleman vs. Vitor Belfort. They no longer have the Royce Gracie, Dan Severn, and Ken Shamrock to promote.

Vitor Belfort was amazing for the second straight event. He is a true superstar in this field and is marketable beyond belief. It is too bad they did not have him two years ago when they were riding high. Abbott looked bad beyond belief. For a moment I wondered whether he had taken a dive, but watching several times over the next three minutes told me that was not the case. The allure of Abbott should be once and for all destroyed. He has never won anything here and any credibility he once possessed is long gone. Abbott should turn pro wrestler and hope he can catch on there.

I would pay some decent money to watch Coleman battle Belfort. Two very opposite personalities with different styles. It is a promotional dream come true. Build an undercard with the last two junior tourney winners, plus the two Japanese fighters who had to drop out after first round wins due to injuries, then add some fighters like Scott Ferrazzo and they may have something.

The other criticism I have is these things have been stopped way too soon for more than a year now. We all know the reasons but there is a huge gap between the perception the fan has when he orders the product and what is delivered. That may be one good reason for declining buyrates.

ALERT: Every Tuesday night, listen to the MMATorch Livecast from 9-10:30 p.m. ET or listen now to the most recent shows by clicking here. Listen live this coming Tuesday as Jamie Penick, Rich Hansen, and Matt Pelkey discuss the latest MMA happenings. Online listen at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/mmatorch or call into the show at 646-716-8090 to either just listen or participate.