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KELLER'S UFC 106 BLOG: Random thoughts in chronological order from opener through Tito Ortiz vs. Forrest Griffin
Nov 21, 2009 - 11:52:00 PM KELLER'S UFC 106 BLOG: Random thoughts in chronological order from opener through Tito Ortiz vs. Forrest Griffin

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KELLER'S UFC 106 PPV BLOG
NOV. 21, 2009
AIRED LIVE ON PAY-PER-VIEW

Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan, as usual, introduced and preview the event. Rogan says he's watched Tito Ortiz's training videos and is really impressed. He touts that the injuries that kept Ortiz from training at the level he wanted to in the past are in his past.

1 - AMIR SADOLLAH VS. PHIL BARONI

Good first round, with Baroni going after him hard and fast early as is his forte. Sadollah may have stolen the round as he was much stronger than Baroni in the last two minutes... Baroni's corner told him to stay out of the clinch and box him. In fact, they were adamant. That was their singular message, which always seems smarter with a tired fighter than throwing eight or ten tips at him...

In round two Baroni was winded and the weaker of the two fighters, taking thrust kicks and high kicks and leg kicks that didn't have knockout power, but sent messages. Baroni landed some punches to keep Sadollah respecting him, though. Sadollah slowed late in the round, too, but was also relentless on Baroni. Cool moment where Sadollah threw a body kick, Baroni caught it and leveraged Sadollah down, but Sadollah hopped up and quickly threw a punch. With seconds left in the round, Rogan observes, "Baroni very tired here, Mike"... Baroni's corner warned him that he had to take out Sadollah to win, figuring he may have lost both rounds. They said Sadollah's punches were way off at this point...

At 1:00 of the third, Sadollah clinched and threw more knees. Baroni fought out of the corner. Sadollah really concentrated on taking out Baroni's left leg, which obviously affected his punching power and kept Baroni thinking defensively instead of offensively. At 2:00 after a big elbow to the side of the head, Baroni also began bleeding from a cut on his forehead. Sadollah kept going for flying knees, too. By 3:00 things had slowed a bit as Baroni seemed to be recharging and looking for that one punch KO opening. Sadollah scored way more points in a steady barrage of kneees, kicks, and punches as Baroni could barely stand. As Baroni's corner told him he had 30 seconds to finish Sadollah, Baroni threw a big left hook, missed, and almost fell over. Sadollah finished stronger than Baroni, clearly winning the fight, with a little wiggle room for a 29-28 score based on a closer first, but really 30-27...

WINNER: Sadollah via unanimous decision 30-27, 30-27, 29-28.

STAR RATING (***): Fun fight to watch. A bit one-sided, but so much action and contact throughout, it deserves a high rating. The downside is the lack of conditioning downgraded the quality of the action.

2 -- LUIS CANE vs. ANTONIO ROGERIO NOGUEIRA

Short fight. Lil' Nog lands some early blows, sends Cain reeling backward, Rogan notes that's the first time he's seen Cain move backwards like that, and seconds later he took him to the mat with punches and as he moved in to throw a few on the mat, the ref stepped in. Cain wasn't out cold, but he was clearly not in any condition to defend himself. Impressive impressive UFC debut for Lil' Nog... Before the fight, Rogan talked up how he had defeated impressive competition in Pride including Dan Henderson and Allistair Overrem. But he also talked up Cane as, in his opinion, one of the best at 205 that most fans don't really know much about. Nog put himself on everyone's radar with that win, but working against him is just that Cane is lesser known so some will wonder whether Nog beat anyone of substance. A real statement by Nog... His big twin and Anderson Silva were in the Octagon to congratulate him...

WINNER: Nogueria in round one by TKO.

STAR RATING (**+): Major statement knockout.

-They showed Chuck Liddell watching at ringside.

-Mike Goldberg plugged the UFC magazine's cover story on Brock Lesnar and told him to get well soon.

A -- BEN SAUNDERS vs. MARCUS DAVIS

They already dipped into the prelims after the quick TKO in the previous fight... Saunders dominated Davis at 3:24 of the first with a right and a left knee to the chin. He dominated the fight with the Muay Thai clinch reminiscent of the Anderson Silva domination of Rich Franklin. Davis was out, then took another flush right punch to the head before the ref could step in. Davis bled early and looked like he had been through a five round war. Saunders wanted to be the first to knock out Davis. He definitely accomplished that item on his To Do List.

WINNER: Saunders via KO at 3:24.

STAR RATING (**+): Great knockout and dominating performance. Just too short to be a "must see" fight or anything.

-Afterward, Saunders said he respects Davis more than any opponent he's ever faced and hopes he has the type of career he's had in ten years.

-They showed Jose Aldo at ringside. What a great performance he had earlier in the week at WEC defeating Mike Brown. They showed highlights. Rogan said, "That may very well be the best fighter on the planet... Jose Aldo is right up there." He said he destroyed Brown, whom many thought was the best at 145 on the planet. They plugged the Dec. 18 WEC event in Las Vegas.

Then Goldberg plugged upcoming UFC PPVs and the January Fight Night on Spike in Fairfax, Va. That's a significant event because it's UFC's first real shot at WWE in years, going head-to-head with the cable institution, Monday Night Raw on USA Network. A lot of UFC fans don't know or don't want to acknowledge it, but one of the key reasons UFC exploded several years ago was the exposure UFC received when WWE was affiliated with Spike TV and the first season of "The Ultimate Fighter" aired right after Raw, which drew monster ratings then (and top ten cable ratings still). A lot of WWE viewers who didn't change the channel after Raw got hooked on real fighting and saw that the larger-than-life personalities and drama that they liked with WWE's "scripted drama" version of a fight sport was inherent in MMA. From there, UFC had the momentum they needed to succeed without help from WWE. When WWE left Spike to return to USA, UFC moved to the top of Spike's priorities. Now UFC crushes WWE in the pay-per-view arena, which WWE once ruled in terms of annual overall buys with only top shelf boxing events being bigger than the annual WrestleMania.

3 -- PAUL THIAGO vs. JACOB VOLKMANN

They're respectively ages 28 and 29, with Thiago with a three inch reach and two inch height advantage... Thiago dominated the first round, with the middle minutes on the mat with Volkmann showing good defense. Back on their feet, Thiago was the aggressor, scoring a one-two knockdown late in the round with the horn likely being wha saved Volkmann... Volkmann's corner told him to throw left punches because they saw an opening...

In round two, Thiago knocked Volkmann down with a leg sweep/kick hybrid. He let Volkmann get bac up. Volkmann managed to take Thiago down at 1:15 and got Thiago's back and landed some punches. A real turnaround in momentum. Rogan said there's no substitute for wrestling... "Read Into It" Moment? Goldberg for a second time sent "get well" wishes to Goldberg; Rogan said nothing either time... Volkmann ended up on his back late in the round, which may have been enough to give Thiago the round on points despite a strong comeback earlier in the round... They showed Anderson Silva watching at ringside... Volkmann's corner told him that Thiago got up slow after the round and is "super tired"...

As round three began, Volkmann had to wonder how he had a chance to win this one. Unless Thiago totally gassed and couldn't defend himself, it doesn't seem he has the knockout power to end this... Thiago knocked Volkmann down again, but it may have worked to his favor as Thiago followed him to the mat where Volkmann worked for positioning and potential submissions from his back. Volkmann ended up on top of a very tired Thiago. They ended up at 1:50 back standing, but Volkmann looked fresher. He shot in and went for a takedown, but a tired Thiago moved out of the way. Volkmann stayed on his back and welcomed him to join him. Thiago did and Volkmann got side control and got his back at 2:30. He locked him down with side control and threw some elbows. Thiago slipped out at 3:45 due to sweat and Volkmann also being tired. Thiago dove in for side control again. Volkmann went back to working his way out and going for a chokeout from underneath. Impressive, but Thiago managed to slip out after about 10 seconds. Thiago wanted to lock in the round, throwing some rapid fire punches on the mat. Rogan said they were evenly matched in a nice back-and-forth fight. Thiago won, but Volkmann really showed something. He might have won a five round fight.

WINNER: Thiago via unanimous decision 30-27, 30-27, 29-28.

STAR RATING (***): Really fun fight. Volkmann seemed out of it, but made several comebacks and even teased some late submission wins.

B -- KENDALL GROVE vs. JAKE ROSHOLT

Rosholt totally set the pace with an aggressive near-overwhelming swarm for nearly four minutes, but in a great MMA moment, Grove snuck on an armbar from his back and forced a tapout. Royce Gracie would be proud. That was a great MMA moment in the sense that any casual fan who sees that will now understand that any fight can end with anyone winning no matter what's happened in the preceding minutes because of one fighter's submission skills and another's weakness to recognizing or defending against them... Grove dedicated the fight to his grandma who died of cancer last week...

WINNER: Grove at 3:59 of round one.

STAR RATING (**+): Great dominating start by Rosholt where Grove seemed almost overmatched in terms of strength, technique, and aggression. You can't say Grove was lucky to win because he absolutely earned it, but he needed that skill in particular to stop the domineering Rosholt as he looked overmatched otherwise.

4 -- JOSH KOSCHECK vs. ANTHONY JOHNSON

Rogan, who doesn't talk a lot about betting odds, said Johnson is the favorite because he's so powerful. Goldberg noted that his chin hasn't been tested yet. Rogan talked about how big he is, walking around at 220-plus. He said he's a more natural 185, and it really can affect his fighting performance dropping 20 pounds for weigh-ins. He said it reaches a point of diminishing returns and isn't worth it. He said his future, in his opinion, is at 185... Goldberg noted that Koscheck has never been mounted and only has had his guard passed twice... During ring intros, Koscheck got his usual round of "we still don't like you" boos... Rogan said he can't remember seeing Koscheck so pumped...

As round one began, it was clear Johnson was a significantly larger fighter after rehydrating. Koscheck landed three punches in the opening minute spread apart, the first of which seemed to irritate but not hurt Johnson too badly. Johnson landed a jab which seemed to earn Koscheck's respect, as he moved backward for the first time in the fight after that. Koscheck turned to spit and then immediately ate a grazing one-two combo from Johnson. That was weird. At 2:00 Johnson moved Koscheck backwards with some punches. Koscheck went for a takedown. It seemed he had him, but Johnson slipped out. Both men kneeled and leveraged for the advantage. Johnson then kneed Koshcheck when he was down in the chin, totally illegal. The ref stepped in and Koshcheck was badly stunned. Rogan said it could be over. Goldberg said it's instinctive. It's a fighter's job to absolutely not make that mistake in the Octagon. It just ruins what people gathered to watch as nobody trains to defend against that. A replay showed that the knee actually was defended by Koscheck's forearm and no hard contact was made. Koscheck was tending to his left eye, yet if any part of his body was spared there, it was his left eye. No replay showed any contact with his left eye. The doctor checked on it and Koscheck could barely open it. Strange. The doc told the ref that he has blurry vision and can't go on from it. The ref said he has five minutes. Koscheck's eye began looking better and he nodded that he was feeling better. They restarted it...

At 3:50 Koscheck went for a takedown after holding his own on his feet. Johnson resisted. Koscheck got his back, though, after more of a struggle on the mat, with 45 seconds left. He threw a punch and tried to get better position. Johnson struggled to a stalemate against the fence as the round ended. Strange and dramatic and exciting...

Early in the second round, Koscheck extended his fingers as Johnson moved in and he poked his eye. The ref quickly restarted the fight. Koscheck landed a high kick on the right side of Johnson's head, and his right eye is what got poked. Koscheck poked him in the eye again. He clearly was extending his hand not in a fist repeatedly. The crowd is being given tons of reasons to hate Koscheck here. Rogan said, "I hate these gloves. There has got to be a way to grapple that covers the fingers." The open fingers are dangerous, but it's not a problem for most fighters. The fight restarted after a half minute rest. Johnson landed some heavy shots, but Koscheck stayed strong on his feet and returned fire. Koscheck shot in and took Johnson down with a single-leg. He got into half guard quickly at 2:10. Koscheck delivered some stiff short elbows that did damage and tried to get full mount. Koscheck stayed active to prevent a stand-up by the ref. Koscheck maneuvered into a rear naked choke with 20 seconds left and Johnson tapped five seconds later. "Huge, huge victory for Josh Koscheck," declared Rogan. That is for sure.

WINNER: Koscheck via tapout at 4:45 of round two.

STAR RATING (***): Really impressive win for Koscheck, but it's tainted a bit by two eye pokes because Koscheck was sloppy with extending his fingers right toward Johnson's eye sockets. Johnson had his chance to knock out Koscheck, but didn't.

-Afterward, Koscheck said he didn't have much to say, but then had a lot to say. He called out Dan Hardy at ringside, saying he's the supposed no. 1 contender, "but he hadn't beat anybody." He challenged him to a fight in February to determine the no. 1 contender. He told Dana White he should be the no. 1 contender, not Hardy. Hardy rubbed his eyes like he was mock crying in response. Goldberg said, "That's why people either love him or hate him." Rogan didn't ask him about how he got poked in the left eye since the replay showed nothing poking his eye. A little clarity for the PPV audience would have been nice. Koscheck finished by plugging his Twitter page.

-They showed actor Vince Vaughn at ringside.

5 -- TITO ORTIZ vs. FORREST GRIFFIN

Fan text voting favors Forrest 60-40 over Ortiz... Goldberg asked Rogan about a mental hanger or ramifications over the embarrassment of his loss to Anderson Silva. Rogan said maybe that made him step up his training, but some people wonder why they're even in the sport after that type of a loss. He predicted he'll come back better than ever, citing that he came back from the loss to Keith Jardine better than ever. He wondered if it'd be good enough to beat the "new and improved Tito Ortiz"... He came out to Chumbawumba's "Tubthumping." Okay, not the most intimidating song, but the lyrics sent a message: "I get knocked down, but I get up again. You're never going to keep me down"... The crowd booed just before Tito's music was about to play... Goldberg talked about Ortiz coming out shortly after Sept. 11, 2001 for a fight with a big American flag. He said he got goosebumps. I was there in media row. It was the UFC debut in Las Vegas, and although it was a huge letdown that Vitor Belfort pulled out at the last second, it was an emotional night (and one of the worst UFC events ever as every fight went to a draw and none were very exciting). Just traveling that soon, less than three weeks after 9/11, was a memorable experience I'll never forget... Griffin was the fan-favorite during ring introductions by Bruce Buffer...

They both took some punches and kicks from the other with Forrest landing more, but neither seemed fazed. At 1:40 Tito shot in and easily took Forrest down. Tito pounded Forrest early, but Forrest spun out at 2:10 and got back to his feet. He went for a kimura while against the cage. Tito went into Randy Couture mode, pushing Forrest against the cage and controlling him. Forrest threw right roundkicks to Tito's lead left leg. Forrest landed more punches. Tito went for a takedown. Forrest evaded him. A "Forrest, Forrest" chant rang out. They ended clinched against the cage, which Forrest initiated. Nice first round. I'd give the round to Forrest, but I could see a counter argument...

Just 20 seconds into round two, Tito tackled Forrest and went for another ground and pound attack. At 1:30 Tito pushed Forrest toward the cage. Forrest used the cage to leverage himself up and they went back to center-ring stand-up. Forrest continued to pelt Tito. He even kicked him in the face with a front thrust, knocking out his mouthpiece. The ref stopped the fight briefly to clean the piece and return it to Tito. At 2:40 Tito got another takedown. Forrest almost slipped out before Tito settled into a mount. Forrest defended himself well in the full guard. Not perfectly, but well. Tito cut Forrest's right eye badly with an elbow. Forrest, meanwhile, flipped Tito over and ended up on top to half guard with 30 seconds left. He had a chance to steal the round with relentless punishment since he was the aggressor on his feet. Boy is that a close round. Tito gave Forrest a shove as he got up, showing some frustration perhaps. I'd give that round to Forrest, but once again there's an argument for Tito with the takedowns. It just depends on the weight you put on a takedown and cutting your opponent badly. Forrest was impressive for the most part a defending on his back and scored much more on his feet, although nothing that threatened to knock out Tito.

As the third round began, Tito strode toward Forrest and right past the ref, who had to step in and back him off. Tito is a showman, whether it's orchestrated or just his nature. Tito just sat back and took dozens of punches and a few kicks from Forrest. None was devastating, but all had to have a cumulative effect. Rogan speculated that Tito was letting Forrest punch himself out as he rested so he could shoot in and win the round with strong ground and pound. At 2:05 he shot in, but Forrest easily stuffed him. At 3:10 Forrest hit a high kick. Rogan said, "Forrest is beating Tito up in this third round." Tito checked the clock a couple times. Forrest was racking up a potential 10-8 round here because Tito was just doing nothing. What was wrong with Tito in that round? Tito embraced Forrest afterward. No bad blood, just mutual expressions of respect. I'm so tempted to give that to Forrest 10-8. I have the fight 30-27. Tito just stood there and acted like a mentally defeated punching bag trying to survive and wanting to get out of the arena with his loser's paycheck. What a disappointment. He needs a win before he should be even considered for a semi-main event again.

Before the decision was announced, Forrest and Tito exchanged more pleasantries.

WINNER: Forrest Griffin via split decision. (29-28 Ortiz, 30-27 Griffin, and 29-28 Griffin)

STAR RATING (**+): As much as I thought Tito just had nothing in the third and overall was ineffective, I don't have a huge issue with the 29-28 Ortiz ruling because you can make a case for the first two going to Tito.

When the decision was announced, Goldberg said Tito told Forrest afterward that if he got the decision, they can go a third time. Griffin said afterward the Anderson Silva broke him, but it feels good to be back. He said he thinks they need a third fight. He said Tito seemed like someone who had prepared for Mark Coleman and was coming off back surgery. He said they'll do it again and he won't break his foot and Tito will be in better shape. Then came Tito's chance to list his injuries or give his excuses. Tito said he wasn't able to spar at all, but didn't elaborate. Rogan asked what the injury was. He said he had a bulging disc. Tito said he also has a cracked skull when the fans booed. Tito got hot, but the problem is it seems like it's EVERY SINGLE TIME. "I ain't gonna pull out of a fight, even when I'm injured," he said. As the crowd booed, he got really upset: "I stepped in with a cracked skull. You guys don't like a show, let's see someone else step in and do the same shit." Forrest grabbed the mic and lectured the crowd, saying when you train to fight, you get hurt. Tito asked if they had a good show because he stepped in the ring and put on a show. Some cheered. He said Forrest was the better man tonight. Fair enough. UFC lost one main event and Tito didn't pull out despite another injury because it would have devastated the card. The problem is, by the end, with Forrest siding with Tito, it came across as if Tito and Forrest just sparred "to put on a show" and that Tito settled for losing the third round rather than risk further injury or pain knowing it would make the series 1-1 and they could have a payday with a rubber match. The third fight should be free on Spike after this borderline debacle of a third round and post-fight lecture session for paying customers.

C -- JASON DENT vs. GEORGE SOTIROPOULOS

WINNER: Sotiropoulous via submission round two.

QUOTEBOOK

Amir Sadollah: "Most of the times, when he punched me in the head, hurt."

Mike Goldberg on Paulo Thiago: "Here's a guy who recovers firearms from drug dealers in Brazil. This is a night off for him tonight."

Anthony Johnson: "Once he feels my first punch, he'll know who he's fighting."

Tito Ortiz: "I'm going to press, I'm going to press, I'm going to press, I'm going to press. I'm going to take his heart. I can't wait."

Forrest Griffin: "This is not going to be one of those, 'If I win, I win, if I lost, I gave it my best' type of fights. This is, 'I'm going to win this fight."

Forrest Griffin: "If you lose a fight to him, he'll let you hear you lost. I don't want to hear it."