Rich Hansen's Take
THE MMA BLOWTORCH: Amazing UFC 117 event showcased just why we love MMA
Aug 8, 2010 - 4:30:08 PM THE MMA BLOWTORCH: Amazing UFC 117 event showcased just why we love MMA

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By: Rich Hansen, MMATorch Contributor

Let’s remember back a few months. The UFC was in a slump a mere 6 months ago. Injuries and strange booking decisions marred the UFC during a period ending with UFC 110. UFC 110 had the lowest UFC pay-per-view buyrate in more than four years. Naysayers were speculating that this was the beginning of the end, or at least proof that there would never be another peak period like the MMA community had experienced so recently.

And then UFC 111 came, and featured Shane Carwin and Georges St-Pierre’s overwhelming victories over Frank Mir and Dan Hardy, respectively. And all was well. UFC 111 had an unexpectedly high buyrate, good fights, and people left that night with a good taste in their mouths.

UFC 112 was, if not an improvement over UFC 111, at least a good follow-up to that event, other than the now infamous main event between Anderson Silva (more on him later - no, really) and Demian Maia. We had two title fights, controversy, a new market, and the best fight of the year to date between Mark Munoz and Kendall Grove. Two nice shows might not be considered a winning streak, but it’s an improvement.

UFC 113 cemented that the UFC was in the midst of a winning streak. Shogun finally won the title in dominant fashion, Alan Belcher announced his presence to the world, Kimbo Slice’s presence helped the buyrate, and Paul Daley’s meltdown gave guys like me plenty of fodder to bitch about.

UFC 114 became the fourth show in a row to be better than its predecessor, and was the third show in a row to do more buys than the previous show as well. Rampage and Rashad settled their score in a surprisingly technical bout. Mike Russow shocked the world, and gave hope to full time Chicago police officers everywhere, with the best come from behind KO in a long time (more on the topic later of come from behind KOs later - no, really) John Hathaway announced his presence to the world. And let’s not forget that the Rogerio Nogueira-Jason Brilz fight provided even more talking points for us talking heads.

So, the UFC had recovered from its prolonged slump. The MMA community was treated to four consecutive really good, really important shows. I point this out, because even though UFC 114 was a mere ten weeks ago, it now feels like it was at least ten months ago. All for three reasons: UFC 115, UFC 116, and UFC 117. We may be in the midst of seven consecutive good UFC PPV events, but more importantly, we’ve just witnessed the best three event string in UFC history. And in my humble opinion, the three best UFC PPVs in history, one after another.

UFC 115

At the conclusion of UFC 115, I was convinced that I had just watched my favourite (that ‘u’ is for you, Mr. Park) UFC PPV ever. I might not go back as far as UFC 1 like some observers of the sport, but I know a fantastic show when I see one.

Carlos Condit provided a memorable third round comeback in what was to that point my favourite fight of 2010 (since surpassed by, among others, Anderson Silva – Chael Sonnen. More on that later - no, really). Local hero (well, local to people who live near him, I mean) Ben Rothwell engaged in a fun but sloppy brawl with Gilbert Yvel. I acknowledge that it was enjoyable to me more than it was to most, if for no reason other than the local boy factor.

Martin Kampmann shocked the world by destroying Paulo Thiago, destroying him on Thiago’s turf - the ground - no less. Mirko Cro Cop and Pat Barry engaged in one of the most fun kickboxing based matches that I had seen in a long damn time. If that’s Cro Cop’s final fling, we can all be proud that he went out with such a stellar performance. And it was all topped off by southpaw Rich Franklin KOing a rejuvenated Chuck Liddell, despite having his lead arm broken earlier in the round.

This fight offered something special for every MMA fan. Chuck Liddell showed the whole world that he’s still a phenomenal talent, Rich Franklin showed as much courage as anyone in any sport has ever shown, and the finish was both exhilarating and sad. Emotions, both positive and negative, coursed through the veins of every fan who was fortunate enough to watch that fight.

Sure, UFC 115 was a fairly meaningless card, but I loved every bit of it. I was convinced, rightfully so, that the UFC was healthier than it had ever been. 116 could lay an egg, and that wouldn’t harm the growth of the UFC. This was my favorite UFC show of all time.

UFC 116

Needless to say, three weeks later, I had a new favorite UFC show of all-time. Despite a less than stellar PPV undercard, it was a must see event for both the hardcores and the casuals alike. George Sotiropoulos put on a grappling clinic, and announced himself ready for title contention. Stephan Bonnar returned from the brink of obscurity with one of the guttiest performances of all time (not as gutty as Anderson Silva or Stefan Struve, but gutty nonetheless. But there will be more on them later - no, really).

Chris Lytle, for the second time in his career, finished off an opponent with an armbar from a mounted triangle. And that didn’t even earn him submission of the night, because of the most dramatic final round submission I had seen in a long time. Chris Leben threw up the most stunning final round triangle I had ever seen. And that record stood for all of twenty minutes.

And in case that wasn’t enough, Brock Lesnar came back from a hellacious beating (and, oh yeah, the brink of death just six months prior) and choked out Shane Carwin with the most dramatic come from behind submission I had ever witnessed. And he would hold that distinction for all of five weeks, but more on Anderson Silva later. No, really.

I know that I was alone in calling UFC 115 my favorite all time UFC PPV. Just three weeks after UFC 115 had commenced, I was joined by the entire MMA world in declaring UFC 116 to be the most enjoyable UFC PPV of all time. This was the show that was going to not just build momentum, but launch the UFC that much closer to mainstream attention. This was to date the seminal event in the history of the sport.

Stephan Bonnar, UFC hero, had escaped talk of the chopping block. Chris Lytle slapped on a fantastic submission. Chris Leben became a cult hero by winning his second fight in a mere two weeks. And most importantly, Brock Lesnar made himself a hero in ten minutes time; first with his performance against Carwin, and then from the best babyface turn in UFC history. Without a doubt, this was the greatest night in the history of MMA.

So, why exactly am I writing so extensively about UFC 115 and 116? Why am I talking at all about UFCs 111-114? Because what we witnessed at UFC 117 was so wondrous, so breathtaking, that I had to research the interwebs just to recall the most basic information about those six PPVs. UFC 117 was so much more, so awe-inspiring than any of those fantastic shows that it made me literally forget every detail of the last six shows. The six shows that marked the recovery, the evolution, and the rebirth to mainstream consciousness were completely overshadowed by what we saw happen at UFC 117.

UFC 117

Coming into UFC 117 the UFC was riding high at a new peak. UFC 116 may not have sold as many buys as UFC 100, but everyone knows that UFC 100 was an outlier. UFC 116 was the zenith of the company’s history, and nobody would have been surprised if UFC 117 was a bit of a letdown comparatively. Sure we were looking at a much more talent-laden card, with more compelling fights, and more fights with title implications. But the supposedly weak undercard of UFC 116 provided a plethora of dramatic finishes, emotional storylines, and quite simply some of the most prodigious moments we had ever experienced. And all of that was overshadowed in one night by a show that was superior in every aspect.

Junior dos Santos vs. Roy Nelson

The curtain jerker was only a title eliminator for the UFC Heavyweight Championship, the most important title in the UFC right now. There’s nothing like starting the night out with a bang. Junior dos Santos might not have gotten the finish over an iron-headed Roy Nelson, but both Junior and Roy put on an entertaining striking display that was, at worst, on par with Cro Cop–Barry, and far far superior to anything that Matt Mitrione or Ben Rothwell could ever conceive. This was a fight that had the fans roaring, people at my house screaming at the television, and could have won the nebulous Fight of the Night award on many a show.

Matt Hughes vs. Ricardo Almeida

Matt Hughes defeated yet another Gracie disciple, with a choke, no less. But it wasn’t a typical BJJ choke. No no, that would be too simple. Hughes went back into his wrestling days and pulled out a good old fashioned catch-wrestling style front choke. After dazing Almeida with a left hook, he locked on a front facelock, adjusted it, and had 170 pounds of Matt Hughes pressing down on the back of Almeida’s neck, with a forearm crushing underneath Almeida’s throat, and Almeida was out. And Almeida was not just a little out, he was out like fanboys who yell "Play Freebird" at every concert, or who type "Rickson by armbar" on every MMA forum (you’re lame, get over it already).

Almeida will be unable to take any consolation from the manner in which he lost this fight. Hughes didn’t finish him with a move the MMA world had learned from a Gracie, Hughes finished him with a choke from his own world of wrestling. And just that quickly, the most decorated welterweight in history is relevant in his division once again*.

*-If in fact Jon Fitch is getting the next title shot, and Jake Shields has to win a fight after he (hypothetically for this example) defeats Martin Kampmann, can we see Shields versus Hughes please? Thank you.

Clay Guida vs. Rafael dos Anjos

Um, did Clay Guida just win a fight by getting Rafael dos Anjos to tap to strikes? Well, not quite, because the Earth is still spinning on its axis, my dog still wants to murder my cat for fun, and Wisconsin’s property taxes are still way too high for the services we receive. So no, the fight didn’t quite end in that completely inconceivable manner. But it was close. Clay Guida did manage to break dos Anjos’s jaw, and dos Anjos did tap to the pain Guida inflicted upon him (how rude!). It’s unclear exactly how and when this happened, but personally, I think it happened late in the first round when Guida slammed dos Anjos’ jaw into the canvas during an authoritative takedown.

As for the fight itself, it was a Guida fight, plain and simple. The amazing pace (live on CBS) that Guida sets in his fights does as much damage as anything else he brings to the table. Dos Anjos’ striking looked sharper, crisper, and more dangerous than it had ever looked in the past. But Guida was able to prevail in his entertaining as always manner (I choose to believe that the Guida – Nate Diaz fight never happened).

Stefan Struve vs. Christian (World of) Morecraft

Bonus fights kick uber-ass. And you know what kicked even more ass? That’s right, round two of Struve–Morecraft was the best 30 second long second-round in recent memory. After getting pummeled for the majority of the first round, Stefan Struve returned to his corner praying that the doctor would let the fight continue. After failing to wrap Morecraft up in a triangle when he had the chance, Morecraft unleashed a torrent of strikes from every conceivable angle, all while managing to avoid Struve’s multiple submission attempts. Struve lost a clear 10-8 round, and seemed destined to fall early on in the second.

But he didn’t fall. Showing incredible temerity, and quite frankly a ton of desperation, Struve managed to lure Morecraft into a brawl. And in said brawl, "Skyscraper" managed to land the bigger strike before "World of" was able to. Morecraft landed awkwardly and it was all over (tm, M. Goldberg), just like that.

And on an aside, wasn’t it nice of Herb Dean to allow Morecraft to take ten unanswered punches on the ground while his left arm was tied behind his back. Viva la Revolution, and Viva la Consistency.

Jon Fitch vs. Thiago Alves

And what was the best thing about this show to this point? There was a Fitch fight, which meant that I had 15 minutes to go upstairs, take a leak, come back downstairs, make drinks for my guests, eat some chips, and gear up for the main event.

I kid, I kid. While I’m incapable of writing about Jon Fitch without taking a cheap shot at the man (you know how you, Mister Internet MMA Guy feel about Jake Shields? That’s me with Fitch), this was a very entertaining Fitch fight. Mind you, an entertaining Fitch fight is different than an entertaining MMA fight, but hey, I’m being nice.

I thoroughly didn’t hate the first round. And Thiago Alves got ragdolled. Since Alves missed weight once again I was gratified by that fact. And better yet, Dana White began to vacillate on the idea of Fitch earning the next title shot after Josh Koscheck. So all in all, this Fitch fight was all win, no fail. Fitch didn’t piss me off, Alves succumbed not only to takedowns but to karma, and Fitch might still have to win another fight or three to get a title shot. Drinks are on me.

Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen

Never has one’s path to victory been more clearly defined, yet so unlikely to happen, as was the path that Chael Sonnen needed to travail last night. Sonnen had to be perfect for every second of twenty-five minutes in order to have a chance to climb Mount Rushmore. He needed to avoid the knockout, he needed to get five takedowns, he needed to do sufficient damage to wear break Silva’s spirit and wear him out, he needed to do all of that while avoiding the triangle, and he needed to stay active enough to avoid having the bout restarted. Fortunately for Sonnen, Herb Dean was not the ref. I think Herb Dean would even stand himself up during sex after yelling, “LET’S WORK,” at himself five times in a thirty second period of heavy, um, work.

So, we knew going in exactly what Sonnen needed to do in order to pull out a W. If the White "W" flag was going to fly at Wrigley Field, Sonnen needed to pull the performance of his lifetime out his ass. All the hype, all the selling, all the amnesia, all the mind-games meant absolutely nothing if he wasn’t better than the best possible version of himself in that Octagon.

And by god he did it. He pulled off the impossible dream. Sonnen showed that he is the best wrestler in MMA. Sonnen showed the ability to control posture inside Silva’s guard. Sonnen spent every second that he was on top either meting out damage or looking for ways to improve his position so that he could deliver more punishment (No Tito). And God as my witness, he broke the man.

Every time Anderson Silva walked back to his corner, his spirit sank a little bit more than in the previous trip to his corner. Every conversation he had with his trainers, there was a higher sense of resignation than before. Silva had lost fights before, but he had never been broken. And make no mistake - Anderson Silva was a bruised, battered, broken, beaten warrior on this night. Silva had to know when he walked to the center of the cage for the beginning of the fifth round that this was the last time he would begin a round as the UFC Middleweight Champion. It was over. You knew it. I knew it. Chael Sonnen knew it. Ed Soares knew it. The oh so fickle fans at Oracle Arena knew it. Demian Maia at home, kicking himself for not even attempting one damned takedown at UFC 112 knew it. And most importantly, Anderson Silva knew it.

Confirming the hopelessness of the moment, Sonnen wasted little time in getting his fifth takedown of the evening. He controlled every moment of the fight. Sure there were standup exchanges that preceded most of the takedowns in each round, but they were merely setting the stage, building the drama. The more work Sonnen had to do for each takedown only cemented the fact that on this night Silva didn’t have the weapon to do what was necessary to win the fight.

Throughout the fight, so many questions floated through my little brain. How was Chael Sonnen of all people able to out strike the legendary Anderson Silva? How had Chael Sonnen lost ten fights going into this fight, the fight of his life? Would the immediate rematch be any different? How would Silva adapt? Would we ever again see the murderer that Silva used to be? Silva is 35 years old, after all. Lest we forget that eventually even the most dominant strikers slow down, lose power. For every shining moment of a champion, there is an equally compelling of a fallen idol. Was that the future Anderson Silva was facing?

And then it happened.

For ten seconds in the final round, Chael Sonnen wasn’t perfect. Sonnen had his familiar position, sitting in Silva’s guard. Sonnen had taken plenty of damage in earlier rounds, but all of the damage he had taken in earlier rounds was taken while he was in a safe position, in control of everything. But the fifth round was different. Sonnen was upright in Silva’s guard and took a big punch to his previously cut left eye. Sonnen seemed to lose focus on his positioning as a result of that shot. He covered his left eye with his left hand, and he fell flat on Silva’s torso. He also seemed to lose sense of where Silva’s long legs were. Soon enough they were wrapped around his neck. Sonnen was less than perfect for a mere ten seconds, and one tap later he was awarded yet another discouraging silver medal.

Today I am glad to overlook the fact that Sonnen looked to complain about the stoppage, even after clearly tapping. He, and Team Quest, may have a reputation for semi-tapping, but I’m not going there tonight. I’m also choosing to disregard the fact that Silva looked like he was holding tight to Sonnen’s arm long after Josh Rosenthal tried to pull both gladiators apart. This was a majestic evening that I will not allow to be tainted by such trite issues. This is the show that you put in the vault. This is the show that you pull out when trying to sell the sport to your skeptical friend. This is the fight that sets the hook. This is why we love MMA.