Spent a little over $100 bucks between ordering pizza, getting drinks and mixers and snacks, and ordering the actual pay-per-view and my wife and I agreed this morning that it was worth every penny.
Nate Quarry / Rich Franklin was probably the highlight of the night. I’ve never seen anyone get knocked out like that. He was out before he even fell down, stiff as a board. As much as I like “The Rock”, I just knew that he didn’t have a chance going into this fight. My brother commented that Rich Franklin could tell his disruptive math students, “I’ll knock you out so hard your whole body won’t even hit the ground.”
None of the fights were really “great” on the level of Bonnar/Griffen, but all of them were pretty decent. The heavyweight fight was dead boring until that “Superman Punch” that ended it, and then it was funny to listen to Joe Rogan, et al, talk about what a terrible fight it was.
The annoucements that Dana made in the ring were huge, and I’ll strongly consider going to Vegas to watch Liddel/Coture 3 live.
Yeah, I saw it. That knockout was huge. The way Nate’s leg just stuck in the air was sick. And you got to love the return of BJ “I can beat Gomi” Penn.
George St. Pierre is awesome. My friend who trains for this stuff got to fight him once as part of a grappling seminar or some such. St. Pierre nearly broke his arm. He said it was one of the best things that ever happened to him. Plus St. Pierre has showmanship; something you don’t know the importance of until you see things like that Gonzaga-Jordan fight. I mean seriously, did Jordan look high as a kite to anyone else?
Oh yeah. You got to feel bad for whoever gets Shamrock has their coach. That guy doesn’t know anything. Ortiz is awesome though. I’ll tune in just to see him.
I didn’t se it last night but the sickest knock out I’ve ever seen was (I think it was Tank Abbot) knocking a guy out and his body fell backwards but his legs folded knees forward feet behind. It left his body “dangling” backwards, head suspended off the ground, arms hanging, in a disgusting manner that suggested he was dead.
But yeah, Shamrock knows something…he knows plenty, he’s just a bit long in the tooth for competition at that level.
I highly doubt any of the fighters in the heavyweight fight (I suck at names) will ever get booked again, and I don’t blame the producers either, they sucked. Three rounds of very little action, and then what, 23 seconds until the final rounds end, he finally throws a real punch? And then the winner runs around acting as if the crowd loves him. I don’t think he noticed they were booing him.
Well, Shamrock never had an MMA belt and never won an MMA tournament. He’s from another generation of fighter. One that can’t compete in today’s events. His embarrassments against Franklin and Sakuraba show as much. I don’t think any of his club fighters have done well either. If these were still the days when wrestling dominated everything, Shamrock would fit in, but it isn’t.
I thought last night was kind of … bleh. Maybe it was that absolutely terrible heavyweight fight, but I’ve watched a couple of these UFCs and last night’s was my least favorite of them.
I would’ve like the Quarry/Franklin fight to go on longer. The St. Pierre fight was the best of the lot IMHO.
I agree. I was hoping for a 5th round knockout going into the fight, but it was still amazing and it will further bolster Franklin’s credentials as a champ. Quarry may not be a world-class fighter, but I don’t think he’s a pushover either.
I had to work all night and couldn’t watch. I knew I was going to miss a good one with Franklin/Quarry (even though I didn’t think Nate had a chance), but I thought Franklin would most likely win by submission or stoppage. I really, really wish I could have watched. Is it going to be re-aired?
Sorry, just not true.
UFC 6: Clash Of The Titans (7/14/95) Shamrock faced Dan “The Beast” Severn for the Super Fight Championship. He defeated him by submission with a guillotine choke just 2:14 into the contest. Shamrock was crowned the first UFC Super Fight Champion. (and is one of three hall of famers in the UFC)
Although Ken Shamrock may have been second fiddle to Royce Gracie’s rampage through the beginnings of MMA, he was still a wonderful fighter. He was one of the first true MMA practitioners. Great at subs, a very good shooter given his pancrease background, and definitely a strong striker. He may not be able to compete with the 24-32 year-olds at 40, but he is still a great fighter.
MMA has absolutely gone through an amazing change since the beginnings if the UFC. You can also argue that Gracie is crap now because he was a one-style BJJ fighter, but I think that is equally problematic. Gracie and Shamrock are icons of MMA in America if not the world.
Oh, and the Lion’s Den prduced Vernon White, who’s not a champ, but is still a very good fighter.
Oh, and I forgot, he defended the title as well.
UFC 8: David vs. Goliath (2/16/96) Shamrock successfully defended his Super Fight Championship by defeating Kimo by submission due to knee bar. Shamrock worked quickly again, winning in just over four minutes.
