UFC 16: Lightweight Revolution

Chris Brennan vs. Pat Miletich at UFC 16

(Photo: UFC)

Pat Miletich won the first UFC tournament for fighters under 170 pounds at UFC 16: Battle in the Bayou on March 13, 1998 in New Orleans, La.

Miletich defeated Olympic silver medalist wrestler Townsend Saunders via split decision in the semifinals before using a shoulder choke to beat Chris Brennan in the tournament final.

Later in his career, Miletich gained fame for training several UFC champions and also served as an announcer for Strikeforce.

Frank Shamrock successfully defended his light heavyweight title (under 200 pounds) title by defeating Igor Zinoviev.

Shamrock knocked Igor out in just 22 seconds with a slam that broke the Russian’s collarbone, fractured his back and ended his career.

UFC Ultimate Japan: Couture Wins the Crown

Randy Couture wins UFC title

(Image: bloodyelbow.com)

Randy Couture won the first of his three UFC heavyweight titles at UFC Ultimate Japan on Dec. 21, 1997, at Yokohama Arena.

Couture, who had stopped Vitor Belfort two months earlier, won a 21-minute battle over champion Maurice Smith to capture the crown.

Smith had won the title from Mark Coleman on the strength of his kickboxing, but Couture neutralized his attack with the skills he honed as an All-American wrestler at Oklahoma State University.

Two of the judges ruled in Couture’s favor, while the third judge called the fight a draw.

Frank Shamrock became the UFC’s first middleweight champion (under 200 pounds). He demolished Kevin Jackson in 16 seconds with an armbar.

UFC 15: Stopping the Phenom

Randy Couture (left) battles Vitor Belfort

Image: stickgrappler.net

Randy Couture overcame the undefeated Vitor Belfort in the superfight at UFC 15: Collision Course.

The pay-per-view took place on Oct. 17, 1997, at the Hollywood Casino in Bay St. Louis, Miss.

Couture capitalized on the momentum he built by winning the UFC 13 heavyweight tournament, scoring a TKO win over Belfort in 8:16.

Belfort had won his first four MMA fights and looked untouchable in doing so.

Mark Kerr won the heavyweight tournament at UFC 15. He knocked out Greg Stott with a knee strike in just 19 seconds and polished off Dwayne Cason in 53 seconds.

Maurice Smith was scheduled to defend his UFC heavyweight title against Dan Severn, but Severn was sidelined with a broken hand.

UFC 14: Here Come the Strikers

Maurice Smith vs. Mark Coleman

Photo: fightrankings.wordpress.com

Maurice Smith shocked the MMA world by capturing the UFC heavyweight title from Mark Coleman at UFC 14: Showdown on July 27, 1997, at the Boutwell Auditorium in Birmingham, Ala.

Smith had racked up more than 50 kickboxing wins before entering the Octagon, but he was a heavy underdog entering the fight.

Nobody had been able to survive Coleman’s wrestling supremacy and ground-and-pound assault. However, Smith weathered the storm and tired Coleman out before opening up his striking attack.

After 21 minutes of fighting, Smith won a unanimous decision and became the second UFC heavyweight champion.

UFC 13: Tito Ortiz, Randy Couture Debut

Tito Ortiz (photo:defymag.com)

UFC 13: The Ultimate Force saw the company fall off most of the country’s pay-per-view radar, but the debuts of Tito Ortiz and Randy Couture set the stage for a bright future.

Anti-UFC political forces led to a smaller audience that usual for the show, which took place on May 30, 1997 at the Augusta (Ga.) Civic Center.

The show featured four-man heavyweight and light heavyweight tournaments, along with a superfight between Brazilian phenom Vitor Belfort and brawling anti-hero Tank Abbott.

Ortiz opened the show by smashing Wes Albritton for a successful UFC debut in just 31 seconds. This was the alternate bout for the light heavyweight tournament.

After the fight, Ortiz told Joe Rogan that he knew he would “blow through” Albritton. Here’s the interview.

After Jack Nilson beat Saeed Hosseini by TKO in 1:23, the main show began.

The light heavyweight tournament began with Guy “The Sandman” Mezger finally getting his chance in the main UFC tournament which he earned at UFC 5 but never received.

UFC Ultimate Ultimate 96: The First PPV Era Ends

Tank Abbott (Photo: knucklepit.com)

“Ultimate” means “final,” so it’s only fitting that Ultimate Ultimate 96 was the final show before political pressure knocked the UFC off many pay-per-view outlets.

The second annual all-star show took place on Dec. 6, 1996, at Fair Park Arena in Birmingham, Ala.

Mark Coleman had won the previous two shows, UFC 10 and UFC 11, but he was unable to compete due to illness. Also, this show featured the final UFC fights for Ken Shamrock and Don Frye before they entered the world of pro wrestling.

The alternate fights were Mark Hall over Felix Mitchell by TKO, Tai Bowden over Jack Nilson by submission to headbutts, and Steve Nelmark over Mark Bossett by submission to a choke.

Kimo opened the pay-per-view and the eight-man tournament with a valiant win over Paul Varelans. Kimo was bloodied, but he fought back until Varelans’ corner stopped the fight at 9:08.

Don Frye defeated Gary Goodridge in a rematch of their battle at UFC 8. Goodridge tapped out due to fatigue at 11:19.

Tank Abbott scored an impressive win over Cal Worsham, who tapped out to punches at 2:51. Ken Shamrock also won by submission, defeating Brian Johnston with a forearm choke at 5:48.

It looked like the fans were in for a pair of great semifinal matchups, with Kimo vs. Frye and Abbott vs. Shamrock. Unfortunately, Shamrock (hand) and Kimo (fatigue) couldn’t continue.

In the semifinals, Abbott scored a huge, highlight-reel knockout of Nelmark at 1:03. Frye only needed 20 seconds to put away Hall with an Achilles lock.

Abbott bloodied Frye in the final fight, but he slipped and Frye capitalized by winning the bout with a rear naked choke at 1:22.

Frye picked up $150,000 and the right to face Dan Severn to become the first UFC heavyweight champion. He declined, and Mark Coleman ended up fighting Severn for the title.

Ultimate Ultimate 95: Battle of the All-Stars

Oleg Taktarov (Photo: rottentomatoes.com)

Ultimate Ultimate 95 was the UFC’s first attempt at a year-end All-Star show. It took place where it all began two years earlier: Denver, Colorado.

In alternate fights before the main draw, Joe “The Ghetto Man” Charles beat Scott Bessac; and Mark Hall defeated Trent Jenkins. Both winners used armlocks to get submissions. 

UFC 3 winner Steve Jennum kicked off the tournament against Tank Abbott, who put him away with a neck crank in 1:14.

Dan “The Beast” Severn, winner of UFC 5, forced Paul “The Polar Bear” Varelans to tap out to an arm triangle choke at the 1:40 mark.

“The King of the Streets” Marco Ruas kept his undefeated streak alive. The UFC 7 winner beat Keith Hackney with a rear naked choke at 2:39.

Finishing the first round, UFC 6 winner Oleg Taktarov kept the evening’s submission streak going as he beat Dave Beneteau with an Achilles hold.

The semifinals were completely different, as both fights lasted the entire 18-minute time limit. The judges ruled that Dan Severn beat Tank Abbott and Taktarov beat Ruas.

This set up a final fight of Oleg Taktarov vs. Dan Severn. The 30-limit time limit expires, and the judges ruled than Dan Severn was the first Ultimate Ultimate winner!

UFC 11: Last Man Standing

Scott Ferrozzo vs. Tank Abbott (Photo: thegarv.com)

UFC 11: The Proving Ground – Augusta (Ga.) Civic Center – Sept. 20, 1996

Tank Abbott and Mark Coleman are hyped as the favorites for tonight’s eight-man tournament. Abbott is back from a disciplinary suspension, while Coleman beat Gary Goodridge and Don Frye to win UFC 10.

Bruce Beck, Jeff Blatnick and Don “The Dragon” Wilson will call the action, and Rich Goins is the ring announcer. Here we go!

1. Mark Coleman (Wrestling) vs. Julian Sanchez (Asax)

Coleman is from Columbus, Ohio, and he comes in at 250 pounds. Sanchez is from San Antonio, Texas, and weighs 300 pounds. What is Asax? The announcers don’t know, and neither does Google, Wikipedia or Dictionary.com as they are invented over the years.

Coleman takes the big man down, lands some punches and taps out Sanchez in 44 seconds with a choke. Nice and efficient when Coleman has two more fights to go.

UFC 12: Crowning the First Champion

Scott Ferrozzo vs. Vitor Belfort (Photo: bleacherreport.com)

UFC 12 – Judgment Day - Dothan (Ala.) Civic Center – Feb. 7, 1997

Bruce Beck welcomes us and hypes the main event of Mark “The Hammer” Coleman vs. Dan “The Beast” Severn to crown the first UFC heavyweight champion. We will also see the debut of weight classes in UFC, with a heavyweight tournament, as well as a lightweight tournament for fighters under 200 pounds.

Color man Jeff Blatnick calls the weight classes a great idea. Joe Rogan from the NBC comedy “NewsRadio” will handle post-fight interviews. He seems to know his stuff…maybe he’ll stick around!

Ken Shamrock is also at ringside on color commentary. He picks Severn to beat Coleman in the main event. Manny Garcia is our ring announcer, and here we go!

1. LIGHTWEIGHT SEMIFINAL: Jerry Bohlander (submission wrestling) vs. Rainy Martinez (wrestling)

Martinez is 9-0 as an amateur kickboxer to go with two Arizona state wrestling titles. He says his plan is to do the opposite of what his opponent wants to do. Bohlander is 2-1 in the UFC and reached the semifinals of UFC 8. He’s from Shamrock’s school, the Lion’s Den in California.

Bohlander gets a single-leg takedown and dominates the fight on the ground. After losing control for a bit, Bohlander takes Martinez’s back and wins it with the rear naked choke submission at 1:24.

2. LIGHTWEIGHT SEMIFINAL: Wallid Ismail (Carlson Gracie Jiu-Jitsu) vs. Yoshiki Tanahashi (Pancrase)

Ismail says in Portuguese: “For me it’s a war; not a game.” In this battle of Brazil vs. Japan, Tanahashi says he want to be “mentally in control.”

Shamrock has fought Takahashi four times before. “I’ve hit him with some great shots and he wouldn’t go down.” Garcia announces Tanahashi as being in the top 10 in “pancreas” – if he fought Bas Rutten, he should watch out for the liver kick.

UFC 10: The Godfather of Ground and Pound

Mark Coleman

(Photo: filesnews.com)

UFC 10: The Tournament – Birmingham, Ala. – Fairgrounds Arena – July 12, 1996

Bruce Beck welcomes us on play-by-play and throws it to color commentator Jeff Blatnick for an interview with Don Frye, who won UFC 8. He relishes his role as the favorite in tonight’s tournament and calls his first-round foe, Mark Hall, a “dangerous’ opponent.

Big John McCarthy keeps up his streak of refereeing every UFC event. Bruce Buffer makes his debut as the Octagon ring announcer, and he sounds great right off the bat.

1. Mark “The Cobra” Hall (Moo Yea Do) vs. Don “The Predator” Frye (Greco-Roman wrestling)

Frye is 4-0, winning the UFC 8 tournament and beating Amaury Bitetti at UFC 9. Beck is calling Hall “The Giant Killer” after his UFC 9 win over sumo wrestler Koji Kitao.

Hall (3-1) starts with a spin kick, but Frye grabs him and splats down on top of him. Frye dominates Hall on the ground with body shots. Hall’s sides are getting bruised badly

This goes on for nine minutes. Frye tells Hall: “You need to f---ing quit.” Hall: “I can’t.”

Finally, McCarthy breaks up the fight and tells Hall “You’re done.” Frye wins by TKO in 10:23. Hugs and respect between Frye and Hall, as Beck credits McCarthy with “a good stoppage.”

2. Scotty Fiedler (Kickboxing) vs. Brian Johnston (Kickboxing)

Both men are UFC rookies as well as kickboxers. Fiedler is from Missouri, while Johnston hails from California.

No kickboxing at all to start, as Johnston lands a pair of judo trips. Fielder gets Johnston’s back but can’t get the rear naked choke. Johnston gets Fiedler’s back and he can finish! After a flurry of punches, McCarthy stops the fight at 2:27.

3. Mark Coleman (Freestyle Wrestling) vs. Moti Horenstein (Survival)

Coleman was an NCAA champion wrestler at The Ohio State University. Horenstein is the first Israeli-born UFC fighter and “survives” with a full-contact karate attack. He was influenced by Bruce Lee movies. Who wasn’t?

Coleman takes Horenstein down and unleashes some of his legendary “ground and pound.” Horenstein survives for a while, but Coleman drops some more heavy bombs. Horenstein covers up, and McCarthy calls for the TKO at 2:43.

4. John Campetella (Kempo Karate) vs. Gary “Big Daddy” Goodridge (Martial Arts Cross Training)

Campetella is a biology teacher from New York City and weighs 235 pounds. He gives up six inches and 28 pounds to the Canadian Goodridge, the runner-up at UFC 8. Goodridge (2-2) is one of the first “mixed martial artists,” judging by his hybrid fighting style.

Both men start whaling away at 100 mph to start, and Campetella lands some strong uppercuts. Goodridge pulls him down into his guard, flips over and drills him with three crushing lefts. McCarthy has seen enough, and it’s a TKO win for Goodridge at 1:27.

Hold on: McCarthy explained during an interview later in the show that Campetella actually tapped out.

The semifinal brackets look promising: Don Frye vs. Brian Johnston and Mark Coleman vs. Gary Goodridge. This is the part of the article where I beg for no injuries to screw up these fights!

Tank Abbott talks about coming off a suspension and looking forward to getting back in the Octagon. He makes fun of Ken Shamrock and Dan Severn for their mutual non-aggression in the main event of UFC 9.

5. FIRST SEMIFINAL: Don Frye (Greco-Roman Wrestling) vs. Brian Johnston (Kickboxing)

Despite their different fighting disciplines, Johnston compares his fighting style to Frye’s, according to Beck.

After an early stalemate, Johnston lands a pair of strong rights. Johnston isn’t backing down from a brawl with the undefeated Frye and he’s doing well. Frye gets a takedown at the three-minute mark and starts going to work on the ribs like he did against Hall.

Frye gets side control and busts Johnston wide open with an elbow to the head. Johnston taps out at 4:38.

6: SECOND SEMIFINAL: Mark Coleman (Freestyle Wrestling) vs. Gary Goodridge (Martial Arts Cross Training)

Coleman controls the first two minutes on the ground with top position. Coleman passes guard and tries to suplex Goodridge, who blocks the attempt by hanging onto the cage. Coleman blasts Goodridge in the face several times.

Big Daddy has had enough and starts stalking Coleman in the stand-up. Coleman lands a beautiful double-leg takedown and gets the rear naked choke for the tap-out at 7:00.

Jeff Blatnick asks Dan “The Beast” Severn why his UFC 9 fight with Ken Shamrock was so “boring.” Severn chooses the word “strategic” instead.

7. UFC 10 FINAL: Mark Coleman (Freestyle Wrestling) vs. Don Frye (Greco-Roman Wrestling)

Battle of 6-foot-1 wrestlers in the main event, and they are both undefeated in the Octagon. Coleman holds a 31-pound weight advantage.

Coleman gets the first takedown and maneuvers Frye into position for some of his signature ground-and-pound.  Coleman isn’t letting Frye get away, as he keeps slipping strong punches past Frye’s defense.

Coleman goes for a neck crank and it doesn’t work, and the bloodied Frye finally gets away after four minutes of getting pounded.

Back to standup. Both men rest for a little while before exchanging punches. Coleman hits a double-leg takedown. McCarthy calls a temporary halt to the fight so the doctor can check Frye’s cut. McCarthy tells Frye: “You’ve got to do something, son. You understand me?”

Frye tries a double-leg, but as Blatnick points out, Coleman is just too big. Coleman can’t finish a rear naked choke. Coleman picks up Frye for a huge slam, but Frye saves his own life by grabbing the top of the cage.

Headbutt by Coleman, and Frye is so bloody that McCarthy calls for the doctor…and then stops the fight at 11:36.

Mark Coleman wins UFC 10 – good night, folks!

TUF 18 Coach Ronda Rousey Headlines Huge Night of UFC on Fox Sports 1

Ronda Rousey (Photo: UFC.com)

Ronda Rousey has blazed the trail for women in the UFC. She and Miesha Tate will break more new ground tonight on Fox Sports 1 as they coach Season 18 of The Ultimate Fighter.
Rousey will defend her UFC bantamweight title against Tate at UFC 168 on Dec. 28. Cat Zingano defeated Tate for the title shot and coaching position, but she had to give them up to Tate due to an injury.
Rousey won her championship from Tate in Strikeforce before she and the belt came over to UFC. Tate will have a chance at revenge, but so far, nobody has survived the first round with Rousey, let alone beaten her.

“To say Rousey is concerned about how she will come across on the show is an understatement. She's preparing for the worst and noted that she wouldn't do a season again if they paid her $10 million,” wrote Bryan Alvarez of F4W Online.

Thirty-two bantamweight fighters will battle for the 16 spots in the TUF 18 house. They will be split evenly between men and women, so we will see both genders living together. The TUF 18 premiere will air from 10 p.m. to midnight Eastern time.
UFC Fight Night 28 will take place just before the show from 5-10 p.m. from Belo Horizonte, Brazil. The main event will feature No. 2-contending light heavyweight Glover Teixeira (21-2) against Ryan Bader (16-3).
In a battle of middleweight contenders, No. 3 Yushin Okami will fight No. 5 Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza. Top flyweight contender Joseph Benavidez will try to secure another title shot when he faces fifth-ranked Jussier Formiga.
Other fights on the main card include Francisco Trinaldo vs. Piotr Hallmann (lightweights); Rafael “Sapo” Natal vs. Tor Troeng (middleweights); and Marcos Vinicius vs. Ali “Puncher” Bagautinov (flyweights).
The preliminary card includes Felipe Arantes vs. Kevin Souza (featherweights); Lucas Martins vs. Junior “Hot Handed” Hernandez (bantamweights); Joao “The Brazilian Samurai” Zeferino vs. Elias Silverio (welterweights); and Keith Wisniewski vs. Ivan Jorge (welterweights).
The only fight that will not air of Fox Sports 1 will be available on Facebook and UFC.com, as Yuri Villefort takes on Sean Spencer in another welterweight fight at 4:30 p.m. Eastern.

UFC 164 Results: Anthony Pettis Beats Benson Henderson for Lightweight title

New UFC lightweight champ Anthony Pettis (Photo: Sherdog.com)

Anthony Pettis didn’t need a flashy kick to score his second win over Benson Henderson. An armbar was enough for Pettis to become the new UFC lightweight champion on Aug. 31 at the UFC 164 pay-per-view in Milwaukee.

Henderson had been unstoppable since joining the UFC, winning all seven of his fights and capturing the title from Frankie Edgar in February 2012. He successfully defended the belt against Edgar, Nate Diaz and Gilbert Melendez.

Pettis finally got his turn to prove that his win over Henderson at the final WEC show in 2010 was no fluke. Pettis won Henderson’s title that night as well, after landing the most jaw-dropping move in MMA history, the Showtime Kick.

This time, Pettis (17-2) used a series of body kicks and earned the tapout by capturing Henderson (18-3) in an armbar from Pettis’ guard.

Not only did Pettis win the title, he picked up a $50,000 bonus for Submission of the Night, according to Sherdog.com.

In the co-main event, former UFC heavyweight champion Josh Barnett (33-6) returned to the Octagon after an 11-year absence and beat Frank Mir (16-8) in less than two minutes.

Barnett dropped Mir with a knee and finished him with punches. Mir was not happy that the referee stopped the fight.

Chad “Money” Mendes continued his quest for a second shot at the featherweight title by knocking out Clay “The Carpenter” Guida in the third round. Mendes won the Knockout of the Night bonus.

Ben Rothwell scored a third-round TKO over Brandon Vera and then called out another heavyweight, Travis Browne.

In the PPV opener, Dustin “The Diamond” Poirier won a battle of ranked featherweights with a unanimous decision over Eric “New Breed” Koch.

Preliminary fights on Fox Sports 1

Gleison Tibau won a split decision over Jamie Varner in the lightweight main event of the Fox Sports 1 portion of the show. Hyun Gym Lim scored a first-round TKO over Pascal Krauss in a welterweight fight that earned “Fight of the Night” honors.

Tim Elliott won a unanimous decision over Louis “Goodnight” Gaudinot in a battle of top-ten flyweights.  Milwaukee bantamweight Chico “The King” Camus kicked off the TV portion of the show with a unanimous decision win over “Mr. Perfect” Kyung Ho Kang.

Facebook fights

Soa “The Hulk” Palelei (19-3) scored his first UFC win with a third-round TKO over Nikita Krylov from the Ukraine in a heavyweight fight. Ryan Couture dropped to 0-2 in UFC action as he lost a unanimous decision loss to fellow lightweight Al Iaquinta.

Sweden’s Magnus Cedenblad opened the action by defeating Jared Hamman with a guillotine choke in 57 seconds.

UFC 9: A Fight About Nothing

Dan Severn and Ken Shamrock (Photo credit: Yahoo! Sports)

UFC 9: Motor City Madness - May 17, 1996 - Detroit

UFC 9 featured a grudge match between UFC Superfight Champion Ken Shamrock and Dan Severn, who got a huge ovation from his hometown fans at the Cobo Arena.

Severn told Jeff Blatnick “nothing really clicked” in his first fight with Shamrock at UFC 6. He said he would be more patient and look for an opening. Trust me: he really meant this from the bottom of his heart.

Don “The Dragon” Wilson spoke with Shamrock, who said the fight would be a good chess match. Well, most of the fight looked like a chess match played by toddlers who don’t know how the pieces work.

Don’t skip ahead to the main event, now! We have five other bouts on tap first. The UFC scrapped the tournament format for the first time, although it came right back for UFC 10.

Before the PPV, Steve Neimark beat Tai Bowden when the doctor stopped the fight at 7:25.

Bruce Beck is calling the action with Wilson and Blatnick. Rich Goins is our ring announcer (he does a great job) and here we go!

1. “Nasty” Zane Frazier (American Kenpo) vs. Cal Worsham (Tae Kwon Do)

This is second UFC bout for both fighters. Frazier, who has a seven-inch height advantage, lost to Kevin Rozier at UFC 1, while Worsham lost at UFC 6 to Paul Varelans.

After a minute of inactivity, Worsham gets a takedown and tries some headbutts. He stays in control with left-hand punches and elbows.  Worsham continues the domination and Frazier taps out at 3:17.

“I’m for real!” Worsham yells.

2. Rafael “The Earthquake” Carino (Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu) vs. Matt Andersen (Warrior Training)

Both men are debuting in the Octagon. Carino, a native of Rio de Janiero, is 6’8”. He has six inches and 20 pounds on Anderson, who is from Omaha, Neb.

Blatnick openly doubts that Carino is as big as advertised: “I’m a heavyweight. He doesn’t look that big,” Blatnick says.

Carino grabs a waistlock takedown and Anderson pulls guard. Carino slips in a good punch or two, but Andersen avoids any major damage. The fans don’t like this ground-based battle.

Carino finally breaks though with big shots from the mount, and Andersen is bleeding above his right eye. Referee John McCarthy stops the carnage and it’s a TKO win for Carino at 5:33.

3. Mark Schultz (Wrestling) vs. Gary “Big Daddy” Goodridge (Kuk Sool Won)

David Beneteau was supposed to fight UFC 8 runner-up Goodridge in a battle of Canadian heavyweights, but he broke his hand while sparring with Schultz, a former Olympic gold medal freestyle wrestler from Utah.

So who takes his place? Schultz. Beneteau is in his corner, so no hard feelings.

The announcers finally correct the story from UFC 8 about Goodridge beating 1,000 Japanese men in arm wrestling in two hours. He did it in 1 hour, 47 minutes. Glad we cleared that up.  

Schultz gets the takedown to kick things off. However, Goodridge has Schultz's head trapped. Schultz gets free and stays on top, softening Goodridge up with shots to the body, plus a left to face that draws blood.

Schultz finally passes guard, but nothing happens, so McCarthy stands them up. Immediately, they go right back to the mat with Schultz on top again.

Goodridge is getting almost no offense. The ref stops the fight momentarily so the doctor

can check on Goodridge’s cut. It’s on the side of his eye, so he can keep going.

We start again, and Goodridge just can’t land any meaningful strikes. Schultz hits a left to the damaged eye area, and he gets yet another takedown. Schultz opens up with ground and pound, but the 12-minute time limit expires and Goodridge is somehow still in the fight.

Wait! There’s no overtime because McCarthy stops the fight and declares Schultz the winner. Schultz didn’t know he would be fighting when he woke up that day, but he still delivered a dominant performance..

4. Mark Hall (Moo Ya Do) vs. Koji Kitao (Sumo)

Hall, who is 2-1 in UFC competition, weighs 189 pounds, Kitao checks in at 390.  Kitao was the sumo grand champion (yokozuna) in 1996 and was also a successful pro wrestler. Beck says Kitao is the first yokozuna to leave the sumo world to pursue other fighting interests.

Kitao bulls Hall up against the cage and takes him down. However, McCarthy jumps in to stop the action because Kitao is bleeding like crazy.  The fight is over in 47 seconds. How did that happen?

The replay shows that Hall practically blasted Kitao’s nose off his face with a crushing right hand just before Kitao obscured him with his girth.

5. Don Frye (Wrestling) vs. Amaury Bitetti (Brazilian Jiu Jitsu)

This was supposed to be Marco Ruas vs. Frye in a battle of the last two UFC tournament winners. Alas, Ruas got hurt, so Bitetti, another Brazilian fighter, took his place.

Bitetti battles relentlessly to take down Frye, who lands a couple of nice punches. Bitetti won't stop trying for the takedown.

Frye gets a “USA” chant from the crowd and drills Bitetti with heavy punches and knees. Down on the mat, Frye brutalizes Bitetti with elbows, and the young Brazilian is showing some major-league manhood by staying in this fight.

McCarthy halts the fight so the doctor can check Bitetti’s cuts. We get a restart with six minutes left. Frye is on top and is destroying Bitetti with more vicious elbows. McCarthy stands them up with four minutes to go so the doctor can check Bitetti again.

Here we go again. Frye sprawls out of a takedown and continues bludgeoning Bitetti with knees and elbows. Bitetti is just too tough for his own good, so McCarthy has to stop the fight at 9:30.

6. UFC Superfight Championship: Ken Shamrock (shootfighting) vs. Dan Severn (Greco-Roman wrestling)

Shamrock won their first battle with a guillotine choke at the 2:15 mar at UFC 6.  This match has a 25-minute time limit; all the previous fights tonight had 15-minute limits. Severn circles Shamrock for several minutes, pawing out a jab occasionally.

The fans love Severn, but they are getting restless because nothing has happened in the first eight minutes of the fight. Now the fans are booing in full force. Shamrock starts bleeding from the left cheek, which is surprising because Severn has mostly been dancing around him for nine minutes.

McCarthy has has enough of this after more than 11 minutes of non-action. This fight reminds me of a girls’ basketball game I announced. One team played stall-ball for the entire second half. Kudos to the UFC announcers for trying their best; there is just nothing happening.

Shamrock finally lands a few punches after 13 minutes of nothing. Here come the “BORING” chants. Severn finally does something after 17 minutes by diving for Shamrock’s leg. Compared to what came before, it was like Fourth of July fireworks.

Shamrock escapes and tries a guillotine choke. Severn slips out and they are back to their feet. Severn tries for the leg again, but Shamrock gets away, comes out on top and delivers punches to Severn’s ribs.

Severn finally gets a reversal, but he only has 90 seconds left in regulation to do something. And he just beats the stuffing out of Shamrock with vicious punches and elbows. Shamrock somehow escapes and walks away with 15 seconds left. We’re going to a three-minute overtime.

And nothing happens.

How about the second overtime? More nothing until a grappling flurry in the last 20 seconds. Let’s see what the judges say.

Judge Robert Ferguson: Shamrock

Judge Steve Neklia: Severn

Judge Luther Campbell (not the guy from 2 live Crew): Severn!

So after doing nothing but walk in a circle for most of the fight, Dan Severn used 75 seconds of brutality to beat Ken Shamrock and become the new UFC Superfight champion.

One of Severn’s cornermen holds up a sign challenging Royce Gracie for UFC 10.

You can’t argue with Severn's strategy, because it worked.

Check out Bloody Elbow's great story explaining the strange circumstances around this fight.

UFC 8: Rise of the Predator

Don "The Predator" Frye

(Photo: prommanow.com)

UFC 8 – Bayamon, Puerto Rico – Ruben Rodriguez Coliseum

UFC 8 featured a “David vs. Goliath” tournament, plus Ken Shamrock defending his Superfight title in the main event against Kimo.

Bruce Beck, Jeff Blatnick and Don “The Dragon” Wilson are calling the action.  Big John McCarthy is our referee, and “The G-Man” Rich Goins is back as the ring announcer.

1. Don “The Predator” Frye (Judo) vs. Thomas Ramirez (Pakua-Chan)

Dan Severn is one of Frye’s cornermen. Double mustache power! Ramirez is 41 years old and weighs 410 pounds. He comes out with the Puerto Rican flag, and the fans love him in his hometown of Bayamon.

Frye lands a couple of big punches and Ramirez’s lights are out. This fight only lasted 10 seconds. At least Ramirez has lots of friends in the audience to comfort him.

UFC 7: Who is the King of the Streets?

Marco Ruas (Photo: flickr.com)

UFC 7 - The Brawl in Buffalo – Sept. 8, 1995

The Rock vs. The Russian Bear is touted as the main event, but it’s not Dwayne Johnson vs. Ivan Koloff. Instead, it’s Ken Shamrock vs. Oleg Taktarov in the superfight main event.

Shamrock is coming off a win over Dan Severn in the UFC 6 superfight, while Taktarov won the UFC 6 tournament. That seems to be the new plan: make a new star in the tournament and then put him up against the superfight winner on the next show.

We’re at the Aud, aka the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium, home of the Buffalo Sabres hockey team, and this show is taking place just seven weeks after UFC 6.

Bruce Beck is on play-by-play, with Jeff Blatnick on color. Sadly, Jim Brown, our last announcing holdover from UFC 1, is gone, so legendary kickboxer Don “The Dragon” Wilson takes his place. He worked on the "Batman Forever" movie.  Michael Buffer is the ring announcer.

UFC 6: Can Ken Shamrock Tame The Beast?

Tank Abbott (Photo: mma-bulgaria.com)

UFC 6: Clash of the Titans - July 14, 1995 - Casper (Wyoming) Center

Ken Shamrock got the big win he had been seeking since the Ultimate Fighting Championship began, and Tank Abbott emerged as a new star at UFC 6.

Bruce Beck, Jim Brown and Jeff Blatnick are calling the action and Michael Buffer is back as our ring announcer.

First, we take a peek at highlights from the two alternate fights. Joel Sutton beat Jack McLouglin at 1:58, and Anthony Macias defeated "He-Man" Ali Gipson in 3:06. Both fights ended when the loser tapped to strikes.

Sutton got hurt, so Guy Mezger is the second alternate. This poor guy won a fight at UFC 4 to earn a spot in UFC 5, and they keep sticking him in the alternate pool and never letting him fight. Mezger needs The Ultimate Lawyer.

IFC commissioner "The Black Dragon" Ron Van Clief is at ringside to award the title to the winner. John McCarthy is the referee for all the fights again. For the first time, he has the authority to stand the fighters up if the action slows to a crawl. As McCarthy would say, "Let's get it on!"

1. David "Tank" Abbott (pit fighting) vs. John Matua (kuialua)

Pit fighting is basically "whatever works in a fight," Beck tells us. Kuialua is "the ancient Hawaiian art of bone breaking." Nice! Abbott is 265 pounds, while Matua weighs 400.

EFP Caged Madness 22 results - Jan. 5, 2013

Jeff Gorman (left) announcing with Rob Wince

Caged Madness 22 from Explosive Fight Promotions on Jan. 5, 2013 at Knights of Columbus:

1. Rocky Clark beat Dereck Hornback (205 pounds) via guillotine choke submission at 1:25 of Round 2
2. Ben White beat Paul Zimmerman (heavyweight) via keylock submission in 27 seconds
3. Jake “The Ripper” Schilling beat Karl Parks (160 pounds) via rear naked choke submission in 2:30
4. Kody Kidd beat Jonathan Davis (170 pounds) via TKO in Round 2
5. Cody Breckner beat Taylor Friend (145 pounds) via split decision
6. Ray “The Assassin” Payne beat Bobby Turnick (125 pounds) via triangle submission in 2:13
7. In a superheavyweight fight, Eric “Tiny” Christner (456 pounds) beat Steve “The Great White” Price (362 pounds) when Price couldn’t answer the Round 3 bell
8. Andrew Law defeated Dominic “Iron Man” McGhee (160 pounds) via TKO at 2:19 in Round 2
9. Bellator veteran Rocky “The Number” Edwards beat John “Mongoose” Myers (155 pounds) with a rear naked choke in 4:50
10.  D’Juan Owens beat Strikeforce veteran Ian “Redline” Rammel (160) by unanimous decision with scores of 29-28, 29-28, 30-27

Caged Madness 23 is set for Feb. 2 in Akron, Ohio at Pronio Sports Complex.

UFC 5: Dan Severn Carries the Wrestling Banner

 UFC 5 was a big night for Dan Severn.

(Photo: caulifloweralleyclub.org)

UFC 5: Return of the Beast – Charlotte, N.C. – Independence Arena – April 7, 1995

UFC’s evolution continues here, as a “superfight” between Royce Gracie and Ken Shamrock is added to the usual eight-man tournament.

Bruce Beck welcomes us and introduces us to the only announcer to call the first five UFC shows, Pro Football Hall of Famer Jim Brown.

Also, we have Jeff Blatnick on color commentary as well. We’ll see if the 1984 Greco-Roman gold medalist gets into another scrape with Brown over the merits of wrestling as the “best fighting style.”

Time limits also make their debut here at UFC 5, with a 20-minute time limit for the opening rounds, and a 30-minute limit for the tournament final.

Before we get started, Beck talks about the alternate fights, in which Dave Beneteau crushed Asbel Cancio in 21 seconds, and Guy Mezger knocked off John Dowdy.

Now wait a minute! Didn’t Mezger win a fight at UFC 4 to earn a spot in tonight’s tournament? So now he wins AGAIN and he still has to wait for someone to get hurt to enter the tournament? I would get my lawyer on the phone if I were him.

UFC 152: What Have We Learned From Injury Woes?

Chael Sonnen is ready

to fight...somebody

(Photo: mmamania.com)

The sky must be falling.

UFC 151 was cancelled, and the UFC 153 main event had to be changed to Anderson Silva vs. Stephan Bonnar, which set Twitter on fire for all the wrong reasons.

Don’t panic, UFC fans. The company’s growth is continuing on schedule, and the latest problems can teach four lessons to remember for the future.

1. Give the champion what he wants.

Jon Jones won the UFC  light heavyweight title and made a few successful defenses, so he should have some input on who his next challenger should be.

UFC 4: Can Royce Gracie Win His Third Tournament?

(Photo: Yahoo.com)

UFC 4:  Revenge of the Warriors – Tulsa, Okla. – Dec. 16, 1994

Royce Grace’s quest to reclaim the undisputed top spot in mixed martial arts was the theme of UFC’s fourth show.

After winning the first two tournaments, Gracie suffered an injury in his first-round win over Kimo at UFC 3. This allowed alternate Steve Jennum to surprise everyone and win the tournament.

Bruce Beck and Jim Brown return on commentary, joined by Jeff Blatnick, who won a gold medal for the U.S. in Greco-Roman wrestling in 1984.

The announcers helpfully explain that the UFC has solved the problem from the last show by having alternates win a prelim fight so they won’t be totally fresh like Jennum if they are pressed into service.

UFC 3: Royce Gracie, Ken Shamrock and Alternate Reality

 

Kimo's memorable entrance 

UFC 3: The American Dream – Grady Cole Center – Charlotte, NC – Sept. 9, 1994

Royce Gracie entered UFC 3 with the chance to continue his legacy as the Michael Jordan of the fledgling sport of mixed martial arts.

While the eight-man tournament was set up like the first two UFC events, as a battle to see which style of martial arts was superior, everyone knew that one athlete – Royce Gracie – had to be knocked off to keep everyone else from being irrelevant.

Big John McCarthy was the referee for all of the fights, and for the first time, he had the discretion to stop the fight, rather than waiting for the cornerman to throw in the towel.

Bryan Kilmeade, Jim Brown and Ben Perry returned as the announce crew, and they worked together very smoothly. Rich “G-Man” Goins continued his streak as ring announcer for all three UFC shows.

UFC 3: an eight-man tournament for $60,000. Let’s fight!

1. Emanuel Yarborough (Sumo) vs. Keith Hackney (kempo karate)

Hackney was facing a man more than three times his weight (200 pounds to 616). There’s something you don’t see these days.

UFC Feels Impact of Moosin: God of Martial Arts PPV Two Years Later

(Thanks to roxiemodaferi.net for the photo)

"Moosin: God of Martial Arts" came to pay-per-view two years ago, and its impact is still felt in UFC today.

The first MMA PPV show in the commonwealth of Massachusetts was a big event in my announcing career, and these three fighters can look back on that night at the DCU Center in Worcester with a smile.

Rafael Natal
The Brazilian middleweight punched his ticket to the UFC by knocking out The Ultimate Fighter Season 4 winner Travis Lutter in 4:12.
After a loss and a draw in his first three fights in the Octagon, "Sapo" (14-3) has scored unanimous-decision wins over Paul Bradley and Michael Kuiper.
The Gracie Fusion fighter will try to become the first man to defeat Andrew Craig (7-0) at UFC on Fuel 4 on July 11 in San Jose, Calif.

Yves Edwards
Edwards lost his Moosin fight on a narrow decision to Mike Campbell, but he looked so impressive that he earned a return trip to the UFC.
After a brief and victorious stop in Bellator, the "Master of Thug-Jitsu" returned to the Octagon after a five-year absence and beat fellow lightweight John Gunderson by unanimous decision at UFC Fight Night 22.
Edwards split his next four UFC fights and was supposed to fight Donald Cerrone last week on Fuel TV but had to bow out due to an injury.

Stipe Miocic
Before we went on the air with the pay-per-view, Cleveland heavyweight Stipe Miocic opened the show with a second-round knockout win over Paul Barry.
That win improved Miocic's record to 2-0. He won four more fights in Cleveland to earn a spot in the UFC, and Miocic proved he belonged on the big stage with wins over Joey Beltran and Philip De Fries.
Miocic will face another undefeated heavyweight in Strikeforce alumnus Shane Del Rosario (11-0) this Saturday night in Las Vegas at UFC 146.

Other Moosin notes

Tim Sylvia, a two-time UFC heavyweight champion, won the main event over Polish powerhouse Mariusz Pudzianowski, who tapped out to strikes in the second round.
Forrest Petz opened the PPV with a unanimous decision win over Ralph Johnson. Petz also earned his job back with the UFC, but he was out of the promotion after losses to Daniel Roberts and Brian Foster.
The fight of the night was Tara LaRosa vs. Roxie Modaffieri, which you should really watch on YouTube if you haven't seen it yet. Roxie's performance earned her a Strikeforce title shot against Sarah Kaufman.

(Jeff Gorman announced Moosin: God of Martial Arts on live, global pay-per-view with Bas Rutten and Tom Megalis. Check out his MMA announcing here.)

UFC 2: Solving the Royce Gracie Riddle

UFC 2 – Mammoth Event Center - Denver – March 11, 1994

We return to the Mile High City four months after the first UFC, as the one-night tournament has expanded to 16 fighters. Somebody will have to win four fights in one night.

The live crowd has already watched seven of the eight first-round bouts. Now we check in for the last one, featuring the winner of UFC 1, Royce Gracie.

1. Royce Gracie (Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu) vs. Minoki Ichihara (karate)

Ichihara was supposed to be one of the favorites, and he looks bummed that he drew Gracie in the first round. Still, in his pre-match interview, he resolutely states, “I would like to fight this dangerous man.”

His wish is granted as Gracie smothers him and starts nailing him with punches to the ribs and palm strikes to the face. The announcers talk about how Gracie wants to win via rear-naked choke, but it’s not happening. Realizing that he has to fight three more times, Gracie switches to a lapel choke and gets the tap out.

UFC 1: The Birth of Modern Mixed Martial Arts

Royce Gracie (Photo: Bleacher Report)

By Jeff Gorman

UFC 1 is still an entertaining show to watch nearly two decades after the mixed martial arts competition debuted on pay-per-view in Denver on Nov. 12, 1993.

Instead of focusing on who was the best fighter, UFC 1 was about determining which style of fighting was the greatest.

None of the fights made it past the five-minute mark, and that’s a good thing, since the finalists would endure three fights in one night. That's a full year’s schedule for some of today’s fighters.

1. Gerald Gordeau (savate) destroyed Telia Tuli (sumo).

Like a good sumo, Tuli rushed at Gordeau and pushed him to the outside of the Octagon. However, Gordeau pushed him back. Tuli landed in a seated position, and Gordeau blasted him with a kick to the face.

Give credit to Tuli; once the cobwebs cleared, he wanted to keep fighting. After a period of confusion that lasted longer than the fight itself, the ref ruled that Gordeau had won by knockout.

2. Kevin Rosier (kickboxing) beat Zane Frazier (karate) by TKO.
These two weren’t even thinking about grappling. They were just blasting each other with bare-knuckle shots.

Late in the first round, both men ran out of gas, but Rosier gathered himself for a flurry of punches and stomps, and Frazier’s cornerman threw in the towel.

3. Royce Gracie (Brazilian jiu jitsu) beat Art Jimmerson (boxing) by submission.

Jeff D Gorman: MMA Announcer

Thanks for joining me in this blog about my life as an MMA announcer.  I will also feature the UFC Evolution Series, a comprehensive look at the history of the No. 1 MMA promotion in the world.

I would love to announce at your MMA show. You can e-mail me at jeff@mmaspecialist.com after enjoying this clip.