The Beginning - A Retelling

Gomi · June 3, 2010

First Quarterfinal

Ken Shamrock (0-1) vs. Scott Baker

Second Quarterfinal

Minoki Ichihara (2-1) vs. Thaddeus Luster

Third Quarterfinal

Masakatsu Funaki(0-1) vs. Robert Lucarelli

Fourth Quarterfinal

Ray Wizard vs. Remco Pardoel

First Semifinal

Shamrock vs. Ichihara

Second Semifinal

Funaki vs. Wizard

Final

Shamrock vs. Funaki

Superfight Championship

Renzo Gracie vs. David Levicki

Great dynasty, man.

Sorry if you have already explained this, but what happened to your Toukon Dynasty?

maudlin career · June 4, 2010

TOUKON PRO was never a dynasty. It was a gamesave I started with the intention of turning it into a dynasty. The problem was, that there are so many promotions running in the MW Mod, that just trying to go from week to week dragged on far too long with like five or six promotions at a time trying to sign your fighters.

maudlin career · June 5, 2010

UFC 5: Superfight
June 4th, 1994
Las Vegas, Nevada

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Another three-hundred fans quickly filled the Las Vegas Municipal Gymnasium for the fifth edition of the popular night-attraction, Ultimate Fighting Championship, there wasn’t controversy or Gracie Jiu-Jitsu skepticism to keep the fans bubbling with anticipation. No, instead, tonight’s talk was about the mantle on the stage leading to the octagon. On top of that mantle was the new gold plated championship named the Superfight Championship and who would take it home between UFC 3 Champion David Levicki and UFC 2 Champion Renzo Gracie.

The story all started in February when Royce Gracie, who was expected to win the third consecutive Ultimate Fighting tournament for the Gracie family, was eliminated from the tournament’s semifinal after being held up against the cage for thirty minutes by David Levicki. This sparked a series of events that led to the Gracie family withdrawing from all subsequent UFC events, David Levicki challenging Royce Gracie to a rematch, Renzo Gracie stepping up to the challenge to fill-in for an absent Royce Gracie, and the creation of the Superfight Championship.

While fans debated over who would be taking the Championship home, the SEG camera crew marched into the gymnasium taking their usual positions to ensure quality coverage on every match for the home-viewers. The audience grew in a roar as Jay Glazer and Jeff Blatnick stepped out onto stage waving to the Las Vegas Municipal Gymnasium attendance. The two commentators then stood on opposite ends of the mantle and began to speak into their microphones.

Jay Glazer: Will you look at this? Boxing has Championship Belts and now it’s finally time that martial arts has its first official gold belt. Look at it, Jeff, it’s shiny!

Jeff Blatnick: Gold-plated and all. You can bet that Bob Meyrowitz and Art Davie spent a pretty penny to acquire this thing. And it’s a beaut.

JG: Whoa, Jeff, it has a name! Treat her right!

JB: That’s right, forgive me. This is the Superfight Championship and it will be awarded to the winner of David Levicki and Renzo Gracie.

JG: And that match itself is a Superfight!

JB: UFC 3 tournament winner, David Levicki will take on UFC 2 tournament winner, Renzo Gracie. This is not only a match between two tournament champions. This is a match to defend the Gracie family honor.

JG: Now if you’ve been living under a rock for the last six months, David Levicki entered the UFC 3 tournament and dethroned Royce Gracie, who was the tournament favorite.

JB: It’s going to be an exciting match that I’m sure UFC fans will talk about for a long while. That’s not all we have going for the night though. The UFC famous eight-man tournament returns once more.

JG: And it’s the best one yet. We have Pancrase fighters Ken Shamrock and Masakatsu Funaki returning!

JB: And don’t forget the Kyokushin Karate martial artist, Minoki Ichihara, who up until UFC 4, had the record for quickest win in a UFC tournament.

JG: That’s right! Tonight is going to be exciting, indeed. With that, let’s get with the G-Man.

First Quarterfinal: Ken Shamrock (0-1) vs. Scott Baker

Background: Ken Shamrock returns to the UFC tournament after being eliminated from the first round of the UFC 1 tournament by Oleg Taktarov. The Pancrase fighter will be taking on Freestylist, Scott Baker, who is making his debut tonight. Ken Shamrock, who has been honing his skills with fellow UFC 5 tournament competitor, Masakatsu Funaki, will certainly be looking to impress to make up for a disappointing performance at UFC 1.

The Match: Within seconds, Ken Shamrock manage to shoot in and tackle Scott Baker to the canvas. Baker, who looked like he had absolutely no idea what was going on, immediately covered up in hopes of protecting himself from an early assault. Ken Shamrock, followed through and began to throw palm strike after palm strike. Baker’s defense was fruitless, as the strikes continuously rocked the Freestyle fighter. Baker’s corner, refused to throw in the towel, hoping that he would mount a comeback. As a result, having seen enough, John McCarthy pulled Shamrock off of him announcing him as the winner.

Ken Shamrock defeats Scott Baker via TKO at 2:00

Post-Fight Insight: Shamrock looked great, there’s no other way to put it. He wasted little time in taking Baker to the ground and from there he pounded his way to a quick victory. His training with Pancrase founder, Masakatsu Funaki, has definitely paid off. Shamrock pulls a convincing win to advance to the semifinal. (Great)

Second Quarterfinal: Minoki Ichihara (2-1) vs. Thaddeus Luster

Background: Minoki Ichihara looked to be dangerous with two impressive stoppages during the third UFC tournament. While he his performance came up short against David Levicki, many cite the loss coming down to an unfair advantage via David Levicki’s size and unapproved tactics. Thaddeus Luster is another Freestyle fighter making his UFC tournament debut. With no UFC experience, fighting a martial artist as dangerous as Minoki Ichihara could knock him out of the quarterfinal rather quickly.

The Match: The second match of the night went to the thirty minute time limit. In addition to that, Ichihara disappointed the many in attendance with a very lackluster performance. That’s not to say it was all bad, as Thaddeus Luster did nothing to convince referee, John McCarthy, the Las Vegas crowd, or even Minoki Ichihara that he stood a chance. Once the thirty minute time limit ran up, John McCarthy declared Minoki Ichihara as the winner.

Minoki Ichihara defeats Thaddeus Luster via referee’s decision at 30:00.

Post-Fight Insight: Minoki Ichihara who was expected to run through Thaddeus Luster didn’t quite live up to the expectation in the slightest. However, he still kept up a solid performance to continue on to the next round of the tournament. How he will perform against Ken Shamrock is another story. (Awful)

Third Quarterfinal: Masakatsu Funaki (0-1) vs. Robert Lucarelli

Background: The founder of Pancrase returns to the tournament with the sole intention of making up for his poor performance in the first UFC tournament. He’s been working with Ken Shamrock in Japan to fine-tune their grappling. Ken Shamrock looked incredible in his quarterfinal bout with Scott Baker. If the training affects Funaki as it did Shamrock, Funaki should have smooth sailing in his quarterfinal bout. With Robert Lucarelli being a self-professed brawler, the technical prowess of Funaki could also play a factor.

The Match: Funaki fought a more tentative style closer to training-mate Kazuo Takahashi than Ken Shamrock. Lucarelli tried swinging on Funaki, but was hitting nothing but air. This pacing carried on for several minutes of the bout until Lucarelli had Funaki cornered against the fence. Lucarelli tried using it to his advantage and ran in to swing on Funaki; Funaki went low, grabbed hold of Lucarelli’s left leg and took the brawler down. Lucarelli tried rolling away from Funaki, but the Pancrase fighter rolled with him and shifted his weight against Lucarelli’s knee. Lucarelli almost immediately tapped out.

Masakatsu Funaki defeated Robert Lucarelli via submission at 12:41

Post-Fight Insight: That’s two for two for the Pancrase team. With his win over Robert Lucarelli, Masakatsu Funaki displayed incredible technique to bait Lucarelli into moving within grappling range. Funaki moves on to the semifinals with a good submission victory. (Average)

Fourth Quarterfinal: Ray Wizard vs. Remco Pardoel

Background: The fourth quarterfinal will be contested between two unknown martial artists. Dutchman, Remco Pardoel, enters into the fight with a Judo and Jiu-Jitsu background. His opponent, Ray Wizard, is another martial artist that belongs to the crop of Karate fighters that are entering into the octagon. Only one fighter will have the chance to score an impressive victory and move onto the semifinals of this tournament.

The Match: While the fight reached the thirty minutes, it wasn’t a terrible fight by any means. Ray Wizard caught Pardoel with some good punches that were met with punches from Pardoel. Ray Wizard, however, proved to be the more dynamic of the two with stepping kicks that kept Pardoel at a distance. Once the bell sounded, John McCarthy awarded the bout to Ray Wizard.

Ray Wizard defeats Remco Pardoel via referee’s decision at 30:00

Post-Fight Insight: Ray Wizard and Remco Pardoel put on a good match that went the entire thirty minutes. While it’s good for Ray Wizard to advance to the semifinals, going an entire thirty minutes could directly dictate how his semifinal bout will go, especially considering that Masakatsu Funaki will be his opponent.

After the fourth quarterfinal, a highlight package plays detailing the events that have led up to the Superfight between David Levicki and Renzo Gracie. After the video package goes to black, Richard Goins announces the semifinal match-ups.

First Semifinal: Ken Shamrock (1-1) vs. Minoki Ichihara (3-1)

Background: Ken Shamrock, who had the most impressive performance in the quarterfinals will fight Minoki Ichihara, who had the least impressive performance. While that doesn’t exactly determine a winner, as Ichihara was known for owning two impressive finishes during the UFC 3 tournament, it might at least reveal how each fighter will strategize for this next fight.

The Match: Before Ichihara could even get in a proper stance, Shamrock took the Kyokushin Karate martial artist to the ground. Ichihara threw some strikes from the bottom, but Shamrock caught his right fist and clinched to his wrist. Shamrock then wrenched his legs around Ichihara’s arm and shifted his hips. Ichihara resisted the submission at first, but eventually gave in.

Ken Shamrock defeats Minoki Ichihara via submission at 2:00

Post-Fight Insight: Ken Shamrock has been in the octagon for a total of four minutes. If Ray Wizard or Masakatsu Funaki cannot finish their semifinal bout in a reasonably quick time, Shamrock could be looking at taking home $50,000. Ken Shamrock looks unstoppable, to say the least. (Fantastic)

Second Semifinal: Masakatsu Funaki (1-1) vs. Ray Wizard (1-0)

Background: Ray Wizard has the choice of either keeping distance between himself and Masakatsu Funaki or magically developing grappling ability to keep the Japanese fighter at bay.

The Match: Ray Wizard charges in with a step kick, but Funaki, in martial arts movie fashion, performs an evasive roll to keep away. Ray Wizard could only stalk Funaki from there, and the Pancrase fighter stepped to the side caught Wizard with a palm thrust and then hooked Wizard’s legs to take him off of his feet. Wizard, who had no idea what to do on the ground was rolled over Funaki found himself clinging to Wizard’s back, where he easily choked him out.

Masakatsu Funaki defeats Ray Wizard via submission at 10:59

Post-Fight Insight: The two fighters who looked to improve in this tournament by training together will be the two fighting in the finals. It’s a debate worth having between choosing only one of the fighters to win the whole thing. On one hand, Ken Shamrock hasn’t even spent half the time in the octagon as Masakatsu Funaki has. On the other hand, Funaki looks to be a better grappler. (Average)

An intermission took place before the finals to give Masakatsu Funaki a quick five minute breather before the start of the fight. The camera panned to Jay Glazer, who was in the audience with UFC coordinator, Edward Jones.

Jay Glazer: I know you guys want to get to the tournament finals, but I’m here with Edward Jones, and Ed, you can’t leave me hanging. How does the Superfight Championship work?

Edward Jones: First off, the Superfight Championship is a great honor. It’s a title that will be decided between two of the first UFC tournament champions. It’s a best of the best series to determine the king of kings. For a match this special, we went back to the original tournament format. Sixty minutes, a fight ends via knock out, submission, or thrown towel. If it reaches the hour time limit, there will be a referee’s decision. If the fight reaches the sixty minute limit, it will be declared a draw.

JG: Now is this a one time thing or what’s the future for the Superfight Champion?

EJ: Don’t we have a final to get to!?!? Haha, I can’t reveal all of my playing cards just yet!

JG: Alright, well I tried, sorry folks! Let’s get it back to G-Man!

Final: Ken Shamrock (2-1) vs. Masakatsu Funaki (2-1)

Background: An interesting final considering that both fighters were quarterfinal dropouts in their debut appearances at UFC 1. With both fighters working on their grappling together, they came into the fifth tournament and steam rolled all of their competition. With both fighters training together, the only thing separating the two fighters will be conditioning, and Ken Shamrock should obviously have the advantage in considering the length of his fights combined.

The Match: The two fighters immediately went to the canvas with Funaki trying to pull Shamrock’s leg out from under him, but Shamrock pulled snatched away and darted down to cover Funaki. Funaki rolled out from under Shamrock and tried locking up his arm, but Shamrock countered by rolling away and taking Funaki’s arm. The two continued this grappling exchange, but while Funaki tried pulling away from Shamrock, Shamrock hooked to an ankle and pulled on it. Funaki gave the tap and Ken Shamrock was announced as the winner of the fifth UFC tournament.

Ken Shamrock defeats Masakatsu Funaki via submission to win the UFC 5 Tournament at 2:42

Post-Fight Insight: Ken Shamrock and Masakatsu Funaki had an excellent grappling exchange with Ken Shamrock ultimately coming out on top. This is a fitting win for Shamrock, as the last time he made an appearance in UFC, he was quickly ousted from the quarterfinals in a rather dull bout. Now, due to his dedication in training, Ken Shamrock is now $50,000 richer than he was in 1993. (Fantastic)

Edward Jones stepped into the octagon to hand Ken Shamrock his $50,000 check. Jay Glazer soon followed behind to interview the tournament winner.

Jay Glazer: Ken Shamrock, congratulations! How does it feel to win the fifth UFC tournament?

Ken Shamrock: Oh, it feels great, man. I’ll tell you what; the last time I was in here, you people saw me get my ass kicked! I told myself that it wasn’t going to happen again, so I got together with that man over there and we both got here to the finals, together!

Ken Shamrock moves over to training partner Masakatsu Funaki and raises his arm.

JG: Will you be back?

KS: Without a doubt. When? I can’t answer that. I just earned $50,000. Funaki and I are hitting the town!

JG: Who do you want to win the Superfight? Levicki or Gracie?

KS: I hope Gracie wins it, man. I want to lock horns with a Gracie. I want to be the one who beats a Gracie and does it decisively!

JG: Well, thank you Ken. Again, congratulations on your win and I hope you enjoy the rest of the show.

KS: Thanks, Jay. Thanks, Ed. And thank you, Las Vegas! You people have been a blast! I hope you enjoyed my performance!

JG: Well, we got a Superfight to prepare for. Let’s clear out and get this controversy settled.

Superfight Championship: Renzo Gracie (3-0) vs. David Levicki (3-0)

Background: There’s so much riding on this fight for both fighters. David Levicki is the only man who has defeated one Gracie, let alone two. Meanwhile, Renzo Gracie looks to avenge cousin, Royce Gracie’s, dishonorable defeat at the hands of David Levicki by putting his family’s honor on the line. The Superfight Championship is just a cosmetic prize that can barely address all that’s on the line in this fight.

The Match: The first thing Renzo Gracie refused to do was let David Levicki pin him against the cage. To prevent it from happening, Renzo kept his distance from Levicki only to come in at certain moments of the fight and chop away at Levicki with some low leg-kicks. The strategy worked for Renzo Gracie early on until David Levicki caught Renzo Gracie with a palm thrust that caught the Brazilian off-guard. David Levicki saw this as his opportunity to initiate his UFC 3 tactic of keeping his opponent pinned to the cage. With sheer ease, Levicki steamrolled Renzo Gracie into the cage, but Gracie kept his composure. The fans showed their disapproval by booing Levicki, but he didn’t let off of Renzo Gracie. Luckily for the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu martial artist, the fight extended past the thirty-minute time limit which gave Renzo Gracie a little more room for error. While the crowd were erupting in anger at having to watch another thirty minutes of David Levicki hugging Renzo Gracie against the cage, Renzo Gracie managed to get his arm around David Levicki and quickly leapt from the canvas, wrapping his legs around Levicki’s waist. The choke was sunk in deep, and David Levicki slowly made his way to the canvas before tapping out. The Gracie family rushed into the cage as Renzo Gracie removed himself from David Levicki and fell to the ground in celebration.

Renzo Gracie defeats David Levicki via submission to win the Superfight Championship at 35:24

Post-Fight Insight: The encounter between David Levicki and Renzo Gracie lived up to the superfight moniker. Renzo Gracie looked to use distance to keep David Levicki from pinning him against the cage. A punch, caught the Brazilian off-guard, and there was a bit of a scare there heading into the second half of the fight. Renzo Gracie displayed that he had superior skill by pulling a choke from out of no where to force the Kung-Fu martial artist to tap. (Average)

While Richard Goins announced the winner and Superfight Champion, Edward Jones wrapped the Superfight Championship around the Brazilian’s waist. Jay Glazer eagerly waited by to get an interview with the champion.

Jay Glazer: Renzo Gracie, the crowd is going nuts. You did it! You defeated David Levicki!

Renzo Gracie: I did it to prove that Gracie Jiu-Jitsu is number one!

JG: You caught a punch early on that got trapped beneath Levicki, what was going on in your mind?

RG: It was like getting hit by a big rock, but I have a hard head. That and I was used to getting rocks thrown at me by my own brothers growing up! Haha, no, I was hurt. When he had me against the cage, I was in panic mode. I needed to find a way out before it was too late. He kept lowering his head and I was wondering if he’d do it again. He did it again and BAM! I caught him in a tight guillotine and he had to tap.

JG: I’m not trying to start in a trouble, but Ken Shamrock was calling you out earlier; any response to that?

RG: I’m the Superfight Champion! It’s my job to defend this thing. If Shamrock wants me, he knows where we’ll fight. He looked great tonight, and he just won the tournament. I’d love to fight him.

JG: When will we see Renzo Gracie again?

RG: Tonight at the Las Vegas bars, ladies! Haha, I’ll fight anytime, anywhere. If you guys want to see me fight tomorrow night, I’ll be here.

JG: Superfight Champion, how does that sound?

RG: I like it!

JG: Alright, Blatnick, wrap us up!

Jeff Blatnick: Well to say Superfight was a success is an understatement. Renzo Gracie gained a bit of revenge for his cousin Royce Gracie by forcing David Levicki to submit. We now have our first Superfight Champion. As one story ends, another begins, though, as Ken Shamrock, the winner of this event’s tournament, immediately called out Renzo Gracie after winning his match. Will it happen? Let’s hope so. For Jay Glazer, I’m Jeff Blatnick. This is UFC 5: Superfight. Take care and have a great night!

The camera focused on Renzo Gracie who stood in the center of the octagon with a huge smile on his face and the Superfight title wrapped around his waist. The camera panned to black and SEG logo displayed on the screen to close the show.

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maudlin career · June 5, 2010

From Vegas Nightlife Magazine
June Edition

UFC 6 Confirmed For July

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Nearly twenty-four hours after UFC 5: Superfight, Edward Jones was once again a guest on the radio station, Mix 94.1, speaking about the sixth UFC event.

“There will be a UFC 6, and it will be on the 24th of July. I know, I just dropped a big bombshell on your show, and all, but UFC 5 was a huge success. I haven’t officially contacted anyone yet, but Renzo Gracie just might defend his Superfight Championship against Ken Shamrock. It’s not set in stone yet, but that’s what I would love to see. I’m sure the fans would, too.”

While no information has been released on an official fight card, the Las Vegas Municipal Stadium has been booked for July 24th, which only further confirms the possibility of a sixth UFC.

As always, we’ll keep you posted with more information as we receive it.

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From Vegas Nightlife Magazine
June Edition

Ken Shamrock Out of UFC 6

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On the announcement of a potential UFC 6 match-up between Superfight Champion, Renzo Gracie and UFC 5 tournament champion, Ken Shamrock, Ken Shamrock has come forth to announce that he will not be participating in any kind of match-up at UFC 6.

The UFC 5 Champion, phoned in on Mix 94.1, four days after Edward Jones’ bombshell announcement, to not only announce his withdrawal from competition, but to clarify why he wouldn’t be competing.

“I would love to fight Renzo Gracie, I want that Superfight belt, man. I’ve just been taking some time off to focus on some new things. My crazy younger brother, Frank [shamrock], wants in on this. He wants to be a UFC tournament winner. I’ve been taking him out with me and[Masakatsu] Funaki to train with us. I haven’t had time to focus on my own training these last few days, and to fight a Gracie, you need to be entirely at your game. So for a little while at least, I’m going to be in my brother’s corner making sure we can teach him everything possible so that he can bring home one of these $50,000 checks.”

While the absence of Ken Shamrock will obviously put a dent in Edward Jones’ plans for UFC 6, Edward Jones has no intention on stopping UFC 6. As they always say, the show must go on!.

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From Vegas Nightlife Magazine
July Edition

Royce Gracie Returns!

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Edward Jones, always the one known for making last-minute shocking announcements, has dropped another bombshell on Mix 94.1. Needless to say, UFC 6 has just gotten more interesting.

“So I’ve been trying and trying, and it wasn’t going anywhere. After Renzo Gracie picked up his win and defeated David Levicki the ears were opening, but only under one condition: a rematch with David Levicki. So, at UFC 6, Royce Gracie will return in a special attraction match! David Levicki won’t immediately available due to aggravations from Renzo’s guillotine. That match will happen, but Royce’s return match will be against UFC 2 and 4 finalist, Jason Delucia. Royce Gracie’s return has also given us a good subtitle for UFC 6, The Return. It’s going to be a great card, and I hope everyone will be out to see it.”

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From Vegas Nightlife Magazine
July Edition

UFC 6: The Return Fight Card Finalized

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The promotional flyer for UFC 6 has reached the editor’s room of Vegas Nightlife, and the card will feature a whopping ten fights. In addition to the eight man tournament format and the special attraction match between Royce Gracie and Jason Delucia, two pre-tournament filler bouts will take place between Teila Tuli and Frank Hamaker and boxers Art Jimmerson and Alberta Cerra Leone.

Tickets are on sale now and prices are still set at $15. Doors will open at seven and the pre-tournament filler fights will begin at seven-thirty. The only returning names in this tournament is Scott Baker who was eliminated in the UFC 5 quarterfinal by Tournament Champion, Ken Shamrock.

The official fight card is shown below.

UFC 6: The Return
July 24th
Las Vegas Municipal Stadium
Tickets start at 15$

Fight Card

Pre-Tournament Bout
Teila Tuli (0-2) vs. Frank Hamaker (0-2)

Pre-Tournament Bout
Art Jimmerson (1-2) vs. Alberta Cerra Leon (0-2)

First Quarterfinal
Emmanuel Yarbrough vs. He-Man Gipsob

Second Quarterfinal
Harold Howard vs. Scott Baker (0-1)

Third Quarterfinal
Bas Rutten vs. Felix Mitchell

Fourth Quarterfinal
Christopher Leninger vs. Akihiro Gono

First Semifinal
QF 1 vs. QF 2

Second Semifinal
QF 3 vs. QF 4

Special Attraction
Royce Gracie (4-1) vs. Jason Delucia (4-2)

Final
SF 1 vs. SF 2

maudlin career · June 7, 2010

UFC 6: The Return
July 23rd, 1994
Las Vegas, Nevada

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While the sixth installment of the popular UFC tournament saw a slight decline in attendance with only two-hundred and ninety-six people being seated, the Las Vegas crowd was still hot on their heels for more octagon-branded martial arts entertainment. And entertained they were as two pre-tournament fillers took place to prep the gymnasium for the main tournament and even more importantly, Royce Gracie’s, long-awaited return.

In the first pre-tournament bout, Teila Tuli finally added a scratch to his win column by pushing and bullying Frank Hamaker around the octagon for an entire thirty minutes. While it wasn’t the most entertaining fight to take place in the UFC, Tuli probably won’t be complaining. Art Jimmerson, who was expected to have a boxing war with Alberta Cerra Leon, surprised the Las Vegas crowd by picking up a submission win with a last-ditch effort choke.

Once the two fights wrapped up, the SEG camera crew ran out to the arena immediately taking their positions. Jeff Blatnick and Jay Glazer then came out on stage and greeted the attendants before taking their seats at the broadcast booth.

Jeff Blatnick: The crowd loves us, Jay!

Jay Glazer: I can’t say, I blame them. Hell, I love us!

JB: I’d be jealous of us. We have the best job in the world.

JG: Why? Because we get to watch people fight! Say it with me Jeff: We’re getting paid to watch people beat each other up!

JB: And coming from a wrestling career, I’m glad those days are long behind me.

JG: And tonight do we have a show for you! Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to UFC 6: The Return. And why is it the return you ask? Because Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu blackbelt, Royce Gracie, is back!

JB: The last time we saw Royce, he was defeated by David Levicki in a very controversial fight. The end result saw Levicki advance to the finals and Royce Gracie reject further involvement in the UFC. But he’s back, and the fans are loving it!

JG: Yes, the new heir to the Gracie family crown is back and tonight he’ll be taking on UFC 2 and 4 runner-up Jason Delucia.

JB: That’s right and Delucia has been specifically training on his Jiu-Jitsu game to prepare him for tonight’s match.

JG: Let’s not forget that Delucia has a very bad track record against fighters with a Jiu-Jitsu background, so if he’s to survive against Gracie, he’s going to need that training.

JB: In addition to the special attraction match, we also have the popular eight man tournament once again making a return tonight. The winner will receive a $50,000 check, and I’ve also heard a rumor swirling around in the office that the winner could also have a chance at challenging Renzo Gracie for the Superfight Championship.

JG: Whoa, partner. Let’s not spread rumors. This isn’t high school!

JB: Haha. Now personally, one of the names to look out for in this tournament is Bas Rutten. He’s primarily known for being a Dutch kickboxer, but after a stint in the Pancrase promotion, he’s grappling capable.

JG: Well, we’ll just have to see. G-Man, take us away!

First Quarterfinal: Emmanuel Yarbrough vs. He-Man Gipson

Background Little is known about either fighter, but one thing is for sure: Emmanuel Yarbrough is a behemoth; much larger than Teila Tuli, in fact. Yarbrough is also the second fighter to participate in the UFC with a Sumo background. He-Man Gipson is a massive man in his own right. The Sunnydale, California resident stands in at an impressive 6’0”. This match will certainly be a clash of the titans.

The Match: He-Man Gipson foolishly steps in toward Yarbrough, who immediately bum-rushes him against the cage. The fans immediately booed, expecting Emmanuel Yarbrough to implement tactics similar to that of David Levicki’s, but Yarbrough immediately began chopping down Gipson with several mammoth right and left hands. The fans disapproval immediately changed, and Yarbrough continued his relentless assault. The massive strikes toppled Gipson over and after a several second grace period, John McCarthy had seen enough.

Emmanuel Yarbrough defeats He-Man Gipson via TKO at 6:23 to advance to the tournament semifinals

Post-Fight Insight: Emmanuel Yarbrough completely decimated He-Man Gipson who at least matched Yarbrough in size height wise. With Yarbrough entering the fight with a killer instinct, who’s to say he won’t kill an opponent who’s at most half his size? (Great)

Second Quarterfinal: Harold Howard vs. Scott Baker (0-1)

Background: Scott Baker may have the edge experience wise, but will that really have an effect considering that he was quickly removed from the quarterfinal at the hands of Ken Shamrock? His quarterfinal encounter with Goju-ryu Karate expert, Harold Howard, is just as big of a question-mark as any of the other quarterfinal bouts.

The Match: Scott Baker tried to engage with Harold Howard, who caught on to Baker, and tossed him to the canvas with a flip throw. Howard followed Baker, but Baker rolled away to rebound back to his feet. The two circled around, and Howard began to show control by managing to pin his opponent, Scott Baker, against the fence. The fight would continue to go this way until the thirty-minute time limit came to an end. At the conclusion of the fight, referee John McCarthy awarded Harold Howard with the fight.

Harold Howard defeats Scott Baker via referee’s decision at 30:00 to advance to the tournament semifinals

Post-Fight Insight: Scott Baker gave another poor performance that allowed the Canadian martial artist, Harold Howard, to advance into the next round of the tournament. However, Harold Howard just gave a thirty minute performance, which could affect his stamina when fighting the giant Emmanuel Yarbrough. (Average)

Third Quarterfinal: Bas Rutten vs. Felix Mitchell

Background: It’s put up or shut up for Bas Rutten, who after all the praise from Jeff Blatnick, will certainly have the eyeballs on him from the home viewers. As stated earlier, Bas Rutten is a Dutch kickboxer who also touts a Pancrase grappling background. If Pit-Fighter, Felix Mitchell, lacks in any of those departments, Bas Rutten just might be able to back up the hype.

The Fight: In Jose Landi-Jons fashion, Bas Rutten opens the fight by chopping away at Felix Mitchell, who absolutely has no response; along with the unresponsiveness, Mitchell, can barely take the pain, as he quickly topples to the canvas after taking a barrage of shin kicks. Rutten chooses to follow Mitchell to the ground, but instead of unleashing the fists, Rutten grasps Mitchell’s left leg and hooks in an ankle lock for the submission win.

Bas Rutten defeats Felix Mitchell via submission at 5:08 to advance to the tournament semifinals

Fourth Quarterfinal: Christopher Leninger vs. Akihiro Gono

Background: You can lump Christopher Leninger has an extensive background and in Judo and will almost have to rely on his grappling if he’s to win the entirety of the UFC 6 tournament. Akihiro Gono is also a Judoka who will be giving up close to twenty pounds in the fight, which could be a deciding factor in the fight.

The Match: The fourth quarterfinal of the tournament was also the second fight of the tournament to go to a decision. The fight saw Akihiro Gono try to grapple with Leninger to possibly get the fight to the ground, but Leninger managed to keep Gono off balance and take him off of his feet several times. When the grappling exchange wasn’t working in Gono’s favor, he tried to implement some striking, but with poor foot work, he didn’t pose any sort of threat on the feet. Thankfully for Gono, Christopher Leninger wasn’t too hot in the striking department, but because of his keen grappling defense, referee John McCarthy awarded Leninger with the win.

Christopher Leninger defeats Akihiro Gono via referee’s decision at 30:00 to advance to the tournament semifinals

Post-Fight Insight: While Leninger kept Gono off-balance with his superior Judo background, he Judoka didn’t pull off anything worthwhile to put the odds in his favor against Bas Rutten. That’s not to say that Leninger is outmatched, but he’s definitely going to have to step his game up in the next round of the tournament. (Average)

Not wanting to waist anytime going into the semifinals. Immediately after the final quarterfinal bout between Akihiro Gono and Christopher Leninger, Richard Goins returned to the octagon to get the semifinals running.

First Semifinal: Emmanuel Yarbrough (1-0) vs. Harold Howard (1-0)

Background: Harold Howard is going to have his work cut out for him if he’s to fight a more aggressive form of Teila Tuli. On top of that, if Harold Howard is to execute a remotely decent gameplan, he’ll have to move in to implement some grappling, which will more than likely result in death for the Canadian martial artist.

The Match: Yarbrough swung a mammoth hand and caught Howard flush, knocking the Goju-ryu martial artist to the ground. Confirming that being smothered by a four-hundred pound fighter will always result in a loss, Yarbrough put all of his weight into Howard who immediately winced in pain and attempted to squirm out from under Yarbrough to catch a breath. Yarbrough began striking down on Howard and seating himself on Howard’s sternum to further constrict the Canadian’s breathing. To strip the Las Vegas fans the privilege of seeing a fighter die in the cage, Harold Howard slapped his hand on Yarbrough’s leg to signal the tap.

Emmanuel Yarbrough defeats Harold Howard via submission at 11:47 to advance to the tournament finals

Post-Fight Insight: Emmanuel Yarbrough is out for blood and this could mean nothing but trouble for either Rutten or Leninger. If either fighter is expected to come out of a fight with Yarbrough alive, they’re going to have to stay on their toes. Don’t be surprised if Yarbrough takes the entire tournament. (Good)

Second Semifinal: Bas Rutten (1-0) vs. Christopher Leninger (1-0)

Background: Bas Rutten looked incredible in his quarterfinal by completely decimating Felix Mitchell with leg kicks and then finishing the fight with an ankle lock. Christopher Leninger displayed an excellent Judo base, but if he’s to challenge Rutten, the more complete fighter of the two, he’s going to need to be much more aggressive than he was with Akihiro Gono.

The Match: Leninger was very apprehensive about getting to aggressive, but when he finally decided to move in a right hook from the Dutchman sent Leninger crashing to the mat and lying in wait against the cage. Rutten refused to let off from there and began to drive fists and knees into Leninger whose arms began to flail. At the sight of the flailing, the towel was tossed into the octagon to save Christopher Leninger from a near death beating.

Jay Glazer: Well, Blatnick I gotta hand it to you, your boy is lookin’ tough!

Jeff Blatnick: Bas Rutten is an incredibly dangerous fighter, but after seeing Emmanuel Yarbrough, who knows how this tournament is going to end?

JG: Well, before we get to the final. Before we get to Rutten and Yarbrough, it’s time. He’s back, Jeff! He’s back!

JB: He is indeed. Royce Gracie is only minutes away from making his return to the UFC.

JG: Now, let’s not undersell Jason Delucia. The man was a runner up in two UFC tournament finals.

JB: Oh, Jason Delucia is a dangerous opponent indeed, and if Royce overlooks him, we could certainly have ourselves an upset.

JG: Enough talk! I’m excited! Are you excited! The man is back! Goins, get us going!

Special Attraction: Royce Gracie (4-1) vs. Jason Delucia (4-2)

Background: Royce Gracie, the man who started all of this back in 1993, is making his return in a bout against the always dangerous Jason Delucia. While Jason Delucia lacks the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu background that has kept everyone else in the martial arts world on their toes, he has shown in the past that he has a submission game. Whether or not it will be enough to stop Royce Gracie remains to be seen.

The Match: The two fighters stood across from each other circling around the octagon before Royce Gracie shot in and tripped Jason Delucia to take the Kung-Fu martial artist to the canvas. Delucia tried kept his composure to look for Royce Gracie’s submissions, but it wasn’t enough as Gracie punched Delucia in the rib as a distraction before pulling on the elbow for a submission.

Royce Gracie defeats Jason Delucia via submission at 3:25

Post-Fight Insight: The man is BACK! Royce Gracie took Jason Delucia down with little ease to quickly earn a submission win. David Levicki better look up any training manuals on Gracie Jiu-Jitsu he can find, otherwise he’ll be in trouble in their rematch.

While the Gracie family poured into the octagon to celebrate, Jay Glazer stepped into the ring with a microphone to congratulate and interview the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu blackbelt.

Jay Glazer: Royce, it is great to have you back! Are you people glad to have him back!? Welcome back to the UFC, Royce, tell me about the fight.

Royce Gracie: He was alert. He was looking for my submission and showed much better patience than he did in his fight with Renzo. He improved his game, so I had to get his mind off of the submissions. I hit his ribs and then I saw my chance for an arm bar.

JG: And it looked nasty! But I gotta ask, David Levicki…

RG: I will fight David. I will take my honor back!

JG: Now your cousin defeated him at the last UFC to win the Superfight title. What do you think of that?

RG: I knew Renzo could do it and I am proud of him! He’s a great martial artist.

Renzo Gracie stepped to stand beside Royce so that he could rest his right hand on Royce’s left shoulder to show him a little gratitude.

JG: Now we know you have plans to fight David Levicki, but will we see Royce Gracie in another UFC tournament.

RG: I will win another UFC! Thank you, everyone!

JG: Well there you have it! Royce Gracie! He’s back! Everyone give it up for Royce Gracie! Jeff Blatnick, back to you!

Jeff Blatnick: Simply incredible. Royce Gracie’s return wasn’t spoiled one bit. If I was David Levicki, I’d come prepared, because Royce is a man on a mission. The octagon is cleared and that means we’re left with one more fight: Bas Rutten and Emmanuel Yarbrough. The $50,000 check is on the line and who couldn’t use the extra cash? Richard Goins, we’re ready when you are.

Final: Bas Rutten (2-0) vs. Emmanuel Yarbrough (2-0)

Background: Both Bas Rutten and Emmanuel Yarbrough have swept through all four of their opponents which should make for an exciting and overtly-brutal fight. Bas Rutten is quick with dangerous striking and grappling to match. Emmanuel Yarbrough easily towers over the Dutchman in both height and size and can cripple an opponent with one punch.

The Match: The worst fight on the card ended up being the tournament final between two fighters who completely tore the tournament apart. While the fact may have been a dud, one could say it could be due to Bas Rutten not wanting to place himself in a situation where Emmanuel Yarbrough could maul him into a bloody pulp. So to prevent that, Rutten constantly kept on his feet circling around the octagon and only stepping in every now and then to give Yarbrough a kick. Though the kicks added up, they did absolutely nothing to Yarbrough whose massive exterior protected him from taking too much damage. Unfortunately for Yarbrough, his size also dictated his speed, which made it hard for him to catch Rutten. For thirty minutes, Rutten played cat-and-mouse with Yarbrough until referee John McCarthy awarded Bas Rutten with the decision.

Bas Rutten defeats Emmanuel Yarbrough via referee’s decision at 30:00 to win the UFC 6 tournament

Post-Fight Insight: An incredibly disappointing fight that was expected to be nothing but fireworks before the fight actually started. Give Bas Rutten his nod, though, as he proved to have an intellect to match his fighting skills as he even he knew getting too aggressive with a fighter like Emmanuel Yarbrough could send someone to the hospital. Like or hate his performance, Bas Rutten is the UFC 6 tournament champion. (Awful)

After congratulating Jeff Blatnick for calling the correct fighter to take the entire tournament, Jay Glazer removed himself from the broadcast position and stepped into the octagon to conduct an interview with the new UFC champion and Bas Rutten asked Jay Glazer if he could speak into the microphone in response to the negative reaction the crowd was giving to his performance.

Bas Rutten: I would have fallen asleep, too. But that guy is too big to be knocked out!

Rutten gives a huge smile giving Jay Glazer the chance to speak.

Jay Glazer: Well Bas, I gotta hand it to my partner Jeff Blatnick, he had you picked from the very beginning of the show. You seemed to have incredible striking and you even showed a thing or two on the ground.

BR: Yeah. I heard about this tournament during a match I had in Pancrase several months ago. I said “Oh wow, $50,000? How do I get that?” Caught myself a plane and here I am.

JG: Here you are with $50,000. How does that feel?

BR: I’ll spend all of it tonight. Then I’ll have to fight again so I can get my money back!

JG: Speaking of coming back. Renzo Gracie, would you be willing to fight him?

BR: You know, if the pay is good and he wants to fight, sign me up.

The crowd erupts in cheers as Renzo Gracie comes from the crowd and steps into the octagon.

JG: There he is, there’s the Superfight Champion. What do you think Las Vegas, Renzo Gracie and Bas Rutten for the Superfight Championship!?!

Renzo Gracie: You looked great tonight. But you just won a tournament. Now you hafta beat the champ.

JG: Well, it looks like Renzo accepted! There you have it folks. Let’s hope it happens!

RG: Hey, I’m ready to fight now! Let’s do it! Haha!

JG: Whoa! Well before it gets too crazy, go ahead and wrap us up Jeff!

Jeff Blatnick: Well, I’m sure my phone will be ringing to no end come the next UFC tournament. I told everyone to look out for Bas Rutten and he just earned himself $50,000. Now people are going to want the inside news for all subsequent tournaments, and people, it was just a lucky guess! For Jay Glazer, I’m Jeff Blatnick and this is UFC 6: The Return. We saw the triumphant return of Royce Gracie and hopefully next time we’re together, Renzo Gracie and Bas Rutten will lock horns. Goodnight everyone!

The camera focused in on Bas Rutten and Renzo Gracie who were still talking with one another as the show came to a close.

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maudlin career · June 7, 2010

From Vegas Nightlife Magazine
July Edition

UFC 7 Possible for October

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While many were expecting UFC coordinator, Edward Jones, to come forth only a few hours after UFC 6 to announce the next event, the UFC operator remained silent. When John Peretti, head matchmaker of the UFC, Bob Meyrowitz, and Art Davie were apprehended about plans for the seventh UFC, all three of them declined to speak.

While many are beginning to speculate that their may not be a UFC 7, according to the Las Vegas Municipal Gymnasium, there seems to be a booking planned for October 1st. While that doesn’t confirm anything, the fact that the booking is planned from 7:00 PM until 11:00 midnight, around same duration the last six UFC have taken place, it’s certainly a possibility.

As always, we’ll keep you updated.

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From Vegas Nightlife Magazine
August Edition

Jones Confirms the Rumor: UFC 7 on October 1st. Bas Rutten vs. Renzo Gracie on Tap.

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Edward Jones finally came forth on the popular Mix 94.1 radio station to confirm that the Las Vegas Municipal Gymnasium October 1st booking is, in fact, for UFC 7.

“The reason why I didn’t say anything early on was because everyone was getting adjusted to our format of having a show every month or two; July ‘til October is a huge gap and we weren’t sure how people would take it. [Art] Davie and Bob [Meyrowitz] were against a long wait, but it was the only way I could guarantee the card people want to see. The Superfight Championship is on the line and Renzo Gracie will be defending it against Bas Rutten. Adding to that, of course, will be the eight-man tournament to crown the next Superfight Champion’s opponent. It’s gonna be a good card. Jose Landi-Jons is back, we have Emmanuel Yarbrough wanting in, and all sorts of surprises. You guys don’t want to miss it!”

With Bas Rutten and Renzo Gracie confirmed to meet each other in the octagon, UFC 7 could quite possibly be one of the most intriguing cards put on by Edward Jones.

October 1st sure can’t get here fast enough.

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From Vegas Nightlife Magazine
September Edition

New Addition to UFC 7: Royce Gracie Enters Tournament

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In the first of what can assumed to be many bombshells, Royce Gracie has officially announced his participation in the UFC 7 tournament. There’s no word on what this could mean if he wins the tournament, as there could be a possibility that he would have to fight cousin, Renzo Gracie, in the event that he successfully defends the Superfight Championship against Bas Rutten.

With Royce Gracie participating in the tournament, UFC 7 could be one of the best UFC tournaments the promotion has ever had.

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From Vegas Nightlife Magazine
September Edition

UFC 7 Finalized

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The promotional flyer for UFC 7, sub-named First Defense, has officially reached the offices of Vegas Nightlife Magazine and the card is quite impressive from top to bottom.

In the main event of the card, Renzo Gracie will return to the octagon to offer his first defense of the Superfight Championship against UFC 6 Tournament Champion, Bas Rutten.

In addition to the title match, two pre-tournament filler bouts will take place between Patrick Smith and Christopher Leninger and Oleg Taktarov and Harold Howard.

To wrap up the card, the popular eight man tournament will return to round out the remainder of the event. The winner will receive $50,000 and a chance to challenge Renzo Gracie. Names involved in the tournament include Royce Gracie, Art Jimmerson, Emmanuel Yarbrough, and Jose Landi-Jons.

To get a view of the entire card, just look below.

UFC 7: First Defense
October 1st
Las Vegas Municipal Stadium
Tickets start at 15$

Fight Card

Pre-Tournament Bout
Patrick Smith (1-1) vs. Christopher Leninger (1-1)

Pre-Tournament Bout
Oleg Taktarov (1-1) vs. Harold Howard (1-1)

First Quarterfinal
Guy Mezger vs. Orlando Weit (0-1)

Second Quarterfinal
Emmanuel Yarbrough (2-1) vs. Kimo Leopoldo

Third Quarterfinal
Jose Landi-Jons (1-2) vs. Steve Jennum

Fourth Quarterfinal
Royce Gracie (5-1) vs. Art Jimmerson (2-2)

First Semifinal
QF 1 vs. QF 2

Second Semifinal
QF 3 vs. QF 4

Superfight Championship
Renzo Gracie© (4-0) vs. Bas Rutten (3-0)

Final
SF 1 vs. SF 2

Let's get some predictions running!

Gomi · June 8, 2010

Pre-Tournament Bout

Patrick Smith (1-1) vs. Christopher Leninger (1-1)

Pre-Tournament Bout

Oleg Taktarov (1-1) vs. Harold Howard (1-1)

First Quarterfinal

Guy Mezger vs. Orlando Weit (0-1)

Second Quarterfinal

Emmanuel Yarbrough (2-1) vs. Kimo Leopoldo

Third Quarterfinal

Jose Landi-Jons (1-2) vs. Steve Jennum

Fourth Quarterfinal

Royce Gracie (5-1) vs. Art Jimmerson (2-2)

First Semifinal

Guy Mezger vs. Kimo Leopoldo

Second Semifinal

Jose Landi-Jons vs. Royce Gracie

Superfight Championship

Renzo Gracie© (4-0) vs. Bas Rutten (3-0)

Final

Guy Mezger vs. Royce Gracie

maudlin career · June 8, 2010

UFC 7: First Defense
October 2nd, 1994
Las Vegas, Nevada

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The first defense of the Superfight Champion, Renzo Gracie, was only hours from beginning and while many fans wondered how the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu blackbelt would stack up against a fighter of the caliber of Bas Rutten, who displayed grappling prowess and potent striking, the answer would have to await until the end of the night.

For now, the fans had two pre-tournament filler fights to not only entertain them, but to keep their minds off of the more important fights of the night. In the first filler bout of the night, Patrick Smith took Christopher Leninger to a twenty-minute fight where the Taekwondo martial artist finished the fight with a submission. To follow up with Smith’s impressive performance, Oleg Taktarov dismantled Canadian, Harold Howard in six minutes for a TKO victory.

After the fights wrapped up, the usual suspects, Jeff Blatnick and Jay Glazer, took to the broadcast table as the SEG camera crew set up for tonight’s fights.

Jay Glazer: Well, Blatnick, I gotta give it to you. Last time we were here, you told us all about this amazing Bas Rutten. And now look at him, about to fight the world’s most dangerous martial artist, Renzo Gracie.

Jeff Blatnick: Bas Rutten came out and picked up some very impressive wins. He showed dangerous striking and a deadly grappling game to match. This could be the perfect match-up for champion, Renzo Gracie.

JG: Greetings everyone, I’m Jay Glazer, he’s Jeff Blatnick, and you’re watching UFC 7: First Defense and tonight will be the first defense of Superfight Champion, Renzo Gracie!

JB: Royce Gracie also makes his second return to compete in tonight’s tournament. Obviously, you know where my betting hand lies.

JG: We all waited patiently since July and now that October is here, this is our reward: a super-stacked eight man tournament and Renzo Gracie’s first title defense. I’ll tell you what Jeff, I probably say this every time, but this is going to be the best UFC event we’ve ever seen.

JB: Oh, I’m gonna have to agree!

JG: I’m excited! They’re excited! Now let’s get to G-Man for the first match of the night!

First Quarterfinal: Guy Mezger vs. Orlando Weit (0-1)

Background: As was witnessed in his UFC 4 debut, Orlando Weit is a highly kickboxer who holds knockout power with both of his feet and fists. The debuting Guy Mezger hails from Houston, Texas and calls his brand of martial arts Submission Fighting. While that may give him the edge in the grappling exchange, if he lacks the striking to back it up, he could be flat on his back at the hands of Orlando Weit.

The Match: Guy Mezger and Orlando Weit waste little time meeting at the center of the octagon where Weit tosses a round house kick aimed at Guy Mezger’s ribs. Mezger surprises the French kickboxer by catching the leg. Orlando Weit tries to keep his balance, but Mezger lifts the Frechman’s leg in the air which results in Orlando Weit crashing to the canvas. Weit tries to scuffle back to his feet, but Mezger pins the kickboxer’s head underneath his arm and completes a guillotine choke.

Guy Mezger defeats Orlando Weit via submission at 7:18 to advance to the tournament semifinals

Post-Fight Insight: Guy Mezger shows that he doesn’t quite need a striking game to back up his grappling. He showed a crisp response time by catching Weit’s kick to take his opponent to the ground where he finished the fight with a super-tight guillotine. (Good)

Second Quarterfinal: Emmanuel Yarbrough (2-1) vs. Kimo Leopoldo

Background: Emmanuel Yarbrough entered the UFC 6 tournament and completely dismantled every opposing martial artist with the exception of Bas Rutten. Kimo Leopoldo is a debuting fighter who belongs to the crop of martial artist who claim a Freestyle background. If you’ve been keeping track at home, you’ll realize that the UFC tournament hasn’t faired well for Freestyle fighters, which could mean trouble for Leopoldo considering his opponent.

The Match: Emmanuel Yarbrough shot at Kimo Leopoldo like a cannon ball that sent the Hawaiian fighter crashing into the cage. Yarbrough kept Leopoldo trapped against the cage where Yarbrough began to chop away at Leopoldo. Though Kimo was taking a beating, he finally managed to push out from under Yarbrough, but after eating another clubbing blow in the back, Yarbrough wrapped his arms around Leopoldo’s waist and tossed him into the cage. For the remainder of the fight, Kimo Leopoldo, took a battering against the cage, but showed willpower as he never faltered once during the battle. The bell finally sounded, saving Kimo Leopoldo from further destruction, but referee John McCarthy called the fight in favor of Emmanuel Yarbrough.

Emmanuel Yarbrough defeats Kimo Leopoldo via referee’s decision at 30:00 to advance to the tournament semifinals

Post-Fight Insight: The big bad Emmanuel Yarbrough advances to the semifinals for the second consecutive time and Guy Mezger just might be in trouble. If Yarbrough traps a fighter like Mezger against the cage, it’ll be surprising if there will be anything left of the submission fighter afterward. (Decent)

Third Quarterfinal: Jose-Landi Jons (1-2) vs. Steve Jennum

Background: This is Muay-Thai artist, Jose Landi-Jons, third appearance at a UFC tournament. Judging from his appearance in the fourth UFC event, the Brazilian martial artist will look to employ razor sharp kicks to neutralize his opponent, Steve Jennum, hails from a Ninjutsu martial arts background.

The Match: One right kick to the head was all she wrote for Steve Jennum, as the Omaha, Nebraska native went crashing to the canvas after receiving a right foot from Landi-Jons. The fight wasn’t over yet, as Jennum wasn’t entirely motionless on the ground. To finalize the affair, Jose Landi-Jons began throwing punch after punch on his down opponent and it was enough to convince Jennum’s corner to stop the fight.

Jose Landi-Jons defeats Steve Jennum via submission at 1:36 to advance to the tournament semifinals

Post-Fight Insight: Jose Landi-Jons completely decimates Steve Jennum with his Muay Thai. If Jose Landi-Jons can keep his subsequent fights up-right, his striking will be enough to see him all the way to the finals. (Great)

Fourth Quarterfinal: Royce Gracie (5-1) vs. Art Jimmerson (2-2)

Background: What can be said about Royce Gracie that hasn’t already been seen? The Gracie Jiu-Jitsu blackbelt is riding high with an unprecedented UFC record of 5-1. Art Jimmerson is an exciting boxer who has accomplished a knock out and a submission victory, but if Art Jimmerson fell to the Jiu-Jitsu base of Murilo Bustamante and Renzo Gracie, Royce Gracie shouldn’t have much trouble against the Golden Glove boxer.

The Match: Art Jimmerson caught Royce Gracie with a light jab, but it didn’t halt Gracie from moving in and tripping the boxer to the canvas. Jimmerson kept his arms wrapped around Royce Gracie in an effort to prevent any submission offense, but Royce Gracie remained in position. A few fists from Royce Gracie dug into Art Jimmerson’s ribs, but he still didn’t let go of the grasp. With no other options remaining, Royce Gracie drove his forearm into Art Jimmerson’s throat for a submission victory.

Royce Gracie defeats Art Jimmerson at 5:26 via submission to advance to the tournament semifinals

After the quarterfinals wrap up, the camera pans to the backstage areas of Bas Rutten and Renzo Gracie respectively who are both still doing some last minute preparations for the fight.

Jay Glazer: Don’t forget, coming up after the semifinals will be Bas Rutten and Renzo Gracie for the Superfight Championship!

Jeff Blatnick: It’s going to be a fight for the ages, that’s for sure.

JG: Well, it looks like we’re ready for the semifinals. Let’s get back to G-Man!

First Semifinal: Guy Mezger (1-0) vs. Emmanuel Yarbrough (3-1)

Background: It’s going to be a long night for Guy Mezger, the submission fighter, if he expects to pull any form of a submission on the mammoth Emmanuel Yarbrough. Getting remotely close to Yarbrough is just asking for trouble in itself.

The Match: Yarbrough stalks Mezger around the octagon looking to chop the Texan down. Guy Mezger was finally backed into the cage and Yarbrough started his charge. A right hand from Mezger and Yarbrough is seated on the canvas! Mezger leaps on him and fires some more punches, but Yarbrough turns out from under him and attempts to stand back to his feet. Mezger immediately takes Yarbrough’s back in locks in a choke. Yarbrough tries standing up-right but staggers back down to his knees. Yarbrough taps out and David has officially defeated Goliath!

Guy Mezger defeats Emmanuel Yarbrough via submission at 3:27 to advance to the tournament final

Post-Fight Insight: An amazing victory that the UFC fans will be talking about for the ages. Guy Mezger stared the mammoth Yarbrough in the eye and dropped him with one right hand. While the punch would have been enough to finish a regular martial artist off, Yarbrough was still completely ready to fight. Mezger didn’t let off and leapt into certain trouble by going to the ground with the four-hundred pounder and followed it up by delivering an excellent choke to pick up a victor. (Great)

Second Semifinal: Royce Gracie (6-1) vs. Jose Landi-Jons (2-2)

Background: For the historians out there, this is a rematch from the quarterfinal round of the very first UFC event. It was at that event that Royce Gracie made a strong case for Gracie Jiu-Jitsu by submitting Jose Landi-Jons in 1:29, the fastest finishing time within the first UFC event.

The Match: Just like in their first encounter, Jose Landi-Jons immediately found himself on his back with Royce Gracie on top of him. Jose Landi-Jons weathers a storm of rib punches, but Gracie eventually takes the strikes up top and begins throwing punches at Landi-Jons face. The punches aren’t too damaging, but to prevent further aggravation, Landi-Jons covers up. Royce wraps his arm around Jose Landi-Jons’ neck, ensnaring the Muay Thai martial artist’s right arm in the process, to sink in a really tight choke. Jose Landi-Jons is gasping for air and waves his hand in the air to signal the end of the fight.

Royce Gracie defeats Jose Landi-Jons via submission at 2:56 to advance to the tournament finals

Post-Fight Insight: More of the same from Royce Gracie as he uses Gracie Jiu-Jitsu to completely dominate Jose Landi-Jons for the second time to advance to the final round of the tournament. (Fantastic)

After the octagon cleared, a highlight package aired showing Renzo Gracie defeating David Levicki to win the Superfight Championship. A voice over from Renzo Gracie plays over the highlight package.

Renzo Gracie: Gracie Jiu-Jitsu is the best martial art in the world. I will show Bas Rutten that if I have to.

Another video package plays of Bas Rutten submitting Felix Mitchell and TKOing Christopher Leninger followed by John McCarthy raising his hand in the final against Emmanuel Yarbrough.

Bas Rutten: Gracie Jiu-Jitsu is dangerous. There has been four or five guys who have been submitted. I can deal with submissions, though. Can he deal with a punch?

On June 5th, Renzo Gracie returned to UFC to face off against Kung-Fu expert, David Levicki. While the fight was billed as being for the Superfight Championship, more was at stake than just championship gold.

Renzo Gracie: When David Levicki challenged us, I knew it had to be to step up. He defeated Royce very dishonorably, and I knew he wanted me next.

In front of 302 people, Renzo Gracie and David Levicki met at the center of the octagon in a grudge match for the ages. He was caught early on with a right hand from Levicki that eventually led to him being trapped against the cage.

Renzo Gracie: I just kept telling myself “Focus. You can’t let him beat you like this. You can’t let him win like this again.” I saw my opening and went for it.

At 35:24, Renzo Gracie managed to wrap his legs around David Levicki and sink in a guillotine choke making the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu practitioner the first ever UFC Superfight Champion.

While many would think it was time for celebration, on that same night, Ken Shamrock, who had been recognized for competing in the first UFC tournament, entered the Superfight tournament with one goal in mind: rebounding from his quarterfinal loss by winning the entire tournament. With a total time of 6:43, Ken Shamrock ended the night as UFC 5 Tournament Champion, $50,000 richer, and a possible opponent for Renzo Gracie.

Jay Glazer: Who do you want to win the Superfight? Levicki or Gracie?

Ken Shamrock: I hope Gracie wins it, man. I want to lock horns with a Gracie. I want to be the one who beats a Gracie and does it decisively

Jay Glazer: I’m not trying to start in a trouble, but Ken Shamrock was calling you out earlier; any response to that?

Renzo Gracie: I’m the Superfight Champion! It’s my job to defend this thing. If Shamrock wants me, he knows where we’ll fight. He looked great tonight, and he just won the tournament. I’d love to fight him.

Many were expecting UFC 6 to play host to the Superfight Championship defense of Renzo Gracie and Ken Shamrock. Ken Shamrock, who now made it his goal to prepare his brother for competition, announced his withdrawal from future UFC competition, putting the title match between himself and Renzo Gracie on an indefinite hiatus.

To crown a new Superfight Championship contender, a new tournament was held at UFC 6 on July 23rd. Early on, the tournament favorites looked to be fighters Emmanuel Yarbrough and Bas Rutten who picked up a collection of stoppages enroute to meeting each other in the finals.

Bas Rutten managed to take the mammoth Emmanuel Yarbrough to the thirty minute duration that was allotted in the tournament final. While it wasn’t the most entertaining fight on the card, Bas Rutten did just enough in the fight for referee John McCarthy to award him with the victory. Bas Rutten’s future with the UFC was quite clear: a match with Superfight Champion, Renzo Gracie.

Jay Glazer: What do you think Las Vegas, Renzo Gracie and Bas Rutten for the Superfight Championship!?!

Renzo Gracie: You looked great tonight. But you just won a tournament. Now you hafta beat the champ.

Two fighters

Renzo Gracie: He can try to knock me out. Others have tried before. How did that go for them?

Bas Rutten: If he wants to submit me he’s going to have to get me to the ground. That’s not going to happen.

One belt.

Superfight Championship: Renzo Gracie© (4-0) vs. Bas Rutten (3-0)

Background: Renzo Gracie’s first championship defense will arguably be one of the biggest tests he’s had thus far in his UFC martial arts career. Renzo Gracie’s grappling prowess is only matched by that of Royce Gracie who has relied on his Gracie Jiu-Jitsu to make to his second UFC tournament final. While Bas Rutten has a grappling background, it’s his striking that could be the deciding factor in this fight.

The Match: The fight starts slow at first, with both fighters circling around each other not wanting to be too aggressive. Renzo Gracie finally moves in for the first shot, but Bas catches him and tosses him to the canvas. Renzo gives him a nod while lying on the ground and scoots back getting back to his feet. There’s more circling from the two fighters and Renzo Gracie fires a fist in Rutten’s direction. Rutten blocks the punch and delivers a kick to Renzo’s leg and the two back up and circle around once more. The action lets off from there as the two martial artists continue to stare and circle. The crowd grows restless, but Rutten finally throws two punches and a roundhouse kick, and while none of the strikes catch Renzo Gracie, the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighter stumbles back and slips to the canvas. Bas Rutten stands over Gracie and begins throwing punches down on the Brazilian fighter. Renzo Gracie looks to be in trouble and Bas Rutten moves in closer to fire off more punches. Just when it looks like it’s lights out for Renzo Gracie, his legs lift up and Renzo has them snaked around Bas Rutten’s neck. Rutten tries punching his way out, but he collapses to his knees, tapping out to Renzo Gracie.

Renzo Gracie defeats Bas Rutten via submission at 21:13 to retain the Superfight Championship

Post-Fight Insight: Renzo Gracie took a battering from Bas Rutten, but in the end ultimately proved again that Gracie Jiu-Jitsu is the superior martial art. It’s not all bad for Bas Rutten as he dominated the fight early on and looked as if he was on his way to a completely one-sided victory. (Decent)

Renzo Gracie and Bas Rutten shook hands with one another as Jay Glazer stepped into the ring.

Jay Glazer: Give it up for the Superfight Champion! Renzo Gracie, be honest, you ate some big punches, it looked like it was going to be over. How close were you to snoozing away?

Renzo Gracie: My face, my pretty face, it’s ruined! I’m no longer the world’s most handsome man! Haha. He threw some great punches and I was seeing tweeting birdies! But he left his neck open and I just said to myself “Get the triangle!” I didn’t think it would as much as it would scare him to get off of me, but thank God that it did!

JG: Well it was an impressive win, most definitely. Now, your cousin is fighting in the final tonight. If he wins, will you fight him?

RG: I don’t know, that’s something he and I are gonna have to discuss. When I signed up for my first tournament, I never considered the possibility of fighting my cousin.

JG: Well, time is cutting short. Anything you want to say to your fans?

RG: People, I just want to tell you to give it up for Bas Rutten! He’s a great fighter, and I’m sure that we will meet again. I can’t wait!

JG: Thanks, Renzo. Alright Jeff, back to you!

Jeff Blatnick: Well, Bas Rutten came up short in the match, but that just proves how deadly of a fighter Renzo Gracie is. The first defense was a success, and who knows what’ll happen from there? A possible match between Royce and Renzo, maybe? Let’s get back to Rich Goins and find out!

Final: Royce Gracie (7-1) vs. Guy Mezger (2-0)

Background: Guy Mezger may be a sizeable underdog coming into the final, but after an impressive one-sided victory over Emmanuel Yarbrough, it’s hard to think that he’s completely outmatched coming into the final. The invincibility aura that emanates from Royce Gracie continues to glow even brighter now that he’s sitting with an impressive 7-1 record. But as stated earlier, it’s hard to sleep on Guy Mezger

The Match: Mezger and Gracie waist little time taking it to the ground, and next to Murilo Bustamante, Guy Mezger is the only fighter who has managed to show that he can hang on the ground with the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu blackbelt. Mezger slips out of an arm bar and immediately takes control of Royce Gracie from the top. Gracie tries for a triangle choke, but Mezger steps right through it. Royce manages to wrap his legs around Mezger’s ankle, but Mezger manages to hop away. Mezger dives in on Royce Gracie, but Royce catches him with a tight guillotine choke. The choke is applied to Mezger for several seconds before he finally decides to give in and tap out.

Royce Gracie defeats Guy Mezger via submission at 8:03 to win the UFC 7 Tournament

Post-Fight Insight: Hands off to Guy Mezger who managed to get out of some slick submissions and keep up to speed with Royce Gracie in the grappling exchange. However, no one has managed to beat the Gracie’s at their own game, and unfortunately for Guy Mezger, he wasn’t the exception. (Decent)

Jay Glazer moves himself back into the octagon to speak with the UFC 7 Tournament Champion.

Jay Glazer: Royce, before I ask anything else, I’m dying to know: Will you fight Renzo Gracie?

Royce Gracie: There’s only one guy on my list and he knows who he is. David Levicki, Renzo accepted your challenge and now I accept your challenge. I want that fight.

JG: Guy Mezger looked good in the grappling, any words to your Texas opponent?

RG: I was impressed with his ability to get out of tight spots. He’s an impressive fighter. I hope he comes back.

JG: Royce, when would you like to fight Levicki?

RG: I will fight him now! David, anytime you’re ready, I will fight you!

JG: Alright, there you have it. Royce Gracie, the only man to win two separate UFC tournaments. Las Vegas, make some noise! Jeff, back to you!

Jeff Blatnick: Can Royce Gracie three-peat? Well, we won’t get a chance to find out anytime soon as he’s already made his intentions to fight David Levicki known. Will David Levicki accept? One can only hope, it’s a rematch we all want to see. Congratulations also go to Renzo Gracie for successfully defending his belt against the dangerous Bas Rutten. However, with Royce Gracie looking for a fight with David Levicki, who will be next for Renzo Gracie? Maybe we’ll find out at UFC 8! For Jay Glazer, I’m Jeff Blatnick. You’re watching UFC 7: First Defense. Goodnight, everyone!

Both Renzo and Royce Gracie are celebrating in the octagon as the UFC 7 broadcast finally goes to black.

Gomi - 7/10. We have ourselves a Mezger fan, eh? Good job, no doubt.

maudlin career · June 9, 2010

From Vegas Nightlife Magazine
October Edition

David Levicki Accepts Royce Gracie’s Challenge. New Rules Slated for Bout

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Almost immediately after winning the UFC 7 tournament, Royce Gracie made it known that he wanted his next martial arts bout inside of the octagon to be against David Levicki, the only man to hand Royce Gracie a loss in the martial arts world.

Upon David Levicki’s acceptance of Royce Gracie’s a new set of rules have been slated for their encounter to prevent the night ending in controversy as it did in their first encounter. The full set of rules are listed below.

-Sixty minute time limit

-Fight only ends in Knock Out, Technical Knock Out, Submission, Verbal Forfeit, Thrown Towel

-If the fight reaches sixty minutes, the bout will end in a draw

UFC coordinator, Edward Jones, confirmed on Mix 94.1 that the long-awaited rematch would take place on the forthcoming UFC 8 event. However, there is currently no date slated for the eighth UFC iteration.

---

From Vegas Nightlife Magazine
October Edition

UFC 8 On Tap for November 19th

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Only one week removed from UFC 7, and Edward Jones is already moving ahead with plans for UFC 8. The event will be held at the Las Vegas Municipal Gymnasium on the 19th of November.

While there’s not much known about the event at hand, what we do know is that Renzo Gracie will be taking the night off while UFC holds another tournament to decide his next opponent. In addition to the tournament, Royce Gracie will face off with David Levicki in a rematch that the fans have been clamoring for since their controversial encounter at UFC 3.

We’ll keep you updated with more information as we receive it.

---

From Vegas Nightlife Magazine
November Edition

UFC 8 Card Revealed

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We’ve received the first promotional flyer from the UFC for the eight installment of the UFC tournament, sub named The Rematch. The card will be downsized to just eight fights, the eight man tournament, and the Royce Gracie, David Levicki grudge match.

There are no returning names for the tournament, but one name of interest to look out for is Ken Shamrock’s younger foster brother, Frank Shamrock. The tournament will offer a grand prize $50,000 with the winner also getting a chance to compete against Renzo Gracie for the ultimate prize, the Superfight Championship.

Admission will be set at the standard $15, doors open at 8:00, and the event starts at 9:00. For more information on the fight card, just look below.

UFC 8: The Rematch
November, 19th
Las Vegas Municipal Stadium
Tickets start at 15$

Fight Card

First Quarterfinal
Keith Hackney vs. Marcus Bossett

Second Quarterfinal
Joe Charles vs. Joe Son

Third Quarterfinal
Frank Shamrock vs. Jason Fairn

Fourth Quarterfinal
Dan Severn vs. Eldo Dias Xavier

First Semifinal
QF 1 vs. QF 2

Second Semifinal
QF 3 vs. QF 4

Special Attraction Bout
Royce Gracie (8-1) vs. David Levicki (3-1)

Final
SF 1 vs. SF 2

Predictions, anyone?

Gladiator · June 9, 2010

First Quarterfinal

Keith Hackney vs. Marcus Bossett

Second Quarterfinal

Joe Charles vs. Joe Son

Third Quarterfinal

Frank Shamrock vs. Jason Fairn

Fourth Quarterfinal

Dan Severn vs. Eldo Dias Xavier

First Semifinal

Keith Hackney vs. Joe Charles

Second Semifinal

Frank Shamrock vs. Dan Severn

Special Attraction Bout

Royce Gracie (8-1) vs. David Levicki (3-1)

Final

Keith Hackney vs. Dan Severn

maudlin career · June 15, 2010

Sorry to disappoint those who believed this would be the card reveal for UFC 8. I'm scrapping UFC 8. In fact, I'm doing something brand new. A new shift in the UFC Diary to be exact. While I won't reveal too much, I have a feeling you're going to enjoy. Keep your eyes tuned in to this topic for

UFC 2001: The Ultimate Fighters

samuricex · June 15, 2010

Upon David Levicki’s acceptance of Royce Gracie’s a new set of rules have been slated for their encounter to prevent the night ending in controversy as it did in their first encounter. The full set of rules are listed below.

I like how even in your game world the Gracies make up rules to try and win after they lose.

maudlin career · June 22, 2010

I know there has been a long break and while UFC 8 was technically the next event to be posted, I’m so far in my gamesave, that I’m just going to scrap the results. That doesn’t mean the Diary is dead though, because I have every intention on maintaining a Diary until my summer wraps up at the very least.

I’m not sure what the approval rating on this forum is for a fastforward in a Diary. I talked to C-Mil and while he definitely gave me some advice to consider, even he wasn’t sure if it would make the Diary more or less successful. Because I received neither his blessing nor his warning, I decided I was going to stick it out and continue on with the Diary as I have been. However, over these last few days that I’ve been away, I figured why not just try it and see how other readers respond.

The Diary has now jumped from November 1994 to January 2001. There’s a lot that has taken place in the MMA world in that timeframe and I promise to do my best to keep you up to date. To do that, I’ve decided to give a yearly breakdown of all the events that have happened in MMA. I shall call it.

MMA Year-End Review

1994: When we last left off in the Diary, we were in 1994, UFC 8: The Rematch to be exact. Royce Gracie was looking to exact some revenge on David Levicki in a long awaited rematch to their controversial fight in which Gracie lost. To insure that the same crime wouldn’t happen twice, if the fight were to reach it’s new sixty minute time limit, the fight would be ruled a draw. While Levicki did manage to keep Royce Gracie controlled against the cage for sometime, it was Royce Gracie who managed to finish Levicki in the same vein that his cousin, Renzo Gracie, did with a guillotine choke for the submission.

The tournament for the night’s event was very low-key, but for the most part all eyes were on Ken Shamrock’s little brother, Frank Shamrock, who managed to earn the quickest finish in UFC history by knocking out Jason Fairn in just twenty-six seconds flat. With his impressive win, many thought he would go on to win the tournament finals and fight Renzo Gracie, but it was Dan Severn who would eliminate Frank Shamrock from the tournament semifinals by using his Greco-Roman wrestling background to control Frank Shamrock for the most part of thirty minutes. In the finals, Dan Severn would meet ”Ghetto Man” Joe Charles, and Severn made light work of his opponent to win the tournament and go on to face Renzo Gracie at a later date.

1995: The first UFC event of the year, UFC 9: The Ultimate of ‘94 featured some of the well established fighters from tournaments past, Frank Shamrock, Bas Rutten, Oleg Taktarov, Guy Mezger, etc., but the biggest inclusion in the tournament was the ultimate Gracie Jiu-Jitsu practitioner, Rickson Gracie who swept through Jason Delucia, Taktarov, and Shamrock to win the tournament. At that time, it was unknown if he would challenge for the Superfight Championship or not.

UFC 10: Taming the Beast came next and it saw another mysterious Japanese martial artist, Tsuyoshi Kohsaka storm through three different fighters, beating them all via submission to obtain the rights to challenge the Superfight Champion. The main event of the card featured Renzo Gracie defending his Superfight Championship against Dan “The Beast” Severn. Much like Renzo’s fight with Bas Rutten, Severn maintained a firm control of the fight using his Greco-Roman to dictate where Renzo went. At the last minute of the fight, Renzo Gracie sunk in a tight guillotine choke that ultimately saw Severn give way and signal defeat by tapping out.

UFC 11: Sibling Rivalry arguably could have been sub-named Superfight II as it featured Rickson and Royce Gracie competing in a Gracie Jiu-Jitsu competition at the end of the night. The fight might not have been the most exciting, considering that it was a pure grappling exhibition, but after a wrong move from Rickson, Royce ultimately sunk in an armbar to pick up the win and finally hand Rickson Gracie his first defeat in over ten years.

The crowd favorite tournament returned as well, and featured some of the most exciting quarterfinal finishes in the history of UFC. Hans Nijman locked in a gut-wrenching heel-hook on Andy Anderson and Dave Beneteau scored the second knock out in UFC to date by flooring Asbel Cancio. The finals, however, came down to Hans Nijman and relative unknown Alexander Imes. Nijman picked Imes apart for thirty minutes to take home the UFC 11 tournament crown. It was at this point that Renzo Gracie realized he had a line of fighters waiting to challenge him.

UFC 12: The Modern Warriors featured just an eight man tournament that saw Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ace, Murilo Bustamante, return to the fray. The tournament also featured a returning Dan Severn and Guy Mezger who all three shared a spot as being the tournament favorites. It was Murilo Bustamante who would ultimately prove his case as being the best in the tournament as he TKOed Tank Abbott in the quarterfinal, submitted Mezger in the semifinal, and submitted Severn in the finals. A few days after this event, Dan Severn stepped forth to announce his retirement.

Renzo Gracie finally returned at UFC 13: The Champion’s Comeback[/b] and faced off with previous tournament winner, Tsuyoshi Kohsaka. The main event saw Kohsaka finally become the one to defeat Renzo Gracie by using an excellent stand-up and takedown defense strategy to keep the fight where he wanted it. The fight reached the sixty minute limit and while Kohsaka had not a scratch on his face, Renzo Gracie looked cut and bruised. The newly introduced fighting judges, scored the fight in favor of Tsuyoshi Kohsaka.

The eight man tournament of the night saw another Brazilian, in Marco Ruas, to fear. In his quarterfinal fight, he managed to submit dangerous kickboxer Maurice Smith. In his semifinal and finals he managed to pick apart Paul Varelans and Jorge Patino for thirty minutes to pick up the Judges’ nods in both fights to win the entire tournament and get a future shot at the Superfight Champion, Tsuyoshi Kohsaka.

At UFC 14: A New Beginning, Royce Gracie requested to step-up and face Tsuyoshi Kohsaka in an effort to return the favor when Renzo Gracie stepped-up to fight David Levicki. Many thought Royce Gracie would defeat Kohsaka, but once again, Kohsaka used lateral movement to keep Gracie on the outside. After the sixty minutes were up, Tsuyoshi Kohsaka became the only man in history to defeat both Gracie cousins.

Much to the fans delight, Ken Shamrock returned to the tournament in full effect by destroying Keith Hackney, Alexander Imes, and Kevin Rosier to win the UFC 14 tournament. While it was expected that he would place himself in line for a title shot, Shamrock immediately told Jay Glazer that he wanted his match with Renzo Gracie. Sure enough, the long-delayed match between the two martial artists would be held at UFC 15: Reclaiming the Throne, that saw Ken Shamrock control Renzo Gracie for thirty minutes to win a Judges’ Decision, giving Renzo his second career and second consecutive loss. Marco Ruas and Hans Nijman also met in a fight to decide who would get first dibs at Champion, Tsuyoshi Kohsaka. At twenty-one minutes, Ruas managed to get Nijman to submit due to a choke. In the night’s tournament, Japanese pro-wrestler, Alexander Otsuka used an unorthodox grappling style to win himself $50,000 and a future title match.

1996: In late 1995, Dan Severn had expressed his wishes to open up his own martial arts program. To differentiate from the product Edward Jones and the UFC was putting on, he wanted to remove the tournament format from the card and introduce a weight class format to make martial arts emulate boxing and make it sport more than a spectacle. While he never followed up in 1995 with an event, the second week of January saw the premiere of Extreme Fighting. The main attractions saw Oleg Taktarov defeat Alberta Cerra Leon to win the Extreme Fighting Heavyweight Championship and Guy Mezger defeat Scott Baker to win the Extreme Fighting Middleweight Championship. The event itself made a little over $3,000 and did not have a televised airing. However, with another martial arts promotion opening on the East Coast of America, expanding the UFC product could prove to become a little more difficult.

Meanwhile, in the UFC, January played host to UFC 16: Ultimates of 1995. New comer to the martial arts scene, and Dan Severn protégé, Don Frye entered into the tournament scene defeating Maurice Smith, John Lewis, and Kiyoshi Tamura to become the latest tournament champion. Murilo Bustamante snapped Tsuyoshi Kohsaka’s winning streak by submitting Kohsaka in fifteen minutes to become the new Superfight Champion.

The UFC wouldn’t return to PPV until April with UFC 17: Defense of the New Champion. The main event featured Marco Ruas challenging Murilo Bustamante for the Superfight Championship. Many expected Murilo Bustamante to take the mantle that first Superfight Champion, Renzo Gracie, established. However, Marco Ruas managed to keep the offensive on Bustamante for an hour to become the fourth man to hold the Superfight Championship.

The tournament of UFC 17 saw another Japanese pro-wrestler take the octagon by storm when Kazushi Sakuraba displayed an awkward grappling offense that had yet to be seen in the octagon. The Japanese wrestler managed to submit Jerry Bohlander, Igor Vovchanchyn, and Tra Telligman to earn a shot a chance to win the Superfight Championship.

With the increasing popularity of Dan Severn’s Extreme Fighting promotion in the east coast, Edward Jones sought to match Severn’s output by announcing the formation of three weight divisions in UFC. The three weight divisions established in the UFC featured the Lightweight Division from 100lbs to 175lbs. A Middleweight division from 176lbs to 205lbs. And lastly, the Heavyweight division consists of 206lbs to 600lbs. Each division would have a champion, with the popular eight man tournament determining who would become that division’s champion.

The first division to crown a champion would be the Lightweight division at UFC 18: A New Dawn in May. The tournament favorite, Royce Gracie made it to the finals taking on competent wrestler/boxer Pat Miletich. Miletich would become the latest victim to fall pray to Gracie Jiu-Jitsu as Royce submitted the Iowa native to become the first Lightweight Champion.

In mid-June, Las Vegas casino owner, Lorenzo Fertitta decided to get his hands involved in the booming popularity of martial arts fighting. Knowing that directly competing with UFC on their home turf wouldn’t end well, Fertitta decided station his brand of fighting Superbrawl on the island of Hawaii. The promotion would reflect the changing landscape in modern martial arts

UFC 19: Second Crowning would play host to the Middleweight tournament in July. Renzo Gracie looked to follow in the footsteps of his cousin as he, too made it to the tournament final against UFC 8 standout, Frank Shamrock. In just two and a half minutes, Renzo Gracie submitted Shamrock to become the first Middleweight Champion.

The format changed a bit more at UFC 20: Undisputed in August as a main event match between Ken Shamrock and Marco Ruas would take place to unify the Superfight and Heavyweight Championship. Shamrock and Ruas would fight for thirty minutes before Shamrock managed to TKO his opponent to win both titles.

Meanwhile, a Heavyweight tournament was held to determine Shamrock’s first number one contender. Former Superfight contender, Bas Rutten, defeated Mark Coleman in the final to earn number one contender rights. Along the way, Rutten scored one of the biggest upsets of the night by knocking Rickson Gracie clean out in just seven minutes.

In September, Renzo Gracie would be the first of the new champions to defend his belt by taking on former Superfight Champion, Murilo Bustamante at UFC 21: The Aftermath. While the tournament of the night saw Pat Miletich earn Lightweight Championship contender rights, it was Renzo Graciewho stole the show by displaying a superior Jiu-Jitsu game to submit Bustamante and retain his title.

Meanwhile, on the island of Hawaii, Superbrawl finally held it’s inaugural event in September that featured Kevin Rosier and Trent Jenkins winning the Superbrawl Heavyweight and Middleweight Championships. The card itself was considered a mediocre event by martial arts fans and reporters alike, it didn’t change the fact that martial arts was finally gaining acceptance nationwide.

December finally came around, marking the end of the year. To end the year right, Edward Jones & Co. held UFC 22: Cataclysm in December that further established Ken Shamrock as one of the best fighters in the world as he defeated dangerous striker, Bas Rutten, by submission. On the tournament side of things, it was time to crown a new Middleweight contender, and Kazushi Sakuraba returned in fine-form once more defeating Matt Lindland in the finals, making Sakuraba Renzo Gracie’s second Middleweight Championship challenger.

1997: For the UFC, the year opened up with Pat Miletich gaining his rematch with Royce Gracie in a failed effort. While Pat Miletich did manage to survive Royce Gracie’s deadly submission game, he still did very little to convince the judges that the victory belonged in his court. Eight Heavyweights also filled out the night’s tournament that saw martial arts newcomer, Bernard Texas submit Tom Erikson to earn his chance to challenge Heavyweight Champion, Ken Shamrock.

In April, 6,148 fans tuned in on TV to witness Kazushi Sakuraba challenge Renzo Gracie for the Middleweight Championshi at UFC 24: Culture Clash in April. With Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ace, Renzo Gracie, taking on Japanese pro-wrestler, Kazushi Sakura, cultures definitely clashed, but ultimately, it was Renzo Gracie who would come out on top via submission. The Lightweights returned to action in the Lightweight contenders tournament, that saw another Japanese fighter named Hayato Sakurai finish Wallid Ismail in the finals making him Royce Gracie’s next challenger.

In May, Ken Shamrock continued his reign of dominance by adding Bernard Texas as his third victim to his list of successful defense at UFC 25: Vendetta. In the Middleweight contender’s tournament, Muay-Thai prodigy, Wanderlei Silva knocked out Elvis Sinosic, Tito Ortiz, and Vitor Belfort becoming a considerable threat for Renzo Gracie in the process.

At UFC 26: Proving Ground, it was Hayato Sakurai who would have to prove himself to the martial arts world by facing Lightweight Champion, Royce Gracie. Unfortunately for the Japanese grappler, he could never gain the edge against Gracie, which ultimately led to the judges awarding the fight to Gracie. Greco-Roman wrestler, Randy Couture, entered the Heavyweight contenders tournament taking his opponents by storm earning himself the next shot at Ken Shamrock.

UFC’s most popular fighter, Renzo Gracie, returned to the octagon in July at UFC 27: Hard Boiled, this time facing another dangerous striker in Wanderlei Silva. Six minutes just into the fight, Renzo, managed to bring the fight to the ground to gain a submission victory. In the Lightweight contenders tournament, it was Pat Miletich who would earn another shot at Royce Gracie.

Upon the aftermath of Superbrawl – Darkness Falls, which featured Frank Shamrock defeating Trent Jenkins by vicious TKO, martial arts exhibitions held by UFC, Superbrawl, and Extreme Fighting began taking a lot of flak from American politicians and several major media outlets. The persecution continued as states aside from Nevada, North Carolina, and Hawaii, refused to play host to any current or future martial arts events. To prove that martial arts wasn’t human ****fighting, Edward Jones, Dan Severn, and Lorenzo Fertitta sat together with the North American Boxing Council to formalize a set of universal rules to make martial arts more like a sport and less like a spectacle. At this time, the martial arts events held by the likes of Superbrawl, UFC, and Superbrawl to a shortened name of MMA, short for mixed martial arts.

While not too much changed in the newly coined MMA landscape, the popular eight man tournaments held in UFC were to be abandoned as they put a fighter’s health and safety in risk. Council judges would also be appointed to all future MMA events along with the boxing ten-point must scoring system. With these adjustments, MMA could now be viewed as a profession as opposed to a hobby.

September’s UFC 28: Turning Point would feature the new changes with a six fight card format. Many expected Randy Couture to challenge Ken Shamrock for the Heavyweight Championship, but after recently training with the champion at the Millennia Jiu-Jitsu martial arts academy, neither fighter had the heart to battle each other. Filling in for Couture was Rickson Gracie. Though, Gracie was considered the favorite going into the fight, Shamrock managed to score a TKO victory at 4:43 to retain his Heavyweight Championship.

November would see UFC host a lackluster card titled UFC 29: The Rematch that saw Randy Couture defeat Bernard Texas in the main event by submission. While the fight did nothing for the Heavyweight decision, considering that Couture would not fight Ken Shamrock, Randy Couture announced his intentions to drop down to the Middleweight division to challenge Renzo Gracie for his Middleweight Championship.

The match wasn’t to be, as Renzo Gracie shocked the world and announced his intentions to retire from the fight scene to focus on other endeavors. This led to a two-tiered main event at December’s UFC 30: The Rematch that saw Kazushi Sakuraba submit Wanderlei Silva to become the second Middleweight Champion in UFC history. Royce Gracie also managed to submit Pat Miletich to add a third title defense to his career highlights.

1998: We wouldn’t see UFC until February with UFC 31: Uprising. It was another poor card that featured Hayato Sakurai taking on Pat Miletich in what was perceived to gain one fighter Lightweight Championship contender status. Pat Miletich managed to submit Sakurai with only seconds remaining in the fight. In the Co-Headliner of the night, rising mixed martial artist Dan Henderson scored a huge upset by submitting Pancrase and UFC veteran, Masakatsu Funaki.

UFC 32: The Final Chapter saw Ken Shamrock and Bas Rutten meet once again in a fight that firmly established Ken Shamrock as the world’s most dangerous man in the Heavyweight division. With only five minutes going into the fight, Shamrock once again managed to submit Bas Rutten. Pat Miletich and Dan Henderson also returned to action defeating Mikey Burnett and Murilo Bustamante respectively to further establish their place in both the Lightweight and Middleweight divisions.

In June, two fighters made a triumphant comeback in different weight classes at UFC 33: The Comeback with Hayato Sakurai moving up to Middleweight to submit Tito Ortiz and Randy Couture cutting down to Middleweight to submit Kazushi Sakuraba to win the Middleweight Championship.

A Superfight broke out in August with UFC 34: Superfight. The card was named Superfight because the main event was an Openweight bout between Lightweight and Heavyweight Champions, Royce Gracie and Ken Shamrock. To date, Royce Gracie was the only Gracie family member who Shamrock had yet to fight. Shamrock also wanted to add Royce Gracie to his list of career wins to cement his status as being the best fighter in the world. The better man turned out to be Royce Gracie who submitted Ken Shamrock in 16:33. To co-headline the event, Dan Henderson would claim another victim in Wanderlei Silva cementing his status as future Middleweight Championship contender.

In October, the NABC came forth in the mixed martial arts world to disband the single round format of UFC. From that point on, all MMA events would have to feature round by round fights with no round exceeding ten minutes and no fight exceeding five rounds. UFC decided to stick for three five minute rounds for their normal exhibitions and five five minute rounds for title matches.

The first event with the new round system was UFC 35: Firepower where Randy Couture gained a Split Decision win over Dan Henderson. Many felt that Dan Henderson was robbed. Others thought that Couture did enough to win the fight. One thing rang true: a rematch was imminent. While fans were still unsettled about the main event, Pat Miletich defeated Hayato Sakurai to become the Interim Lightweight Champion after Royce Gracie voiced his disinterest in giving Miletich another fight. If Royce outright refused the fight, Edward Jones would strip the Brazilian of his title and promote Miletich’s Interim Championship to the full title.

1999: The world was shocked as Royce Gracie relinquished the Lightweight Championship and Pat Miletich became new Lightweight Champion. Due to the circumstances, the Lightweight Championship match was scrapped from January’s UFC 36: Sweat & Blood card and was replaced with Ken Shamrock defending his belt against former Middleweight Champion, Kazushi Sakuraba. To the shock of everyone, Sakuraba couldn’t even last a full minute with the champion as Ken Shamrock defeated the pro-wrestler in just thirty-two seconds in the first round. It wasn’t time for Shamrock to relax yet, as Josh Barnett defeated Bernard Texas in the co-headliner to receive a future title match against Ken Shamrock.

WWF bigwig Vince McMahon took notice of the growing popularity in mixed martial arts and also took notice to the dent it was leaving in WWF’s own PPV revenue. To capitalize on the booming MMA industry, and to cross promote his WWF programs with MMA, Vince McMahon decided to establish his own brand of MMA titled King of the Cage. To help promote and ensure that things run smoothly, former Taekwondo Champion and Fear Factor and NewsRadio star, Joe Rogan would work as commentator and Vice President of Talent Relations. The duo would host their first event, King of the Cage 1, in California that saw Egan Inoue defeat journeyman, Trent Jenkins by submission to win the King of the Cage Middleweight Championship.

In March, UFC 37: Annihilation saw Josh Barnett and Ken Shamrock return to action against each other in the headlining fight for the UFC Heavyweight Championship. While Barnett managed to land a takedown, it was Ken Shamrock who won the fight via guillotine at 2:46 to add a sixth title defense to his record. In the co-headliner, Dan Henderson defeated Kazushi Sakuraba to reposition himself for title contention.

April’s UFC 38: Face-Off saw two huge upsets in the headlining fights with 3-0 Matt Hughes defeating Pat Miletich by TKO to win the UFC Lightweight Championship and Hayato Sakurai bumping back up to Middleweight TKO Randy Couture to win the UFC Middleweight Championship. The card overall was considered one of UFC’s oddest events to date based solely on the surprising main event results.

It seemed as if MMA promotions were popping up everywhere as Japanese company, Dream Stage Entertainment looked to host an event called PRIDE FC in Japan. While Vince McMahon creating King of the Cage was head turner for some, it was PRIDE’s President of America, Stephen Quadros who shocked the world by guaranteeing both Renzo and Royce Gracie would be fighting in Japan.

Stephen Quadros sure enough followed through with his promise in May as PRIDE FC 1 saw Renzo Gracie submit Jason Delucia in a rematch of their historic encounter at UFC 2 to win the PRIDE FC Middleweight Championship and Royce Gracie submit Akihiro Gono to win the PRIDE FC Welterweight Championship. The card saw a staggering 49,844 PPV buys. Something the UFC hadn’t even come close to accomplishing at that time.

In June, UFC debuted their new program on the New England Sports Network called UFC: The Modern Warriors. The event saw Gary Goodridge submit Bernard Texas in the main event and Wanderlei Silva knock out Murilo Bustamante in the co-headlining fight. Though the show only drew 328 fans, it was considered a ratings success.

Ken Shamrock’s reign would come to an end in June at UFC 39: End of Days for Alexander Imes managed to defeat the champ via Split Decision to become the new UFC Heavyweight Champion. Gary Goodridge also continued his string of success by knocking out Tra Telligman in the co-headlining fight earning himself title contention in the process.

At July’s UFC 40: Meltdown, Matt Hughes would prove that his win over Pat Miletich was no fluke by TKOing dangerous Japanese striker, Takanori Gomi to make for a successful first title defense. Dan Henderson also sought redemption by winning the UFC Middleweight Championship by TKOing Hayato Sakurai in the main event of the night.

With September came UFC 41: Aggression and a new champion to match with Gary Goodridge defeating Alexander Imes via Unanimous Decision to become the new UFC Heavyweight Champion. Almost immediately Goodridge stated that he wanted to fight the best and thus called out Ken Shamrock so he could prove that there was a new Heavyweight on the block.

In October UFC went to both PPV and TV with UFC 42: Declaration and another episode of UFC: The Modern Warriors. Kazushi Sakuraba submitted Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu artist, Murilo Bustamante in the main event to get himself closer to Middleweight title contention. At Declaration, a future rematch was forged between Pat Miletich and Matt Hughes with Miletich defeating Takanori Gomi via TKO to earn a title shot and Hughes defeating John Lewis via TKO to claim his third title defense. Ken Shamrock also avenged his very first loss in the octagon by defeating Oleg Taktarov on the card.

To close the year off, UFC returned to TV with UFC: The Modern Warriors with Hayato Sakurai submitting Wanderlei Silva via submission and Heath Herring outpointing Remco Pardoel with a Unanimous Decision victory. Takanori Gomi and Josh Barnett were also featured on the card.

2000: Ken Shamrock began the year off on the right foot by defeating Gary Goodridge in January at UFC 43: Anarchy to reclaim the UFC Heavyweight Championship. In the co-main event Jose Landi-Jons continued an eight fight win streak by defeating Alexander Otsuka to potentially claim title contention status against Dan Henderson.

January also marked the last event from Dan Severn’s Extreme Fighting as the company filed for bankruptcy only weeks later. In the main event, Jesse Swick defeated Scott Ferrozzo via submission to successfully retain his Extreme Fighting Heavyweight Championship.

UFC 44: All or Nothing in February saw one of the greatest matches in UFC history with the Pat Miletich and Matt Hughes rematch. Miletich caught Hughes early on with a straight right that rocked the Lightweight Champion sending him to the canvas. Surprisingly, Matt Hughes survived a ground and pound onslaught from Miletich and managed to sink in a rear naked choke in the second round to retain the championship. After the match, Matt Hughes called out Royce Gracie to prove that he was the best Lightweight fighter in the world.

Extreme Fighting wasn’t the only promotion facing financial woes, as Superbrawl had struggled to make a profit for the entire year of 1999. Lorenzo Fertitta expressed his intention to close the promotion down, but Edward Jones stepped forth and offered a sizable sum of money to purchase the company. There was confusion in the air, but Edward Jones addressed the situation by stating that Superbrawl has a wealth of talent and prospects that would go to waste in the event that Superbrawl were to dissolve. Fertitta still remains as company president and still handles fighter contracts. This move proved that the owner of UFC was more about providing quality MMA than competition.

Dan Henderson would go on to defeat Jose Landi-Jons at March’s UFC 45: Tempest using superior wrestler to ground the Muay-Thai striker and pound him out with strikes to pick up the TKO victory. In the co-main event, Takanori Gomi continued his winning ways by knocking out Carlos Newton in the second round.

Edward Jones’ buying of Superbrawl proved to the rest of the MMA industry that he wasn’t looking to smash out the competition. Stephen Quadros interested in promoting Japanese fighters in Japanese PRIDE FC had a sit-down meeting with the UFC owner. After a seven hour discussion, it was decided that Kazushi Sakuraba and Hayato Sakurai would fight at PRIDE FC in exchange for Renzo and Royce Gracie. Though Renzo had recently suffered a two-fight losing streak at PRIDE at the hands of Guy Mezger and Bas Rutten, he still had right to claim himself as being the undefeated UFC Middleweight Champion. The same could be said about Royce Gracie who would be looking to answer Matt Hughes’ challenge.

In May, Pedro Rizzo scored a huge upset over Ken Shamrock at UFC 46: Honor. Shamrock controlled the fight for all five rounds, but after missing a takedown in the fifth, Rizzo managed to capitalize and score a TKO victory to win the UFC Heavyweight Championship. On the same night, Josh Barnett defeated Heath Herring to become Rizzo’s future opponent.

June would see the third Superfight take place in Nevada with UFC 47: Superfight III. The long-awaited Lightweight Championship match between Matt Hughes and Royce Gracie headlined the card and both Gracie and Hughes proved to be each other’s toughest opponents. The fight went the entire twenty-five minutes with Matt Hughes ultimately picking up a Split Decision victory. Many fans and spectators, including Stephen Quadros, believed that Royce Gracie won the fight and perhaps a future rematch on Japanese soil could be in the works.

In July, at UFC 48: Legacy, Renzo Gracie didn’t meet the same success as Dan Henderson one and for all solidified his status as the best Middleweight fighter in MMA by catching Renzo Gracie with a right hand in the third round followed by some brutal ground and pound to win the fight. Kazushi Sakuraba defeated Tito Ortiz via Split Decision in the co-headlining fight to gain Middleweight contender status.

UFC wouldn’t return to until September with TV show UFC: The Modern Warriors. The card featured Tito Ortiz avenging his loss to Masakatsu Funaki via Unanimous Decision. The card also featured winners Mike Swick, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, and Chuck Liddell

UFC 49: Perserverence came around in October with Pedro Rizzo defeating Josh Barnett by way of TKO to make for a successful first defense. In a Lightweight Championship contenders bout, Takanori Gomi defeated Sean Sherk via first round TKO to gain another shot at Matt Hughes.

UFC 50: Last Man Standing took place in November with Kazushi Sakuraba becoming Dan Henderson’s next victim by losing via TKO in the second round. The co-headlining fight also saw Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell rematch in another classic fight that saw Tito Ortiz once again come out on top, this time by Split Decision.

To close off the year, Matt Hughes would defeat Takanori Gomi via TKO to retain the Lightweight Championship at December’s UFC 51: The End is Near. With his victory over Takanori Gomi, Matt Hughes would call out another opponent: Dan Henderson. With another Superfight potentially in the making, Edward Jones refused to answer on the possibility of a Dan Henderson and Matt Hughes encounter.

While many were awaiting a decision from Edward Jones on the possibility of Matt Hughes and Dan Henderson fighting, the UFC president was far too distracted with a new mandate from the NABC. Official weight classes in MMA would officially change in the new year with Lightweight ranging from 146lbs to 155lbs. Welterweight 156lbs to 170lbs, Middleweight 171lbs to 185lbs, Light Heavyweight 186lbs to 205lbs, and Heavyweight from 206lbs to 265lbs. The NABC also stated that the new weight classes would have to be implemented by the end of 2001.

This led Edward Jones to announce his next big breakthrough: to capitalize on the reality television boom by announcing a new reality competition featuring 155lb and 185lb fighters called The Ultimate Fighter. There would be four finalists, two in Lightweight, and two in Middleweight, fighting on free TV to determine the first UFC Lightweight and Middleweight Champions. To add to that, the show would also feature a team format with new Light Heavyweight Champion, Dan Henderson coaching one team and new Welterweight Champion, Matt Hughes coaching the other with both fighters finally meeting in a Superfight at the end of the show. Taping started in December and the show won’t air until March of 2001.

With 2001 finally approaching, UFC offers a host of new things. UFC 52: The Arrival takes place in January with Thomas Lebowski taking on Pedro Rizzo for the UFC Heavyweight Championship. There’s also a new episode of UFC: The Modern Warriors that will lead in to the premiere episode of The Ultimate Fighter, and with former Vegas Nightlife Magazine writer, Martin Lane starting the first MMA website, Taporsnap.com, 2001 could the biggest year in MMA yet.

maudlin career · June 24, 2010

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="25359" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://www.Taporsnap.com" rel="external nofollow">http://www.Taporsnap.com</a> http://images7.cafepress.com/product/269974047v3_225x225_Front.jpg</div></div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="25359" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Celebrating the New Year With Awards by The Maverick. January 1st, 2001 It’s so damn unfair that filmmaking has the Oscars (or the MTV Movie Awards for the slow witted), music has the Grammys (again MTV Music Awards…), and even Vince McMahon’s WWF has the Slammies. So I spent all night last night thinking how I could rectify the situation. What immediately came to mind was finding out the locations and dates of any future MTV award show and issuing a bomb-threat to at least stall the torture. But since I’m not quite sure on the legal ramifications that come with bomb threats, I abandoned that idea and came up with a better one: MMA needs its on award show. However, I’m not a production guru. I don’t have money to rent a venue (believe me, Martin Lane pays us nothing), so instead you’re going to have to deal with The Maverick’s first ever article issuing the best of MMA this year. I’ve decided the awards into thirteen categories and listed who I thought deserved what in each category. Now on to the show: Tap or Snap’s Year-End Awards for 2000 Fighter of the Year The name says it all. The Tap or Snap staff has had all year to examine and assess just who are the best in the business. When it comes to fighter of the year, a few things came to mind: fighter of the year is consistent with his wins, fighter of the year not only wins but has exciting fights, and fighter of the year is consistently fighting the toughest fighters. The Nominees -Dan Henderson -Matt Hughes -Pedro Rizzo -Mirko CroCop And the winner is…Matt Hughes For me, this was a no brainer. To be truthful, it came down to both Dan Henderson and Matt Hughes. There’s one thing Hughes has that Henderson doesn’t: the big goose egg in his loss column. With a 9-0 professional record, Matt Hughes survived a hell of a beating from Pat Miletich to submit him in the second round. He made dangerous striker, Takanori Gomi look mid-tier at best. And he handed Royce Gracie only his second loss to date. The year wasn’t a bad year for the Lightweight Champion in the slightest. Rookie of the Year There are simple qualifications to become Rookie of the Year: you’ve been in the sport for no more than two years. You’ve proven yourself to be tough by defeating some highly credible opponents. You’re still young in the game and have years to improve. The Nominees -Takanori Gomi -Thomas Lebowski -Mirko CroCop -Jake Shields And the winner is…Takanori Gomi Other than the champ, no other Lightweight has had a start as stellar as Takanori Gomi. The 22 year old Japanese brawler has knocked out every opponent he’s ever faced in the UFC. To date, his only three losses are from Matt Hughes (2) and Pat Miletich. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’d realize that they are two of the best Lightweight fighters in the sport. Rise of the Year Rise of the Year is awarded to a fighter who has been increasing his stock in the mixed martial arts world by going from a virtual nobody to an absolute world beater. The Nominees -Mirko CroCop -Matt Serra -Alistair Overeem -Denis Kang -Thomas Lebowski And the winner is…Matt Serra ”Matt who?” some of you are probably saying, but I kid you not when I say I think he could give Champion Matt a run for his money. Matt Serra is among the new crop of Lightweight fighters fighting in the UFC he’s slowly, but surely cleaning out the division with a 4-0 record over Jermaine Andre, Eldo Xavier, Fabiano Iha, and most recently, Mike Swick. I expect a future confrontation with either Jens Pulver or Pat Miletich to firmly cement his status as the next Lightweight Championship contender. Fall of the Year The direct opposite of Rise of the Year. This fighter saw a very high level of success before plummeting to rock bottom. The choices were very limited, but the were worth talking about anyway. The Nominees -Randy Couture -John Lewis -Renzo Gracie -Guy Mezger -Gary Goodridge And the winner is…John Lewis No one has ever gone from 11-2, with two Superbrawl Welterweight title wins combining with four title defenses total, and one PRIDE FC Lightweight title win, to suddenly becoming subpar martial artist with an 11-7 record. THE MAN HASN’T WON A FIGHT SINCE JULY 1999. John Lewis…how the might have fallen. Promotion of the Year For the sake of making this one competitive we narrowed it down to just two nominees. Promotion of the Year would almost certainly have to involve putting the right amount of effort and hype in your card. With tickets costing a minimum of $50 and PPVs costing about the same, the cards better be worth the money spent. The Nominees -UFC -King of the Cage And the winner is…King of the Cage Upset of the awards? Not really. I have to give Vince McMahon his props. I didn’t expect a pro-wrestling owner to understand the business concept behind mixed martial arts, but I guess wrestling to martial arts promotion really is apples to apples. The promotion has a great wealth of Lightweight talent, easily molding into the 146-155lb weight class requirement. And with names like Renzo Gracie and Ken Shamrock making guest appearances it won’t be long before the promotion could oust UFC of their number one spot. Team of the Year Which fight camp produces the best fighters? That’s the major criteria in this category. Other things to consider include who has the best training facility and which camp houses the best coaching staff. The Nominees -Team Quest -Renzo Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy -Millennia Jiu-Jitsu -Miletich Martial Arts And the winner is…Team Quest This camp not only touts some of the best wrestling training around, but it also houses UFC Middleweight Champion, Dan Henderson, Lightweight stars Mike Swick, Jens Pulver, Chris Lytle, and has newly added Randy Couture and Rodrigo Gracie to the fray. All of these guys are physical specimen and are among the last group of people I would want to pick a fight with in a bar. Show of the Year Simple: which show had the best card from top to bottom? Which left a lasting impression for months to come? Which featured some of the most historic moments in MMA history? The Nominees: -King of the Cage 21 -UFC 47: Superfight III -UFC 48: Legacy -PRIDE FC 10: Wrathchild The winner is…King of the Cage 21 On this card, we saw future Ultimate Fighter contestant, Joe Stevenson defeat Luiz Firmino in just 1:41 to prove that be longed on the show. In addition to that, Renzo Gracie returned to fine form by defeating Matt Lindland with an armbar. And Jason Delucia scored one of the biggest upsets of the year by defeating Guy Mezger. Fight of the Year What two fighters had the most dramatic, suspenseful, exciting fight of the year? I’m talking straight out wars where every second had you on the edge of your seat. The Nominees: -Bas Rutten vs. Renzo Gracie -Tito Ortiz vs. Chuck Liddell I -Matt Hughes vs. Pat Miletich And the winner is…Tito Ortiz vs. Chuck Liddell I UFC 43: Anarchy saw one of the greatest fights in UFC history with Middleweights Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz meeting in the opening fight. The two wasted no time in coming to blows in the first round, both fighters rocking each other with some solid shots. Chuck Liddell stalked Tito Ortiz, and paid for it dearly as Tito Ortiz knocked him to the canvas with a spinning back-fist and made “The Iceman” tap with an arm-triangle. The fight put both Middleweights on the UFC map and they would rematch again before the year was over. Worst Fight of the Year The Worst Fight of the Year takes the word mediocrity, shines it up real nice, and places it high on a pedestal in complete awe of what it can never become. These are mixed martial artists who just don’t seem to mesh well. For MMA historians: think David Levicki. I bet your stomach is turning now. The Nominees -Bobby Hoffman vs. Steven Nelson -Trent Jenkins vs. Fred Ettish -Hiroyuki Abe vs. Leonard Garcia And the winner is…Trent Jenkins vs. Fred Ettish Who thought it was a good idea to have 3-7 Trent Jenkins headline an MMA event with 4-8 Fred Ettish? Ultimate Chaos Championship Fighting, that’s who! To be fair, the entire event sunk, but Jenkins and Ettish made it no better. In an homage to their UFC days, neither fighter looked to engage the other. In a fifteen minute li a total of EIGHT strikes were attempted. Repeat after me: an entire fifteen minute fight that only featured a few seconds of actual fighting. That’s toilet worthy, folks. Knock of the Year When it comes to this award, think of the most brutal knock out in MMA that you can think of this year. The one that made you worried that the fighter on the receiving end might never be able to recover from it, or even worst: you thought he was dead. That’s where this bad boy comes from. The Nominees - -Mike Swick over Royler Gracie -Chris Lytle over Carlos Newton -Mirko CroCop over Scott Fielder -Carlos Newton over John Lewis And the winner is…Carlos Newton If Matt Hughes didn’t outright end John Lewis’ career, it was Carlos Newton who put the final nail in the coffin. John Lewis received just punishment for keeping his hands low against Carlos Newton and ended the night by being carried out of the arena by EMTs. Let’s not forget to give kudos to Carlos Newton for being on both ends of the spectrum in the nominations list. Unheard of! Submission of the Year Stylish, perfectly executed, and painful to watch. Those are the things that make a Submission of the Year award a…well…Submission of the Year award. The Nominees -Tito Ortiz over Chuck Liddell -Matt Hughes over Pat Miletich -Joe Doersken over Floyd Sword -Moti Horenstein over Art Jimmerson And the winner is…Matt Hughes over Pat Miletich You survive a possible TKO loss only to hoist Miletich over your shoulder, but slam him down and position yourself for a rear naked choke. Call me a fanboy, but that’s what makes Matt Hughes so damn great. His excellent use of the rear naked choke is an of the evolution that has taken place in MMA. Main Event of the Year The main event is 50% hype and 50% delivered hype. If one is even once percent larger/smaller than the other, the luster of your show closing fight is officially gone. Some fights however, deliver the 50-50 split. Those fights will live on years beyond their time as timeless classics. The Nominees -Matt Hughes vs. Pat Miletich II -Dan Henderson vs. Royce Gracie -Don Frye vs. Dave Beneteau -Willie Couture vs. Yoji Anjo And the winner is…Matt Hughes vs. Pat Miletich From the sound of the first round bell, Pat Miletich was looking to reclaim Lightweight Gold. A punch later and Matt Hughes had absolutely no idea where he was. With nothing guiding him but survivalist instinct, Hughes managed to survive until the second round where Pat Miletich found himself carried by Matt Hughes and brutally slammed to the ground. With no time to react, Miletich found himself gasping for his last breath before tapping. This cemented both competitors as being two of the toughest Lightweight fighters in the world, but I’d also say it’s one of the best MMA fights of all time. Upset of the Year Yeah…this is it. The fight that you made a $50 bet on with your friends because your favorite fighter was unstoppable. That wasn’t the case when the fight started, though, because by the time the fight wrapped up, it was you who sat at the other end of the table slackjawed, and figuring out how you were going to talk yourself out of the bet. This one is dedicated to you! The Nominees -Pedro Rizzo defeats Ken Shamrock -Jason Delucia defeats Guy Mezger -Egan Inoue defeats Guy Mezger -Rafael Carino defeats Ken Shamrock And the winner is…Rafael Carino Be honest: how many of you knew who Rafael Carino leading up to this fight? And to the self-enlightened elitist who’s about to boast about following Carino’s career, giving his current rate of success—in that he was picked apart by both Scott Adams and Raleigh Herrero—did you, oh Holy one, ever think for a second that he would defeat Ken Shamrock to win the King of the Cage Heavyweight Championship? That’s right. Say it with me: upset. And that concludes the awards presentation, ladies and gentlemen. It’s time for The Maverick to ride off to the sunset. The fun doesn’t stop there, as later today Martin Lane plans on unveiling the Top 10 who’s who list of MMA. I’ve got a preliminary look at the list and I honestly like what I see. Hopefully that will convince you to stick around.</div></blockquote> --- <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="25359" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Big Ten: Best Fighters in the World by Martin Lane. January 1st, 2001 Reflecting on this site, I remember being sent to the very first UFC event in the small(ish) Las Vegas Municipal Gymnasium. It was there that I witnessed my first martial arts event. It was also there that I witnessed the birth of one of the greatest martial artists in the world. If you would have asked me where I would have saw myself eight years ago from now then, I would tell you that I’d still be writing articles for the Las Vegas Nightlife Magazine. I’m sure a number of important figures in this industry would be in the same predicament: Edward Jones would have probably returned to Indiana to start his career at Mt. Vernon’s General Electrics plant. Royce Gracie would still be an unknown persona in a sea of nameless faces. And if it were up to Bob Meyrowitz and Art Davie, UFC would have been a one-night only event. The spectacle, now a sport, has grown tenfold since those old glory days. What started as a myth in Gracie Jiu-Jitsu has become the official martial arts choice for kids age 5-12. Fighters are now going from making $50,000 in the unlikelihood of winning an eight man tournament to earning a guaranteed sum of $70 to $80,000 a year. And mixed martial arts went from pro-wrestling’s violent step brother to boxing’s number one competitor. This shift has also been reflected with the increasing depth of talent fighting in MMA. From 1993 to 1995, fighters like Royce and Renzo Gracie, Murilo Bustamante, Bas Rutten, Ken and Frank Shamrock, and Dan Severn were able to shine among a wave of counterfeit martial artists who couldn’t tell you the difference between a Judoka and a Kimura. To celebrate this shift, the staff of Tap or Snap have decided to have a roundtable discussion every three months to debate on who the best ten fighters in the world are. While we will admit that the first two hours consist of us seeing who can beat who in staring contests, when the crunch time came, we finally found a suitable list detailing the best of the best. Qualifications are self explanatory: If you win, you’re in. If you’re a world champion in a credible organization, you go up. If you have an incredible win to loss ratio you just might be top five material. If you’re consistently fighting the best the world has to offer, you’re number one. The List: 10. Pat Miletich (15-6) -Pat Miletich is arguably one of the toughest fighters you’ll ever meet. He’s a grinder who can not only knock you out with outstanding boxing, but his primary bread and butter is his wrestling ground and pound. To date, Pat Miletich is one of two fighters to score at least one round over Matt Hughes. If that’s not impressive enough, his round over Hughes was scored a 10-8. With a fighter as tough as Pat Miletich waiting around in the Lightweight division, it’s going to be one hell of a challenge to claim title contention status. 9. Jesse Swick (13-1) -This Dan Severn protégé debuted with a rough start by losing his debut fight. However, not many first-time fighters would fair well against a 300+lb Emmanuel Yarbrough. Swick didn’t let the loss impede his career as he went on to claim thirteen straight victories en route to winning the Extreme Fighting Heavyweight Championship. The Millennia Jiu-Jitsu fighter has been taking Japan by storm as of late and will look to add PRIDE Heavyweight gold to his list of accomplishments dependent on the result of his upcoming bout with Bobby Hoffman. 8. Takanori Gomi (7-3) -Pat Miletich is tough, but Takanori Gomi is just downright scary. The 22 year old comes into every fight with a never say die mentality that has led to the likes Carlos Newton, Hayato Sakurai, Sean Sherk, Wallid Ismail going to sleep from the raw power that is fostered in Gomi’s right hand. His only two shortcomings are against Pat Miletich and Matt Hughes, who are considered THE premiere Lightweights. With more qualitative wins on his resume than Pat Miletich, it was a tad difficult to not place him higher than the Croation Sensation. 7. Kazushi Sakuraba (13-6) -Never in my wildest dreams did I think a pro wrestler would be able to use his limited grappling knowledge to best martial artist in their own game. If that’s not crazy enough, in his last five fights, he’s managed to submit Murilo Bustamante, avenge a prior loss to Randy Couture, and pick up decisive Decision victories over Tito Ortiz and Masakatsu Funaki. Unfortunately for the Japanese sensation, his success would come to a stop when he was knocked out by Dan Henderson in their long-awaited Middleweight Championship bout. It won’t be too difficult for the Japanese fighter to rebound. 6. Renzo Gracie (16-5) -Five or six years ago any MMA fan would have told you that Renzo Gracie is the best fighter in the world. UFC Superfight Championship, UFC Middleweight Championship, Superbrawl Middleweight Championship, and the PRIDE FC Middleweight Championship could prove that statement true. However, for the first time in his MMA career, Renzo Gracie collected three straight losses, all in brutal fashion. With his head up, Renzo finally snapped the streak by submitting Matt Lindland in his debut for the King of the Cage promotion. If he can defeat upcoming UFC opponent Chuck Liddell and continue his success in King of the Cage, he could easily re-enter himself into the UFC Middleweight title scene and also add another organization’s belt to his mantelpiece. 5. Pedro Rizzo (8-1) -Nine fights, six knock outs, and two submissions. With the exceptions of Matt Hughes and Dan Henderson, no other fighter in the UFC has a finishing rate that even comes close to matching Pedro Rizzo’s. His knock out win over Ken Shamrock planted the seed of moving down a weight class into Shamrock’s head. He made Josh Barnett eat his words with a four-minute knock out. His only loss in the UFC stems from a first round submission from Bernard Texas in 1997. He will certainly be looking to avenge that in the looming future, but first he must worry about challenger, Thomas Lebowski. 4. Thomas Lebowski (7-0) The only reason we have the number one contender over the champion is simply because Thomas Lebowski has looked absolutely flawless. He started his career off in the Midwest HOOKnSHOOT organization where he amassed a 4-0 record with four first round finishes. After Mark Coleman passed on the good word to Edward Jones, the Cincinnati prospect found his new home in the UFC where we soon found out that Assuerio Silva, Remco Pardoel, and Heath Herring would become first round victims. If Thomas Lebowski can finish upcoming opponent, Pedro Rizzo, off in a fashion that resembles his past body of work, Lebowski could easily take the crown for current best Heavyweight fighter. 3. Royce Gracie (22-3) In 1993 when he first showed up in his white Jiu-Jitsu Gi everyone was already looking past him. When he began to submit his opponents left and right, the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu myth began. Some thought he was invincible, some thought his fights were fixed, no one knew that eight years later he would still be considered one of the best fighters in the game. No one knows what lies in Royce Gracie’s future, but you can bet that he’s lobbying for a rematch with Matt Hughes after a razor thin decision loss that many in the MMA world feel he won. 2. Dan Henderson (11-1) With a 91% finishing rate in 11 fights, Dan Henderson is currently the most feared Middleweight in the world. Opponents like Kazushi Sakuraba, Hayato Sakurai, Jose Landi-Jons, and Murilo Bustamante had seen their best days before squaring off with Dan Henderson, who effortless sent them back down to the bottom rung of the ladder. Henderson’s most impressive win to date came from his ability to stop Renzo Gracie with strikes to officially become the undisputed UFC Middleweight Champion. I’m sure many people reading this are in disagreement feeling that Dan Henderson deserves the number one spot much more. Depending on the outcome of a future encounter with Matt Hughes, that could be a possibility. 1. Matt Hughes (9-0) Seven TKOs including Royler Gracie, Takanori Gomi twice, and Pat Miletich, one submission over Pat Miletich, and one Decision over Royce Gracie. That’s not only impressive, but it’s downright frightening. Call him a robot, call him Superman, I’ll just call him a really damn fine fighter. If Hughes can properly defeat Royce Gracie and Dan Henderson, he just might be the greatest fighter of all time. And with Dan Henderson locked as his opposing coach on new TV show The Ultimate Fighter, he’s getting that much closer to realizing that level of status. If you have any comments on our current rankings, be sure to leave us a comment via using the E-Mail handle linked at the top of the page. </div></blockquote>

maudlin career · June 25, 2010

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="25359" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://www.Taporsnap.com" rel="external nofollow">http://www.Taporsnap.com</a> http://images7.cafepress.com/product/269974047v3_225x225_Front.jpg</div></div></blockquote> --- <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="25359" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Around the World – January Preview by Gavin Banks With MMA juggernaut, UFC, opting to wait a month before starting their 2001 schedule other promoters around the world see this as their opportunity to gain traction and leave their mark on the MMA landscape by putting together stacked cards to start the year off with a bang. Vince McMahon already has the follow-up for 2000’s King of the Cage 21 supershow, by announcing the return of MMA superstar, Ken Shamrock (18-5) to fight barroom brawling badass, Tank Abbott (4-4). The fight will offer nothing more than bragging rights, but with Ken Shamrock eyeing a place in UFC’s Middleweight division and King of the Cage president, Joe Rogan, eyeing a rematch between Ken Shamrock and Rafael Carino, another loss could upset any future career plans he intends to make. The co-feature of the night will also see 1996 Olympic Silver Medalist, Townsend Saunders (6-3), challenge champion Dave Strasser (5-4) for the King of the Cage Welterweight Championship. If their last few fights haven’t been an indicator, then I’ll just tell you to expect a war. Dream Stage Entertainment are preparing the Saitama Super Arena for one of Japan’s biggest shows with PRIDE FC 20: Into the Void. Not one to be known for being inactive, Royce Gracie (22-3) returns to Japan to put his PRIDE FC Lightweight Championship on the line against Akihiro Gono (16-5) who has been on a four fight tear since signing with the company. With a prior submission loss to Royce Gracie at PRIDE’s first ever event, Gono will enter the ring with revenge on his mind. Finally, bringing Canada into MMA territory, TKO Fighting Championship makes its debut on the 26th of January. A full fight card has yet to be released as of yet, but we do know that former UFC Heavyweight Champion, Alexander Imes (15-4) will meet former PRIDE FC Middleweight Champion Egan Inoue (8-4) for the TKO Middleweight Championship. January should be a solid month of MMA.</div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="25359" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>January Mixed Martial Arts Results King of the Cage 22 January 3rd, 2001 -Hugo Duarte defeated Johnny Rhodes via Submission at 4:09 in Round 2 -Raleigh Herrerro defeated Lester Cuthill via Unanimous Decision -Din Thomas defeated Matt Lee via Submission at 4:19 in the Round 1 -Townsend Saunders defeated Dave Strasser via Unanimous Decision to win the King of the Cage Welterweight Championship -Ken Shamrock defeated Tank Abbott via Submission at 2:44 in Round 3 Superbrawl: Pushing the Limits January 4th, 2001 -Mitchell Orton defeated Joel Sutton via Submission at 3:06 in Round 1 -Matthijs Van Winckel defeated Ronald Evans via Split Decision -Kristof Midoux defeated Gary Turner via Submission at 4:06 in Round 1 -Scott Adams defeated Joe Son via Submission at 3:41 in Round 2 to win the Superbrawl Heavyweight Championship -Amaury Bitetti defeated Paul Cahoon via Submission at 3:21 in Round 4 to win the Superbrawl Middleweight Championship PRIDE FC 20: Into the Void January 9th, 2001 -(Preliminary) Hans Nijman defeated Dimitri Stepanov via Unanimous Decision -(Preliminary) Rainy Martinez defeated Ernie Verdicia via Submission at 8:15 in Round 1 -Scott Ferrozo defeated Roman Zentsov via Unanimous Decision -Kiuma Kunioku defeated Thomas Denny via Unanimous Decision -Jesse Swick defeated Bobby Hoffman via Unanimous Decision -Mikey Burnett defeated Ikuhisa Minowa via Knock Out at 6:02 in Round 1 -Royce Gracie defeated Akihiro Gono via Submission at 4:46 in Round 2 to retain the PRIDE FC Welterweight Championship TKO 1: The Damned January 26th, 2001 -(Preliminary) Fedor Emelianenko defeated Gan McGee via TKO at 4:36 in Round 3 -(Preliminary) Kazuo Takahashi defeated Justin Martin via Unanimous Decision -(Preliminary) Ryuta Sakurai defeated Keichiro Yamamiya via Split Decision -(Preliminary) Mirko Filipovic defeated Don Frye via TKO at 1:26 in Round 2 -Ebenezer Fontes Braga defeated Bas Rutten via Submission at 4:19 in Round 2 -Frank Shamrock defeated Jose Landi-Jons via Unanimous Decision -Thaddeus Luster defeated Keith Wisniewski via Unanimous Decision -Tsuyoshi Kohsaka defeated Moti Horenstein via Submission at 1:48 in Round 5 to win the TKO Heavyweight Championship -Egan Inoue defeated Alexander Imes via Submission at 1:18 in Round 5 to win the TKO Middleweight Championship </div></blockquote>

maudlin career · June 25, 2010

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="25359" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>New England Sports Network Presents Countdown to UFC 52: The Arrival Feburary 3rd, 2001 For the first time in six months, the Ultimate Fighting Championship leaves the comfort of their Nevada home and embarks on another road trip. Their destination: the Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio Edward Jones: I’m excited anytime we decide to do a show outside of Nevada. This is the first time we’ve been to Ohio and we’re providing a great show! At UFC 52: The Arrival Ohio State alumnus, Thomas Lebowski, will step up to the plate and challenge Heavyweight phenom, Pedro Rizzo. Jeff Blatnick: The match is most in intriguing in that it provides a classic clash of styles. Thomas Lebowski is a collegiate wrestler who’s wrestling is currently second to none in the sport. Pedro Rizzo, well…deciding to exchange punches with him would make you a fool. Thomas Lebowski: People think I should be afraid of him. I know I’m the underdog going into this fight. Wasn’t I the underdog in my fight with Heath Herring? How about Remco Pardoel? Oh wait, Assuerio Silva too. See how I keep proving everyone wrong? Pedro Rizzo: I know he will try to wrestle me to the ground and will succeed in doing so. All it takes is one good shot to finish the fight. Twenty-five minutes is plenty of time. The fight leading up to the main event will also be another tale of striker versus grappler and it, too, has the potential to alter the future of the Heavyweight title picture with American Jiu-Jitsu brown belt, Bernard Texas taking on Ukrainian kick boxer Igor Vovchanchyn . Bernard Texas: I think if I do beat this guy, I make a strong case for earning the next title shot. That’s why I’m looking for a flawless performance. Igor Vovchanchyn: *I’ve never trained as hard for a fight as I have now. The first time we fought, he submitted me. He’s in a position where he could be earning title contention. I’d love to take that from him and earn it myself.* Punishment Athletics Huntington Beach, California Sporting a flawless 7-0 record in MMA, with three of those wins being against Heath Herring, Remco Pardoel, and Assuerio Silva in UFC, Thomas Lebowski returns to Punishment Athletics where he prepares for his upcoming title fight with the likes of Lightweight judoka, Karo Parisyan and PRIDE FC Welterweight, Thomas Denny. Karo Parisyan: I’ve never seen him this focused. When it’s time to spar most of us stay away from him because he’s so intense. He’s ready for this fight, bro.. Thomas Denny: Tom is one of the best wrestlers I’ve ever bee in there with—ring or cage—he’s determined, he’s fast, he never gives up. People say he’s an underdog, but I wonder if those people actually know him. Three years before the 26 year old Lebowski decided to invest his time into mixed martial arts, he was a decorated collegiate wrestler at Ohio State University. It was there that he first met fellow UFC veterans Mark Coleman and Kevin Randleman. Early on, even they recognized his raw athleticism. Mark Coleman: I was assisting with coaching at the time, and I had never seen anyone at Lebowski’s size move as quickly as he did. It was unbelievably scary and it was impossible to not get taken down by the guy. All three of Lebowski’s UFC opponents have learned that fact first hand with all of them becoming first round victims to ground strikes from the Ohio State wrestler. Thomas Lebowski: I’m not trying to sound ****y, but I’m bar none the best wrestler in mixed martial arts. I guess Rizzo is going to find that out first hand.. While Thomas Lebowski’s wrestling credentials, combined with his UFC fight resume, would have anyone reconsider fighting him, Brazilian striker, Pedro Rizzo considers it just another day at the office. Pedro Rizzo: I’m not worried about his wrestling. Everyone has a gameplan until they get hit. Jeff Blatnick: What makes it such an intriguing fight is that Pedro Rizzo is such an intriguing fighter. This is a guy that completely got out-wrestled by Ken Shamrock for 21 minutes and still had enough power to knock him out in the final round. For Ken Shamrock, one of the greatest Heavyweight fighters of all time, to say he didn’t know hit him…that says A LOT about Rizzo’s power. Pedro Rizzo won the UFC Heavyweight Championship at UFC 46: Honor in a match that MMA legend, Ken Shamrock, was comfortably winning on the scorecards with a 40-36 lead until a right hand from Rizzo rocked him and a barrage of punches gave the finishing touch. Edward Jones: His hand speed was incredible in that fight. And that’s the best I’ve ever seen Ken Shamrock look. But Rizzo’s speed was just scary. Shamrock never got a chance to defend himself. Before speculation arose on who would be able to neutralize the speed and power of Pedro Rizzo’s punches, Josh Barnett, stepped up to the plate, believing that his catch-wrestling would be enough to keep Rizzo on the ground and employ a submission offense. At the four-minutes in the first round, an uppercut from Pedro Rizzo shattered any dreams Barnett had of gaining championship glory. Pedro Rizzo: I take things on step at a time. I listen to my instructor, Marco Ruas, he’s been here before. He was a UFC Champion. Marco Ruas: I took Pedro Rizzo under my wing because I saw a lot of myself in him - street hoodlums looking for a way to channel our anger and a way out. Fighting gave us that. UFC set us free. Five days out of the week, Pedro Rizzo has been hitting the punching bags relentlessly with Marco Ruas shouting out orders for the entire duration. If Thomas Lebowski is expected to win this fight, he will surely have to avoid Rizzo’s powerful right fist. Thomas Lebowski: I’m not afraid of him. He should really worry about my striking. I boxed during college. I have a good boxing coach now. He better not underestimate my power. Pedro Rizzo: I will guarantee a knock out if he chooses to box with me. Zolochiv, Kharkivshchyna, Ukrainian SSR Over two-million thrive in the heart of Kharkivshchyna, Ukraine making the small province one of the most populated regions in Ukraine. While over 1.5 million of these people gather and shuffle through the city of Kharkiv, it’s out in the countryside where Ukrainian kickboxer, Igor Vovchanchyn, reflects on his previous fight with Bernard Texas. Igor Vovchanchyn: The first time we fought, he submitted me. I had him knocked on his back and I got too anxious. He choked me because of my mistake. I don’t make the same mistake twice. This time, I will knock him out. Bernard Texas: I’ve been biding my time waiting for Perretti to call me up and ask when I’ll be ready for a title shot. I’ve taken every opponent he’s given me, and I’ve picked them off one by one. This will be the match that will get me to the gold, and no disrespect to Vovchanchyn, but I won’t hesitate to leave him limp and cold in the octagon if I have to. Training out of Renzo Gracie’s Jiu-Jitsu Academy, Bernard Texas became a highly touted prospect in the world of mixed martial arts. With an impressive 18-7 record, Michigan native is grooming himself for another title shot. Bernard Texas: You know, the first time didn’t go so well. Ken Shamrock is the greatest fighter alive, and I did my best. I’m not going to let this opportunity get away this time. Bernard Texas, however, does not feel that a match with Vovchanchyn is necessary as he already has a submission victory over him that dates back to February of this year. Bernard Texas: I was confused. But it’s the bosses orders, and I enjoy fighting, so I’ll make him tap again. No problem. Igor Vovchanchyn: He acts as if he was winning the fight. I’m the one who knocked him down. When I do it again this time, I won’t have to worry about submissions. He’ll already be knocked out.. Bernard Texas: I want him to plant his feet and try to knock me out. That will be my moment to strike. Igor Vovchanchyn: Will his shot be quicker than my punch? We’ll just have to see, won’t we?. In addition to the two main events, two former champions return to the octagon to take on some of new blood in the UFC. Chuck Liddell: He’s a legend of the sport. A win over Renzo Gracie would prove to the world that I made it. Renzo Gracie: He’s going to try to make me look ugly, but I’ve survived some of the world’s best boxers and kick boxers in the past. What’s he done on the ground? Denis Kang: He’s lost four fights back to back. He might have been something in the past, but that’s entirely irrelevant now. I’m going to prove that I belong in their with UFC’s elite. Randy Couture: I’m focused again. I have the hunger. That one loss on Dan Henderson’s record is from me. I’m going to get back up there. I’m going to beat Dan Henderson again. And Kang's standing in my way. UFC 52: The Arrival. Only on Pay-Per-View.</div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="25359" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>UFC 52: The Arrival Advertisement Thomas Lebowski is considered one of the most esteemed wrestlers in MMA. Jay Glazer: He just took Silva down at will! And with a perfect 7-0 record, he’s focused on claiming legendary status in the heart of his hometown at UFC 52: The Arrival. To do that though, he will have to defeat striking phenom, Pedro Rizzo. Jeff Blatnick: He’s hitting Shamrock with hard shots! Jay Glazer: McCarthy stopped it! What a comeback! Jay Glazer: It’s not looking good for Barnett! Rizzo’s finished him! Barnett’s out of it! Thomas Lebowski: I’m not scared of Rizzo. I’ve fought bigger and tougher fighters. Pedro Rizzo: No one’s scared until they get hit. With the Heavyweight Championship on the line, only one will stand on top and reign as king of the division. But he, too, will have to worry about someone usurping his throne. 18-7 Bernard Texas will meet Ukrainian kicboxer, Igor Vovchanchyn, in a fight that could decide the next Heavyweight number one contender. Bernard Texas: I beat him before, I’ll do it again. Igor Vovchanchyn: I will not make the same mistake. Also, former UFC Middleweight Champions, Randy Couture and Renzo Gracie will return to the octagon to begin 2001 on a good note. Jeff Blatnick: Wander Silva has tapped out. Renzo Gracie is the best fighter on the planet, bar none! Jay Glazer: Ladies and gentlemen, Randy Couture is our new Middleweight Champion! UFC 52: The Arrival. Only on Pay-Per-View.</div></blockquote> --- <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="25359" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>UFC 52: The Arrival February 17th, 2001 Main Card UFC Heavyweight Championship Pedro Rizzo© (8-1, 8-1 UFC) vs. Thomas Lebowski (7-0, 3-0 UFC) Heavyweight Bernard Texas (18-7, 8-6 UFC) vs. Igor Vovchanchyn (7-5, 7-5 UFC) Middleweight Renzo Gracie (16-5, 12-3 UFC) vs. Chuck Liddell (5-4, 5-4 UFC) Lightweight Jens Pulver (7-3, 5-3 UFC) vs. Matt Serra (4-0, 4-0 UFC) Lightweight Carlos Newton (9-8, 8-8 UFC) vs. Mike Swick (5-2, 5-2 UFC) Middleweight Denis Kang (6-2, 6-2 UFC) vs. Randy Couture (6-4, 6-4 UFC) Preliminary Card Heavyweight Gary Goodridge (8-6, 7-6 UFC) vs. Ian Freeman (1-3, 0-3 UFC) Middleweight Alistair Overeem (3-2, 3-2 UFC) vs. Evangelista Santos (3-2, 2-2 UFC) Lightweight Daijiro Matsui (1-3, 1-3 UFC)vs. Dennis Hallman (3-3, 3-3 UFC) Lightweight Dave Menne (2-5, 2-5 UFC) vs. Eldo Dias Xavier (1-4, 1-4 UFC) Heavyweight Kazuyuki Fujita (1-3, 1-3 UFC) vs. Jason Fairn (2-2, 2-2 UFC) Middleweight Evan Tanner (4-4, 4-4 UFC) vs. Vitor Belfort (2-5, 2-5 UFC) </div></blockquote>

maudlin career · June 25, 2010

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The Breakdown: UFC 52 Main Card
By Gavin Banks. February 15th, 2001

With just 48 hours until the Heavyweight encounter between Pedro Rizzo (8-1) and Thomas Lebowski (7-0) at UFC 52: The Arrival, the MMA world is spinning at an even faster rate as fans all across the nation continue to debate who will walk away from the octagon with championship gold in their hand.

The majority says Pedro Rizzo. The rebellious minority senses another upset for Lebowski. On the forums, I’ve seen ground and pound massacre from Thomas Lebowski just as much as I’ve seen killer right hand KO from Rizzo. One thing the two sides have agreed on: this isn’t going to a decision.

With nearly twenty topics a day dedicated to UFC 52’s main event on the Tap or Snap forums, all eyes are now aimed at our direction. You’ve sent us e-mails wanting the scoop on who we felt held the advantages and why. Admittedly, we had no idea how to answer the question. Well now, after much debate in our meeting room, I finally have the end result typed out for your reading needs.

From now on, for ever major event, be it UFC, PRIDE FC, King of the Cage, TKO, or Superbrawl. We will gather around the room with beer and pizza in hand to aptly discuss how we see the event unfolding. Here’s what we have for UFC 52.

Middleweight
Denis Kang (6-2, 6-2 UFC) vs. Randy Couture (6-4, 6-4 UFC)

Background: No one has had a faster rise and fall in MMA than Randy Couture. One minute he’s defeating the best of the best in the Middleweight division, with the highlight being a Split Decision victory over Dan Henderson. Then he loses to Hayato Sakurai in one of the biggest upsets in MMA history. He then loses to Alexander Otsuka, then Kazushi Sakuraba, then Mike Van Arsdale. I’m still trying to figure out what happened.

Just the opposite has happened to Denis Kang. He went 1-2 in his first three fights with losses to Evan Tanner and Mike Van Arsdale. A trigger went off and he snapped, because he’s currently riding a five fight winning streak with three of the wins being by way of stoppage over Alexander Otsuka, Cyrille Diabate, and Bussho Hirayama.

Obviously, this fight is pretty important to both fighters. If Denis Kang wins, he’s turned his five fight streak into a six fight streak with a win over a former UFC Champion. While beating Randy Couture isn’t what it would have been some two or three years ago, a win right now could at least move him closer to title contention. Randy Couture’s career could literally be on the line in this fight as it’s a possibility that the former Middleweight Champion could be looking at his walking papers, post-fight, and with five straight losses on his resume, it’s doubtful that any of the other organizations will be as eager to sign him. If Couture snaps his losing streak with this fight, who knows, maybe he’ll be on his way to another title match.

In the End: I’m giving Denis Kang the nod here by Decision. Couture is more competent on the ground than Kang’s TKO victims, so it’s going to be hard to keep him grounded for strikes. Kang’s young, hungry, and fast, though, and Couture has looked off-step ever since his fight with Sakurai. Expect Kang to stay on the outside and pop Couture with some strikes to keep ahead on the score card.

Lightweight
Carlos Newton (9-8, 8-8 UFC) vs. Mike Swick (5-2, 5-2 UFC)

Background: Mike Swick was just one fight away from challenging Lightweight Champion, Matt Hughes, before being knocked down a rung after losing a close Decision to Matt Serra. Now, Mike Swick looks to climb his way back to the top, by going back through the ranks of the Lightweight Division.

His first opponent on the way there: Carlos Newton, who’s had mixed success at best. With a 9-8 record, it’s hard to consider Newton a legitimate threat to Mike Swick, but if there ever was an upset king in MMA, it would be Carlos Newton. If nothing else, this fight will provide non-stop action from bell to bell.

In the End: With Carlos Newton’s chin being one of the biggest faults, I see this going no other way than Mike Swick via second round KO. Swick has fast and hands, and as evidenced in his fight with Royler Gracie, all he needs is one punch to put you on your back. Carlos Newton has a habit of wanting to grapple, but not defending himself from any offensive attack from his opponent. If Newton tries to grab a leg and eats an uppercut in the process, that’ll be all she wrote.

Lightweight
Jens Pulver (7-3, 5-3 UFC) vs. Matt Serra (4-0, 4-0 UFC)

Background: In a fight that has title eliminator written all over it, expect both fighters to step their game up to show UFC matchmaker, John Peretti, that they deserve an opportunity to fight Matt Hughes after his fight with Dan Hendseron.

Jens Pulver met limited success in his original UFC run only winning two of his first four fights in UFC. The Lightweight fighter was last seen losing to Mike Swick via Decision before showing up in Califronia’s King of the Cage program where he knocked out both Wagnney Fabiano and Leonard Garcia. With two impressive stoppages, the UFC was calling his phone once more and in his first fight back at UFC 51: The End is Near where he managed to submit opponent, Dennis Hallman in the first minute of the opening round.

Matt Serra, on the other hand, doesn’t have any first minute submissions, he doesn’t have any knock outs under his belt, in fact all four of his wins have gone by way of Decision. What he does, though, is suck the heart out of his opponents. With a jaw made of granite, Serra can take anyone’s best shot and deliver one back. As the old saying goes, the worst thing that can happen in a fight is that you give a guy your hardest shot and he takes it and gives it back. It sucks the will to fight right out of you. Matt Serra excels in that.

In the End: In the past, Jens Pulver has had troubles with Sean Sherk, Pat Miletich, and Mike Swick, guys who share a similar frame to Matt Serra. Pulver definitely has KO power, but if Mike Swick couldn’t put him out, I doubt Pulver will be able to. Matt Serra by Decision.

Middleweight
Chuck Liddell (5-4, 5-4 UFC) vs. Renzo Gracie (16-5, 12-3 UFC)

Background: To further add to the claim of UFC 52 being a stacked card we have one of the greatest fighters of all time, Renzo Gracie, facing a new generation of Middleweight who is slowly gaining traction in the company, Chuck Liddell.

Chuck Liddell is among a new crop of fighters who has the defensive ability to keep himself off the canvas, but the offensive capability to knock anyone who even dares to strike with him flat out. Though a shoddy 5-4 record makes him seem almost unworthy to fight Renzo Gracie, he has some of the most impressive wins of any newcomer in MMA.

With Renzo Gracie, you could write a book on his list of accomplishments and contributions to MMA. Next to Royce Gracie, Renzo Gracie is one of the most dangerous grapplers in the game. However, as recently detailed, his excellent submission ability comes at the cost of having a lackluster boxing technique as Dan Henderson, Guy Mezger, and Bas Rutten were all able to knock him out. If Chuck Liddell manages to do the same, it will prove that to be a good fighter in modern MMA, you need to learn every facet of the sport and not just excel in one department.

In the End: In my opinion, Chuck Liddell is simply outclassed in this fight. Chuck Liddell may have excellent striking ability and has been known in the past from stopping a takedown from happening, but this is Renzo Gracie. He’s fought some of the best strikers in the business and has come out on top. Unless Chuck has a belt ranking higher than yellow in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, I’m calling this one a first round submission by Renzo Gracie.

Heavyweight
Bernard Texas (18-7, 8-6 UFC) vs. Igor Vovchanchyn (7-5, 7-5 UFC)

Background: With Bernard Texas being the only man to swiftly defeat Pedro Rizzo in the UFC, you can guarantee that a future rematch with the belt on the line is in Edward Jones’ future plans. Igor Vovchanchyn, doesn’t want to be that bump on Bernard’s road to the title and promises to upset any future title plans Bernard Texas may have.

The two had a prior meeting last year which saw Vovchanchyn working Texas on his feet until overzealousness led to a triangle choke submission. Bernard Texas had made it no secret that he was close to being finished in that fight, but contributes his comeback win to always being aware.

Since that fight, Vovchanchyn has exclusively worked on his grappling. The improvement was noticeable in his fight with Japanese wrestler, Kazuyuki Fujita, who couldn’t score a single takedown in the fifteen minutes of the fight. If Vovchanchyn introduces this feat in his fight with Texas, the fight could have a different result.

In the End: With Bernard Texas standing out as the answer to new Heavyweight problem, Pedro Rizzo, MMA fans far and wide are beginning to rally behind the Renzo Gracie student as a future challenger. Logically, this will be the most likely case. However, I remain behind the sentiment that Igor Vovchanchyn was close to winning their last encounter via stoppage, until he leaned too close. Vovchanchyn is the type of fighter who refuses to allow himself to repeat the same mistakes. Every c say Igor Vovchanchyn by second round TKO.

Heavyweight Championship
Pedro Rizzo© (8-1) vs. Thomas Lebowski (7-0)

Background: The classic tale of grappler vs. striker just got a new twist. Pedro Rizzo can knock anyone out with one or two clean shots. With the exception of Don Frye and Bernard Texas no one has managed to either defeat Rizzo or last until the time limit. The same can be said about Lebowski, who might not have the best knock out power in the world, but once he takes you to the ground, it’s game over. Like Pedro Rizzo, only one opponent has managed to last until the bout’s duration. The rest have fallen victim to Lebowski’s brutal ground and pound.

As stated earlier. Whether you’re a fan of Lebowski, or a fan of Rizzo, it would be unfathomable if this fight were to end in anyway other than a knock out. The fight will be a race of who first: If Lebowski take Rizzo down before Rizzo can hit him?

In the End: While Ken Shamrock may not be known for having an excellent wrestling base, he did manage to take Rizzo down. On the flipside, Rizzo survived all of Shamrock’s strikes from top-control and got back to his feet every time. Thomas Lebowski can certainly take Rizzo down, but if Rizzo can get back to his feet, it’ll be that much closer until Rizzo ends the fight. I’m sensing another knock out will be added to Rizzo’s resume. A third round KO, to be precise.

As always, if you disagree or have your own picks. You can always send us an email by clicking the link at the top of the page.

Predictions are always welcomed. I hope you guys are taking to the shift in story.

maudlin career · June 27, 2010

UFC 52 Live Play by Play (from Cincinnati, Ohio)
By Taporsnap.com Staff. February 17th, 2001

Preliminary Notes

The night in Cincinnati, Ohio went off with a bang as Evan Tanner and Vitor Belfort marched out to the octagon to start tonight’s event. Vitor Belfort didn’t seem to be in the best shape coming into the fight, and it was more than obvious when Evan Tanner began to fire shot after shot, forcing referee Mario Yamasaki to put a stop to the fight at hand.

One dimensionality paid off for Kazuyuki Fujita who refused to give up in takedown attempts on Jason Fairn. Fairn showed success in the first two rounds, avoiding every shot from Fujita. In the third, fatigue became a far more threatening opponent for Fairn, with Fujita finally getting the fight to the ground. With little trouble, Fujita sealed the deal with an armbar submission for the victory.

Eldo Dias Xavier added another submission to the fold by taking Dave Menne’s back for a rear naked choke. Though the fight concluded in the first round, Dave Menne, looked impressive in the opening minutes of the fight, by clinching Xavier against the cage to take control. Menne looked to take the fight to the ground, but stumbled before hitting the canvas face first. Only seconds later, Xavier ended up taking his best to call the fight to an end.

Daijiro Matsui also secured the biggest win in his short career by using superior wrestling to defeat main card mainstay, Dennis Hallman, via Americana submission. With two straights win as of late, expect to see Matsui appear on a main card in the future.

The Cincinnati crowd were treated to a show with Evangelista Santos and Alistair Overeem exchanging in a fifteen minute stand-up war with both fighters looking to end the fight in a brutal exclamation. One of the main highlights of the fight consisted of Santos nailing Overeem with a right round house kick, but the Dutchman wouldn’t go down. The two continued to battle from there, but after the third round came to an end, it was Santos who would see a 30-27 Decision victory.

To wrap things up, former UFC Heavyweight Champion, Gary Goodridge returned to winning form over Ian Freeman. From the sounding bell, Goodridge wanted to leave an impression on the Heavyweight rankings by immediately forcing Ian Freeman to the ground where he relentlessly pounded on him until the fight was stopped.

UFC 52 is now Live

Middleweight
Denis Kang (6-2, 6-2 UFC) vs. Randy Couture (6-4, 6-4 UFC)

Round One: Couture and Kang start the fight off with a decent boxing exchange. Couture snaps off a jab, but receives a counter-jab from Kang in the process. Couture throws a feint to set up a clinch attempt, Kang sees it coming and pushes Couture off of him. Both fighters are now circling around the octagon until a jab from Kang misses Couture. Couture responds with a combination and changes levels mid-flurry to shoot in on Kang, but an uppercut from Kang sends Couture to the ground! Couture is dazed, but he’s surviving a pounding from Kang. Couture struggles back to his feet and forces Kang to the ground with a double-leg. Couture is still rocked and can’t manage an offense from top control. Denis Kang secures a body triangle and wrenches his arms around Couture’s right arm. Kang is pulling for a Kimura and he gets it. Couture is tapping out.

Denis Kang defeats Randy Couture via submission at 4:24 of Round 1

Next for Kang: Now is a better time than ever to place him in the title picture. With fighters like Mike Van Arsdale, Tito Ortiz, and the winner of Chuck Liddell/Renzo Gracie floating around in the Middleweight scene, place Kang in a fight with one of them and if he wins that, it’s time for a Middleweight title challenge.

Next for Couture: It’s been said long before that if Couture can’t win this fight, his time in the UFC is done. That’s not an insult, but with five straight losses, there’s not much else that can be done with him.

(Fighting Rating: Good)

Lightweight
Carlos Newton (9-8, 8-8 UFC) vs. Mike Swick (5-2, 5-2 UFC)

Round One: Newton starts the round off with a sharp kick to Swick’s shin. Swick tries to circle away, but Newton catches him with a jab. Swick has now found himself backed into the cage and Newton moves in to throw another kick. Swick times it and catches Newton with a right that drops Newton to his knees. Swick doesn’t let up on the pressure and begins firing away on Newton who has no answer to any of the punches. Mario Yamasaki has seen enough and pulls Mike Swick away.

Mike Swick defeats Carlos Newton via TKO at 2:13 of Round 1

Next for Swick: The only winning Lightweights who currently have nothing scheduled are Jake Shields, Pat Miletich, and Chris Lytle. The management team will be looking to set-up a future Lightweight title match post-Hughes/Henderson. A fight between Swick and Miletich could perfectly set that up.

Next for Newton: Like Couture, with a record as poor as Newton’s, it’s not foreseeable that the UFC will intend on keeping him. Newton does however provide exciting fights and many organizations could use him for showcase fights.

(Fight Rating: Fantastic)

Lightweight
Jens Pulver (7-3, 5-3 UFC) vs. Matt Serra (4-0, 4-0 UFC)

Round One: The first combination in the fight comes from Matt Serra who doesn’t hit Pulver with anything too accurate. Pulver fakes a left hand to switch levels and shoot in for a takedown, but Serra sees it coming and sprawls out flattening Pulver underneath him. Pulver is eat fists to the side of the head from the bottom, and in a second’s opening, Pulver squirms out and returns to his feet. Serra wants it to the ground and tries to shoot in for a leg, and this time it’s Pulver who sprawls, but Serra is just too strong for Pulver to keep grounded. An frustrated Pulver clips Serra with a right and tries to follow up with a left, and before Serra is backed into the cage, he shoots in and pulls a leg out from under Pulver to bring the fight to the ground. Before Serra can do any damage from top position, the round comes to an end.

The Maverick scores the round 10-9 – Serra
Gavin Banks scores the round 10-9 – Serra
Martin Lane scores the round 10-9 – Serra

Round Two: Pulver catches Serra with a right and changes levels, but it’s deflected by Matt Serra who moves in and clinches with Pulver to prevent a takedown attempt. The two clinch tight, and Serra follows up by tripping Pulver to the canvas. Serra keeps Pulver on the ground and fires off some forearms and elbows that do very little, if any damage at all. John McCarthy decides to step in and bring both fighters to their feet to restart the battle. Pulver swings on Matt Serra the moment the fight starts back up, but Serra clinches in with Pulver to end the round.

The Maverick scores the round 10-9 – Serra
Gavin Banks scores the round 10-9 – Serra
Martin Lane scores the round 10-9 – Serra

Round Three: Serra sprawls another takedown from Pulver and turns it into a tight body lock. Serra tries to slam Pulver back the ground, but Pulver escapes from Serra’s body clinch. Serra misses a right hand that allows Pulver to control Serra with a clinch. Pulver tries to drag Serra to the canvas, but the cage holds Serra firmly in place. Serra slips away from Pulver and is rocked by a right hand! Serra stumbles to the canvas and turtles up sensing a beating from Pulver. Pulver hovers over Serra and fires away at a turtled up Serra. Yamasaki warns Serra to fight out of it or he’ll stop the fight. Serra springs out from under Pulver with a sudden burst of energy. Serra taunts Pulver and asks if that’s all he’s got. Pulver backs Serra into the cage and misses with an uppercut. Serra clinches with Pulver and the fight comes to an end.

The Maverick scores the round 10-9 – Pulver (29-28 – Serra)
Gavin Banks scores the round 10-9 – Pulver (29-28 – Serra)
Martin Lane scores the round 10-9 – Pulver (29-28 - Serra

Official Scorecards:

29-28 – Serra
29-28 – Serra
29-28 – Serra

Matt Serra defeats Jens Pulver via Unanimous Decision

Next for Serra: I think Serra is a strong candidate for Matt Hughes' next title defense. There’s just no one else in the Lightweight division riding as high as he is. With a 5-0 record, it’s impossible to ignore him now.

Next for Pulver: Pulver is a tough fighter who will bounce back in no time. There’s a number of fighters in the Lightweight division worth pitting him against. Royler Gracie, a rematch with Sean Sherk, and Hayato Sakurai are names that immediately come to mind.

(Fight Rating: Decent)

Middleweight
Chuck Liddell (5-4, 5-4 UFC) vs. Renzo Gracie (16-5, 12-3 UFC)

Round One: Liddell misses with a right hook and Gracie uses the opportunity to trip Liddell to the canvas. Liddell clings to Renzo Gracie and tosses him away. A body kick from Liddell stalls Gracie. Liddell stalks Gracie. Gracie springs for a trip takedown and eats a right-hook. Gracie backs into the cage and continues to grab out for Liddell. Liddell fires away on Gracie and the punches are adding up. Another right-hook catches Gracie and he collapses into the cage. Mario Yamasaki pulls Chuck Liddell away and he runs off celebrating with his corner. From the looks of things, Renzo Gracie disagrees with the stoppage, but Yamasaki believes otherwise.

Chuck Liddell defeats Renzo Gracie via TKO at 2:51 of Round 1

Next for Liddell: As stated earlier, a fight with Denis Kang would be the perfect match-up for both individuals. And with both holding impressive wins over former title holders, booking the two against each other is a no-brainer.

Next for Gracie: Gracie’s time at the top just might be coming to an end. With three losses in his last four fights, it’s getting harder for the Middleweight fighter to climb to the top. If he’s to stay in the UFC, a fighter like Vernon White or even a rematch with Ken Shamrock would make for a worthy fight.

(Match Rating: Great)

Heavyweight
Bernard Texas (18-7, 8-6 UFC) vs. Igor Vovchanchyn (7-5, 7-5 UFC)

Round One: Texas is hit in the calf with a leg-kick from Vovchanchyn. Texas doesn’t like the kick and tries to shoot in on Vovchanchyn, but he steps away. Vovchanchyn misses with a right hand. Vovchanchyn attempts another right hand that slips by Texas. Texas pushes Vovchanchyn against the cage and slams him to the canvas. The round ends before Vovchanchyn can do anything else.

The Maverick scores the round 10-9 Texas
Gavin Banks scores the round 10-9 Texas
Martin Lane scores the round 10-9 Texas

Round Two: Texas eats a right and a left from Vovchanchyn. Texas changes levels for a shot, but almost eats an uppercut. The uppercut makes Texas think otherwise about shooting in and he circles away from Vovchanchyn’s power side. Vovchanchyn darts in with a combo and Texas sees it as his opportunity to shoot in for a takedown. Texas effortlessly gets full mount. Vovchanchyn bucks Texas off of him, but leaves his back exposed. Texas fires off some vicious hooks. Before Yamasaki can issue Vovchanchyn a warning notice, the bell sounds.

The Maverick scores the round 10-9 – Texas
Gavin Banks scores the round 10-9 – Texas
Martin Lane scores the round 10-9 – Texas

Round Three: Texas misses with a hook. Vovchanchyn counters with a straight, but it misses. Texas clinches in with Vovchanchyn. Texas effortlessly brings Vovchanchyn down to the canvas. Vovchanchyn tries to roll away from Texas. Texas grabs his arm and quickly secures an armbar. Vovchanchyn taps out.

Bernard Texas defeats Igor Vovchanchyn via submission at 2:44 of Round 3

Next for Texas: And the new number one contender is: Bernard Texas

Next for Vovchanchyn: He’s going to have to work on his grappling if he expects to make it any further up the ladder than he already is. Pairing him with fellow striker, Andrei Arlovski, could provide an excellent fight, though.

(Match Rating: Good)

Main Event – Heavyweight Championship
Pedro Rizzo© (8-1, 8-1 UFC) vs. Thomas Lebowski (7-0, 3-0 UFC)

Round One: Circling the octagon, Lebowski decides to stand and trade with Rizzo. Rizzo eats a jab after missing an uppercut. Lebowski gets caught by a right hand from Rizzo and decides to ditch the stand-up game. Lebowski secures a body lock on Rizzo and forces him against the cage. The crowd is hot for Lebowski and lends their support every time Lebowski hits Rizzo with a knee to the inside of Rizzo’s thigh. John McCarthy decides to break up the clinch after several seconds of stalling. Rizzo fires off a kick that catches Lebowski on the thigh. Before Rizzo can aim for another kick, Lebowski pushes into Rizzo and takes the champion to the canvas. Lebowski drops some elbows on Rizzo, but they do nothing. The first round comes to an end.

The Maverick scores the round 10-9 – Lebowski
Gavin Banks scores the round 10-9 – Lebowski
Martin Lane scores the round 10-9 – Lebowski

Round Two: Lebowski evades a combination from Rizzo and counters with a jab. Lebowski fakes a right and takes Rizzo to the canvas again to the delight of the Cincinnati crowd. Rizzo can’t get out from under Lebowski. Lebowski fires off strikes from the top, but they’re doing nothing to Rizzo. Rizzo tips Lebowski off-balance and is now on top with a side position. Lebowski works from his back and gets Rizzo into guard. Rizzo hits Lebowski with two good shots before the second round comes to a close.

The Maverick scores the round 10-9 – Rizzo
Gavin Banks scores the round 10-9 – Lebowski
Martin Lane scores the round 10-9 – Rizzo

Round Three: Rizzo backs Lebowski up with a vicious right-left combo. Lebowski leaves a cut under Rizzo’s eye with a counter-jab. Lebowski’s striking is looking slower and sloppier. Lebowski misses a punch and eats a jab. Rizzo continues to pick the slower Lebowski apart and we’re off to the champion rounds.

The Maverick scores the round 10-9 – Rizzo
Gavin Banks Scores the round 10-9 – Rizzo
Martin Lane scores the round 10-9 – Rizzo

Round Four: Lebowski pushes Rizzo against the cage. John McCarthy pulls the fighters apart with Lebowski not doing anything significant from the clinch. Rizzo fires off a jab and follows up with four punches that catch Lebowski flush. A kick from Rizzo chops Lebowski down to one knee. Rizzo sees blood in the water and moves in on Lebowski hitting him with several big shots. Lebowski keels over and John McCarthy pulls Rizzo away.

Pedro Rizzo defeats Thomas Lebowski via TKO at 4:49 of Round 4 to retain the UFC Heavyweight Championship

Quick Results

-(Preliminary) Evan Tanner defeated Vitor Belfort via TKO (4:22. First Round)
-(Preliminary) Kazuyuki Fujita defeated Jason Fairn via Submission (4:45. Third Round)
-(Preliminary) Eldo Dias Xavier defeated Dave Menne via Submission (4:06. First Round)
-(Preliminary) Daijiro Matsui defeats Dennis Hallman via Submission (3:15. First Round)
-(Preliminary) Evangelista Santos defeated Alistair Overeem via Unanimous Decision
-(Preliminary) Gary Goodridge defeated Ian Freeman via TKO (4:44. First Round)
-Denis Kang defeated Randy Couture via Submission (4:24. First Round)
-Mike Swick defeated Carlos Newton via TKO (2:13. First Round)
-Matt Serra defeated Jens Pulver via Unanimous Decision
-Chuck Liddell defeated Renzo Gracie via TKO (2:51. First Round)
-Bernard Texas defeated Igor Vovchanchyn via Submission (2:44. Third Round)
-Pedro Rizzo defeated Thomas Lebowski via TKO (4:49. Fourth Round)

---

Post Mortem: UFC 52 Blog – Notes, Impressions, What You Didn’t See
By Gavin Banks. February 18th, 2001

-For anyone who’s wondering. The new guys at the broadcast booth are Mike Goldberg and Mauro Renallo. I couldn’t dig up much information on either individual, but you might recognize Mauro Renallo as the backstage interviewer on the earlier PRIDE events. Mike Goldberg is apparently a hockey aficionado who was originally offered a job in the WWF broadcast booth. I’m not too sure how MMA diehards will respond to this with a American pro-wrestling “tainting” the sport. I thought he did a pretty good job.

-I’m still not sold on Pedro Rizzo as being the new Ken Shamrock in the Heavyweight division. This is the second time that he’s been entirely controlled by a grappler before getting a comeback knock out in the champion rounds. If he’s put in there opposite of a grappler who’s used to the championship grind, Rizzo won’t have much of a chance. Bernard Texas thinks he’s the guy to defeat Rizzo. I agree.

-During the UFC 52 wrap-up conference, Matt Serra told reporters that he expects no one else but Matt Hughes in his next fight. Serra, who is now 5-0, in the UFC believes he’s ahead of Pat Miletich in the title line and wants Hughes right after his encounter with Dan Henderson.

-Thomas Lebowski attributed his loss to Pedro Rizzo to an adrenaline dump. When he scored the big takedown in the second round, the realization that he could be the next UFC Champion got to him and he expended a lot of his energy trying to keep the champion down.

-We were introduced to our first contestant on the upcoming UFC reality series, The Ultimate Fighter. Middleweight contestant, Rich Franklin, is a teacher coincidentally from Cincinnati, Ohio. This got a big buzz from the arena.

-Edward Jones confirmed that UFC 53 will be headlined by a Bernard Texas and Pedro Rizzo rematch.

-Though not an exact date, it’s revealed that Dan Henderson and Matt Hughes will not fight until The Ultimate Fighter wraps up, which will be sometime in June. To fill in the twelve week gap, UFC will book more events catered to their popular television program The Modern Warriors and Rizzo and Texas will get PPV treatment.

-I’ve noticed that Matt Serra’s confidence is turning into ****iness. He frustrated Jens Pulver in their fight tonight by taunting, and that allowed him to pull Pulver out of his comfort zone. Call me crazy, but it’s a refreshing change in the sport. Until he outright disrespects his opponents, I approve.

-Yes, I gave the second round to Lebowski. Yes, I thought he deserved it. Everyone else that I’ve spoken to, including Lane and Maverick scored it 10-9 – Rizzo and that scares me. Yes, he got out of a sticky situation and took control on the ground, but he did it with only 55 seconds left in the round. If we’re awarding rounds to fighters based on how the performed in the last frame of a round, then the scoring system is in dire need of help.

-No official number has been released, but UFC 52 is expected to have made $250,000 of gate receipts and $290,000 in PPV revenue.

-I hate to admit it, but I think it’s time we admit that the time is up for those who dominated the sport four and five years ago. With Shamrock losing two straight and Renzo Gracie getting knocked out in three of his last four fights, the torch is moving to the hands of the younger fighters. I can only pray that the same doesn’t happen to Royce Gracie.

-I’m quite interested to see what Edward Jones and John Peretti do with Denis Kang. He’s looked absolutely unstoppable recently, and with one more big win, I could see him getting a title shot.

-I’d love to know what everyone else thought of UFC 52. Send your feedback via the email at the top.

---

February Mixed Martial Arts Results

King of the Cage 23
February 4th, 2001

-Dave Beneteau defeated Brian Johnston via Submission (3:17. First Round)
-Shonie Carter defeated John Lewis via Unanimous Decision
-Teila Tuli defeated Dan Bobish via TKO (3:09. First Round)
-Rafael Carino defeated Arthur Diaz via Split Decision to retain the King of the Cage Heavyweight Championship

Superbrawl: Wasteland
February 5th, 2001

-Alex Steibling defeated Mark Weir via Unanimous Decision
-Fabio Gurgel defeated Akira Shoji via Submission (4:08. First Round)
-Jake Shields defeated Eric Martin via Submission (1:47. First Round)
-Amar Suloev defeated Jim Vegas via Unanimous Decision
-Caol Uno defeated Tatsuya Kawajiri via Submission to win the Superbrawl Lightweight Championship (3:51. Second Round)

PRIDE 21
February 11, 2001

-(Preliminary) Naoyuki Kotani defeated Joe Camacho via Submission 4:33. First Round)
-(Preliminary) Roman Zentsov defeated Raul Combs via Submission (7:21. First Round)
-Lance Gibson defeated Trent Jenkins via Knock Out (2:28. First Round)
-Seichi Ikemoto defeated Jason Von Flue via Majority Decision
-Andre Pederneiras defeated Jason Ireland via TKO (4:50. First Round)
-Harry Moskowitz defeated Jon Hess via Submission to win the PRIDE Heavyweight Championship (2:03. Second Round)
-Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira defeated Sergei Kharitonov via Submission (3:35. First Round)

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