UFC 66: Liddell vs. Ortiz 2
by: DarthMolen 1 year, 7 months, 3 weeks, 6 days, 20 hours, 22 minutes ago
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UFC
UFC 66 was an awesome card. There were some great fights and even a couple surprises on the night that made the event worthwhile to watch.
I am going to start out my review with some random thoughts from the night.
Chris leben came out with his customary bright red hair but he was sporting it in a CURLY MOHAWK style!!! I’m sorry, curly mohawks just don’t work!!! They just don’t. It looked like roadkill on top of his head.
Speaking of roadkill, They flashed Anderson “Spider” Silva on the screen because he was in attendance. He was wearing some spotted fur coat that LOOKED LIKE ROADKILL ALSO!!! I’m sorry Anderson, this isn’t the 80’s, the pimp you beat up out back called and he wants his coat back.
Foreigners and post-fight speeches just don’t go over well when you are listening in a bar atmosphere.
Michael Bisping is from London and has a heavy accent. The sports bar I was at was really, really raucous and my friend turned to me and asked if Bisping was speaking chinese or something. You couldn’t understand a word he said. Same with Arlovski. Plus their head movements away from the mic wasn’t working as they swayed from exhaustion.
Learn to get some directional mic’s on those guys and a translator too.
All the fights went according to UFC plan except for poor Forrest Griffin (The big guy was reduced to tears). I am just going to give my some random thoughts on the matches.
Bisping vs. Schafer
This wasn’t even really close. Schafer had absolutely no stand-up and kept rushing in head-long for a single leg without setting it up with any kind of combo’s. He finally scored a couple take downs but Bisping was really picking him apart and eventually ended up on top pounding him out. It was good to see “The Count” back in action and I hope they put his career on the fast track. I would love to see him go against some of the top Light Heavyweights such as Ortiz, Griffin, or even Jardine.
Arlovski vs. Cruz
This fight was interesting but short. Cruz did not want to stand with the Sambo expert one minute. He immediately went for a takedown to show off his Jiu Jitsu skills.
They both ended up with semi-ankle locks but Arlovski kicked to the head and was warned. How ridiculous is that. THEY WERE BOTH DOWN!!! WHY CAN’T YOU DEFEND AN ANKLELOCK WITH A KICK IF YOU ARE BOTH ON THE GROUND?!?!? Anyways, too many rules IMHO. Not enough ways to keep your opponent honest.
Cruz refused the reset because he wanted to stay down and Arlovski took the break-time to set up an explosive right cross from a sitting to position that eventually landed on Cruz chin. Arlovski immediately pounced and GNP’ed Cruz until the referee called the bout.
Leben vs. MacDonald
Leben was exposed yet again. I called it on my podcast. Jason MacDonald will find your weakness and exploit it. Leben has minimal ground game and when you continually jump into a guys guard like that, you are going to eventually pay.
Chris “The Crippler” Leben controlled the first round. His punches, although not tight and clean, were enough to keep MacDonald honest. He kept jumping into MacDonald’s guard though knowing that Jason was better on the ground. In the second round, MacDonald made him pay and eventually secured a nasty guillotine from the side that strangled Leben enough that he couldn’t even tap out and knocked him totally unconscious.
Forrest vs. Keith
Forrest was looking real good standing up. He was clean and throwing some real good punches. He just got too comfortable and Jardine stepped into the kill zone and opened up a buzzsaw when Forrest was lulled. It all started with an uppercut and then Jardine just went to town knocking Forrest out with a flurry up top and a flurry on the ground when Forrest went down. Forrest was knocked out hardcore and the referee stepped in to call off the dogs.
Poor Forrest went back to his corner and bawled his eyes out. I am not disrespecting him. When you poor everything into a fight for six weeks and invest yourself emotionally, it’s really hard not to get emotional. I can respect that in a fighter. I have high hopes for Forrest and he has improved every time I’ve seen him which that is better than others on the card.
Tony Desouza vs. Thiago Alves
I called this one and I am glad they showed it over the air. Thiago came out with a vengeance. Desouza is way longer than Alves but he could not match the up-top skills Alves brought to the table. Desouza refused to take advantage of his reach by jabbing Alves off him. He kept trying to shoot in for single legs without setting up the takedown with combos. Alves made him pay every time. The bell saved Tony in the first round. It couldn’t do the same in the second round. Desouza charged in yet again and Alves met him with a knee that spelled good night.
Tito Ortiz vs. Chuck Liddell
Tito vs. Chuck. What can I say. Tito got two good take downs and even got a look at Chuck’s back but he was exposed. He doesn’t have decent JJ skills so that he could exploit the openings Chuck gives when he tries to get back up. I think the fight was stopped a little bit too early but maybe the UFC is trying to send a message to “turtles” (people who just cover up on the ground a long time and don’t try to fight back) and if that is the case, then I am just fine with that.
The first round went as a feeling out round. Chuck kept Tito at bay and constantly peppered him with hits from range. Tito tried a couple takedowns but couldn’t score one and ended up eating punches because of it. The round ended with Chuck winning.
The second round had Tito scoring a couple takedowns after setting them up with leg kicks and punches. If he could only have worked that front leg more, I think he would have been way more successful. But apparently, he broke something in his foot when Chuck checked the kick. Anyways, he was able to score a couple takedowns with one even landing him on Chuck’s back. He couldn’t capitalize though and the round ended with Ortiz slightly edging out Chuck.
The third and decisive round started with the same cat and mouse game. The failure of Ortiz to secure his takedowns were finally giving Chuck confidence and each time Ortiz failed and fell back, Chuck would rush in and land some dropping punches. Eventually Ortiz got caught in a nasty flurry up top that knocked him to the ground and forced him to turtle too long. The referee stepped in and called the match. Even though it was a little early, the outcome was inevitable.
Great Title fight. Great undercards. Great company. What more can you say? The UFC really upped the ante on entertainment yet again.