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UFC 51:  Rachelle Leah
© Marc Wickert
www.knucklepit.com
All photos copyright 2004 Zuffa LLC
Photography by Joshua Hedges With the latest Ultimate Fighting Championship being another sellout, UFC officials scrambled for extra chairs to meet the public’s overwhelming demand at this rapidly growing event. Since the commencement of Ultimate Fighter on Spike TV, the sport of MMA is growing in popularity like wildfire. Outshining the bright lights were UFC regular Cindy Crawford, singer Willa Ford, and after-hours grappler, Jenna Jameson. But perhaps it was the gorgeous UFC ring-card girls, Amber Miller and Rachelle Leah, or delightful interviewer, Kerri Kasem, who forced former NYC bouncer Vin Diesel to don his shades for an evening of ‘fast and furious’ Octagon action. And although UFC claims to be As Real As It Gets, another slogan for the competition could be There Are No Preliminary Bouts, with all nine matches being world-class contests. UFC 51: Super Saturday Results
Nick Diaz (6’0" 170 lb)
v Drew Fickett (5’10" 170 lb) – Welterweight
Referee: Big John McCarthy
These days, most UFC debutantes are
seasoned fighters who have proved themselves on a lesser MMA circuit
before stepping into the Octagon. With a 24-2 record, Drew Fickett had
the coolness of a veteran when he faced Nick Diaz for his first UFC
match. And at just 21 years, it seemed Nick Diaz (9-1) had been with us
forever.
Both men came out with fists blazing.
4.05:
They were in a clinch before Diaz had Fickett in his guard. Nick had
Drew tied up and continued to touch-up Fickett with short jabs from
his back.
3.40:
Diaz started to maneuver into position for an arm bar. Fickett
wriggled his way out and stood over the horizontal Diaz, but caught a
kick to the face from the downed Diaz, which knocked his mouth guard
out.
3.00:
Drew latched a guillotine on Nick as he climbed to his feet. With
Nick’s right arm also trapped in the guillotine, Drew had Nick in
full-guard position. But Diaz was able to slip his head out of the
choke and forced Fickett up against the fence. Still in Drew’s
guard, Nick unloaded sharp blows to Drew’s body and head.
2.07: Both
men were back to their feet and in a clinch, with Drew against the
fence.
1.57:
Big John separated the pair and returned Drew’s mouth guard. The
action resumed with Diaz delivering a leaping, right kick to
Fickett’s ribs.
1.42:
Drew took Nick down with a second guillotine attempt – again with
Nick’s right arm trapped in the choke. It appeared Drew was using
too much steam on holds that Nick was able to escape.
1.18:
Diaz administered left hooks to Fickett’s body and had his head free
from the choke. Diaz resumed punching Fickett’s body with lefts and
rights. The punching momentum increased and Drew had no answer to the
onslaught.
0.20:
Big John pulled the bout up.
Result: Nick Diaz by TKO – 4.40, Round One Karo Parisyan (5’10" 170 lb) v Chris Lytle (5’10" 170 lb) - Welterweight
Referee: Mario Yamasaki
Round One
The action commenced with a cloud of
loose fists flying, and like Rembrandt, both grapplers couldn’t wait
to get to the canvas.
4.49:
They were on the mat with Chris Lytle (27-10-4) fighting from his
back.
4.20:
They rehearsed dueling leg-locks, before Karo Parisyan (20-3) was
striking from the mount and Chris retaliated from his back, as both
men looked to dominate play.
2.18:
Observing the fan-friendly, perpetual-motion rule, Mario Yamasaki
ordered the fighters back to their feet.
Parisyan attempted a takedown and Lytle
caught him with a right knee to the midsection. Eventually Karo was
successful with the takedown and rained elbows on Chris, while trainer
Gokor Chivichyan choreographed instructions from the sideline in
Armenian. But Lytle wasn’t interested in the makeover and replied
with a right, looping fist when Karo raised his head.
Round Two
Parisyan wasn’t happy to stand
toe-to-toe with Lytle as round two commenced and took Chris down with
a judo hip-throw that sat Lytle on the floor – head first. Karo was
back on track, and Chris was back on his back.
3.19: Mario
separated them again before Karo slipped under Chris’s right and
returned him to the floor. This time Parisyan was briefly on his back
until they worked their way to their feet, only to have Karo slam
Chris back down.
2.29:
Parisyan ground’n’pounded Lytle and appeared to be dominating
these first two rounds.
Round Three
Chris tried to park a swinging left
fist on Karo’s jaw, but after he’d dispensed a few tentative
punches, the action was back on the mat at 4.40.
As in the previous rounds, Karo kept busy serving up g’n’p
punishment. Lytle was brave and put up a great fight, but he didn’t
have an answer for Parisyan’s perpetual attacking.
Result: Karo Parisyan by unanimous decision. David Loiseau (6’0" 184 lb) v Gideon Ray (5’9" 180 lb) - Middleweight
Referee: Steve Mazzagatti
This was the first of two substitute matches, with Gideon Ray (14-1-1) stepping in for the injured Joe Riggs after just four days’ notice. "You’re going to see a quick, agile, super-conditioned, intelligent, black, beautiful man fighting and knocking his opponent out," was Loiseau’s prediction. Unfortunately, David didn’t say whether he was talking about himself or Gideon.
An eager Ray jumped at the opportunity
to make his first Octagon appearance, commenting: "This fight is
going to start out, man. There’s going to be no stalling; no
waiting. Whatever’s going to happen in the fight, I want it to
happen in the first round. Whether that’s me up or down, I don’t
care. I just want to get in there and mix it up."
Loiseau and Ray swapped a variety of
kicks, knees and fists until 3.53,
when they clinched. Despite Ray’s TKD background, Loiseau was the
fighter trying for high kicks, which had little impact. Gideon landed
some stinging knees to David’s thighs before Loiseau knocked Ray
down with a powerful knee to the face.
3.31:
David moved in to take advantage and forced Gideon against the fence
for some g’n’p-ing. Ring announcer Bruce Buffer liked what he saw
from his front-row seat, whilst Ray attempted to escape Loiseau’s
side mount by giving up his back. David immediately shot for a
rear-naked choke.
2.14: Gideon
beat the choke, only to land on his back with Loiseau in full mount.
1.08:
Ray escaped yet again, and had Loiseau forced against the cage.
0.50: Both
men returned to the horizontal battleground. Gideon’s looping
punches were out of range, and David caught Ray with damaging
Thai-style knees that flattened Ray. Loiseau moved in again and
hammered Gideon with his signature right elbows.
At the end of round one, Ray’s noggin
had gashes deeper than the cuts Loiseau had previously elbow-carved on
Jorge Rivera’s skull at UFC 44. It was obvious there would be no
second round.
Result: David Loiseau by TKO, Round One. Mike Kyle (6’4" 242 lb) v James Irvin (6’2" 224 lb) - Heavyweight
Referee: Herb Dean
Although Mike Kyle (10-2) was KO’d by
Justin Eilers at UFC 49, Mike is still a big, powerful striker, and
was too much of a challenge for James Irvin (7-0) to test his wares
against. Irvin opened the bout casually with his guard down and tried
a tentative right kick. Kyle, an excellent counter-striker, caught the
kick with his left hand and simultaneously shot out a snapping right
fist. Kyle then overpowered his opponent, pinned him against the cage,
and roughed Irvin up with a series of lefts.
This bout was a gift for Mike. And
although James caught him with one big right, this just seemed to
infuriate Kyle, who couldn’t hide his surprise at seeing the huge
opening Irvin was creating with his guard continuously down. Kyle
ended the mismatch abruptly with a whip-cracking overhand right to
Irvin’s jaw.
Of James Irvin, Mike told Kerri Kasem
after the fight: "He is going to be a good fighter. He’s just a
little inexperienced, a little out of his weight class…Look forward
to seeing him at 205. Keep your head up, man."
Result: Mike Kyle by KO - 1.55, Round One. Paul Buentello (6’2" 247 lb) v Justin Eilers (6’2" 225 lb) - Heavyweight
Referee: Steve Mazzagatti
Paul Buentello (16-7) had been waiting
six years for an invitation to compete in the Octagon and was
hell-bent on proving himself a worthy guest at this slugfest. Justin
Eilers (9-2-1) had won his first match with the quick KO of Mike Kyle
at UFC 49, and was dead-set against a downward step on the Octagon
ladder.
Buentello launched his UFC career with
distracting leg kicks and lightning fists. He employed these tools to
flick leather in Justin’s face, then chewed at Eilers’s legs with
kicks before Justin could settle into his game plan.
3.33: Justin
clinched and pressed Paul against the fence. Buentello would have none
of this and broke away from the tie up.
2.47:
Eilers had Paul pinned against the cage again and scored with punches
and knees. Justin preferred to crowd Paul, whereas Paul preferred the
room-to-move scenario.
1.48:
Buentello had his way and unloaded rapid, stinging fists. He then
lined Eilers up for a left, right combo, and Justin’s head shook
with the ‘KO wobbles’, before his feet got the delayed news and
left the party.
Buentello showed he was here to stay.
The less experienced Eilers will be back, better than ever.
Result: Paul Buentello by KO – 3.34, Round One. Evan Tanner (6’0" 185 lb) v David Terrell (6’0" 185 lb) - Middleweight Title
Referee: Herb Dean
The only thing questionable about Evan
Tanner (32-4) is what hairstyle he’ll be sporting coming into the
ring. For this UFC, he entered as a chiseled, visiting Viking and left
as the Wild Man of Borneo.Due to David Terrell (9-1) having won his
previous UFC clash against Evan’s former teammate, Matt Lindland, in
24 seconds, punters had David odds-on favorite for his meeting with
Evan. In typical Tanner fashion, Evan ignored the experts and focused
on his dream: UFC’s world middleweight belt.
David launched a snapping kick to
Evan’s face that was blocked, then shot kicks at Tanner’s legs.
4.00:
Terrell took Tanner down.
3.56:
Evan was back on his feet. David was rampaging Evan with high-kicks,
knees and punches, seeking a quick victory.
3.40:
Terrell took Tanner back down, but Evan remained composed and
appeared more amused than concerned by Terrell’s furious attack.
3.31:
David had Evan in a guillotine. Ring announcer Joe Rogan commented:
"Tanner looks like he’s in trouble…It’s deep in there
too, man. It’s deep under the neck. This might be it." No
sooner had it been "curtains" for Evan, then David was on
the ground and against the fence.
3.00:
Tanner was smothering Terrell with fists and elbows. David tried to
retaliate, but it appeared he’d invested too much steam in the
earlier onslaught, and Herb Dean intervened.
(For David Terrell’s comments on
the bout see www.knucklepit.com
’s NEWS section).
After the bout Kerri Kasem asked
Tanner: "I heard your old teammate, Matt Lindland, wants to
fight you. What do you say about that?" Evan replied:
"That’s fine. It’s nothing personal. He’s one of the top
competitors, and I won the top fight in the UFC. So if he’s next,
I’ll fight him."
Result: Evan Tanner by TKO – 4.35, Round One. Andrei Arlovski (6’3" 238 lb) v Tim Sylvia (6’8" 263 lb) - Heavyweight Interim Title
Referee: Big John McCarthy
Set for five rounds, no one expected
this match to go the distance. Andrei Arlovski (7-3) knew he would
have to shoot in fast, strike and retreat, because, with Tim’s
five-inch reach advantage, Sylvia (19-1) could still catch Arlovski
with a fist when Andrei was attacking Tim with long-range kicks.
As expected, Arlovski did adopt this
‘hit-and-run’ strategy as he had previously done against Cabbage.
Andrei had great respect for Tim’s crushing punches and snapped out
recoiling punches and leg kicks. Sylvia tried to tag Arlovski with
jabs, but Arlovski attacked Sylvia’s left leg with his own lead-leg
kicks to nullify Tim’s jabbing power.
4.30:
Andrei countered Tim’s jab with a hard right cross that put Tim on
his back. Andrei moved in to g’n’p, then used his Sambo experience
to grab Tim’s right leg and submit him with a foot lock.
Result: Andrei Arlovski by submission – 0.47, Round One. Pete "Drago" Sell (5’11" 183 lb) v Phil Baroni (5’9" 185 lb) - Middleweight
Referee: Mario Yamasaki
Pete "Drago" Sell (5-0) took
this fight on with just two weeks’ notice after Robbie Lawler
injured his elbow. For Phil Baroni (6-4) this was a match he really
needed to win.
Round One
Pete moved in and clinched before Phil
could unleash some of his Bad Ass punches.
4.40:
Sell had Baroni on his back and tried to get Baroni to burn up energy
whilst attacking Phil from his guard.
1.17:
Pete fared better on the ground, but Phil got to his feet. Baroni
tagged Sell with a leather combo and Sell instantly countered by
poking his tongue at Baroni. Phil then counter-countered with a more
effective uppercut. The round finished in a clinch: Sell attempting
the takedown, Baroni resisting with a sprawl.
Round Two
They exchanged fists. Pete landed a few
and smiled at Phil, letting him know he could box too.
4.25:
They clinched and the roll reversal continued with Baroni electing to
take Sell down.
4.07: Baroni’s
takedown attempt was successful, and he had Sell against the fence
while supplementing Pete’s diet with generous rations of leather.
1.52:
Mario separated the fighters. Pete was matching Phil’s standing
game, so Phil took Pete down again. With his head pushed against the
cage, Sell kept hold of Baroni’s head, thus preventing Baroni from
raining down the big punches.
Round Three
As Sell had appeared to take the first
round and Baroni seemed to seal the second, Phil needed this final
round to go his way. But Sell remained confident, showing little
respect for Baroni’s strike game.
4.18: Baroni
took Sell down again and forced him up against the fence. Sell fought
well from underneath.
3.07:
Mario stood them up. Baroni shot under Sell’s attempted uppercut for
a takedown which also failed. But Phil’s next takedown did work.
1.40: Pete
positioned himself to sink a guillotine from his back. Phil appeared
to be suffering a fuel crisis.
0.49:
Sell told Mario he thought Baroni was out. When Pete rolled him over,
Baroni tapped.
Phil was naturally disappointed with
the result, but gave full credit to Pete.
Result: Pete " Drago" Sell by guillotine submission – 4.19, Round Three. Tito Ortiz (6’2" 204
lb) v Vitor Belfort (6’0" 205 lb) -
Referee: Big John McCarthy
Both warriors enter the bout with MMA
records of 12-4-0. Vitor appears much more confident for this clash
than he did at his previous UFC appearance against Randy Couture. Tito
also enters the Octagon looking poised, after signing autographs at
ringside just minutes earlier.
Round One
Both men are looking in superb
condition as southpaw Vitor, and orthodox Tito square off in the
Octagon center. Tito moves in and Vitor clinches, holding Tito against
the cage.
4.38:
Tito repositions Vitor against the fence. Ortiz wants to take Belfort
down, and administers knees and right fists.
3.50: Vitor
breaks away and they’re toe-to-toe again in the middle of the
Octagon. Belfort shakes Ortiz with rapid-fire fists, but Tito wears it
well and catches Vitor with his own left jab that drops Belfort to his
right knee.
3.23:
They’re in a clinch and back against the cage.
2.31: Big
John separates them.
2.04: Vitor
slips and Tito is determined to keep Vitor down. Belfort fights from
his back and blood spills from Ortiz’s nose. In Vitor’s guard,
Tito delivers elbows and massages Vitor’s face with his gloves.
Round Two
Both men seem confident. Belfort is not
one to initiate the action and waits as Ortiz moves in with fists
firing.
4.20:
Belfort tries for a guillotine. After being submitted by Guy Mezger at
UFC 13, via the guillotine, Tito said he would never be submitted with
that choke again, and escapes Vitor’s hold.
4.18:
Belfort has Ortiz in a side mount against the cage. He attacks Tito
with left elbows and fists. Tito covers well, as Vitor continues his
attack. Belfort has the dominant position, but lacks the juice.
1.27: Big
John intervenes.
1.04:
Ortiz takes Belfort down. Ortiz dispatches elbows now, while Belfort
tries to cover up and regroup energy supplies whilst on his back. As
the bell sounds, Tito walks away with more confidence and steam.
Round Three
Ortiz discharges a kick at Belfort’s
face, then attempts a takedown. Vitor is on his back and holding on.
4.17:
Tito works hard with elbows and forearms. Vitor no longer looks
threatening, and waits for Big John to reintroduce the stand-up
confrontation.
1.32: Belfort’s
wish is eventually granted and Tito, the fresh-faced kid, rushes Vitor
for another takedown.0.42: Ortiz has Belfort on the canvas and resumes
g’n’p-ing Vitor.
Despite one judge seeing it otherwise,
this was a victory Tito deserved.
Result: Tito Ortiz by split decision
For info on UFC 52: www.ufc.tv
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