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UFC 52:
COUTURE vs LIDDELL 2  Rachelle Leah
© Marc Wickert
www.knucklepit.com
All photos copyright 2004 Zuffa LLC
Photography by Joshua Hedges This latest UFC event took place before another sell-out crowd at Las Vegas’s MGM Grand, and presented MMA fans with more seat-clutching action. As well as the delightful ring-card girls, Amber Miller and Rachelle Leah, in attendance to tantalize the eyes were UFC regular Cindy Crawford and Canadian Pamela Anderson who got to witness some of the hometown boys delivering the goods at close range. UFC President, Dana White, also had a lot to reveal – news that a second Ultimate Fighter series will be going into production in June, 2005, hot on the heels of the hugely successful Ultimate Fighter 1. UFC 52: Couture vs Liddell 2 Results
Mike Van Arsdale (6’2"
215 lb) vs John Marsh (6’0" 225 lb) - Heavyweight
Referee: Steve Mazzagatti
Round 1
Both men started out tentatively.
Mazzagatti told them to get on with it at 4.12. They clinched and
Arsdale took Marsh down. With side control, Arsdale deployed powerful
close-quarters elbows to Marsh’s head and body.
1.49: Arsdale was hammering Marsh with
knees to the body. A mouse appeared under Marsh’s left eye as he got
back to his feet at 0.09. The round finished with Marsh held in a
clinch by Arsdale.
Round 2
The fighters started tentatively again;
this time Marsh was in slow pursuit of Arsdale. After a few hesitant
jabs, they clinched against the fence.
3.28: Arsdale tried a judo-style hip
throw, but Marsh resisted and they separated.
2.35: They re-engaged. Marsh scored
with a knee to Arsdale’s head, before Arsdale crouched up on the mat
and held onto Marsh’s wrists. Not much was achieved here by either
competitor. They returned to their feet at 2.11, and mainly practised
their shadow boxing until 1.16, when Arsdale tried for the shoot.
Marsh sprawled and they went from a kneeling to a standing clinch.
Both were trying for the takedown, and
this time Marsh put Arsdale down with a hip throw. Marsh was in the
half guard and Arsdale was tying him up to prevent being
ground’n’pounded. Marsh went for a rear-naked choke, but was
beaten by the clock.
Round 3
4.24: Marsh closed in on Arsdale and
they clinched against the fence, with Marsh delivering knees and
punches to Arsdale’s midsection. Arsdale held on until Marsh caught
him with a powerful knee strike that put Arsdale on his knees at 3.20.
Marsh got Arsdale’s back and started
to panel-beat him with leather. But Arsdale spun around and got side
position, delivering elbows and forearms to Marsh’s head and body.
Marsh was unable to match Arsdale’s attack while fighting from his
back.
Result: Mike Van Arsdale by unanimous decision.
Referee: Herb Dean
Round 1
Joe Doerksen was defeated by Joe Riggs
at UFC 49, and Patrick Cote suffered a loss to Tito Ortiz at UFC 50,
so both athletes were keen to score a win in this match-up.
The pair was intent on exchanging kicks
– Cote going for low kicks and Doerksen targeting the head. Joe
clinched at 4.42 and wanted to adjourn to the floor, whilst Patrick
was content standing. At 3.50 Joe succeeded with a hip-throw sweep
combo and assumed the side-control position – a bit like the
previous bout’s predicament, but more explosive.
Patrick rolled and Doerksen had
Cote’s back presented to him, as Patrick fought off the rear-naked
choke. Cote resisted well and was back on his feet at 1.32. With Cote
standing and Doerksen fighting from his back, the pair exchanged
kicks.
When they both stood, Cote fared
better, so Joe went for the takedown, but Patrick had Joe in his guard
and tied Doerksen up. Joe wriggled free and attained side control
again, before attempting an arm bar. Cote broke free from the hold
before the bell sounded the round’s end.
Round 2
Patrick continued to dominate the
standing game, catching Joe with right fists, leg kicks and a front,
left kick to the head. At 4.25 they clinched and Joe caught Patrick
with a sweeping takedown. But Cote was back on his feet and in a
clinch at 4.23. Joe returned them to the canvas and had side control
again.
Cote rolled into Joe’s triangle
before escaping from the hold and unleashing some
ground’n’pounding. Then they were back on their feet. Cote
attacked Doerksen with a leaping right knee, and Joe wore two more
knees from the clinch before going to the ground.
Patrick closed in for the kill, but Joe
neutralised the attack by tying Patrick’s arm up. They were back
standing at 0.30 and in another clinch, before a further takedown by
Doerksen.
Round 3
Cote was easily out-boxing and
out-kicking Doerksen, attacking his head and midsection with punches
and slamming his legs with solid kicks. One flurry of fists put Joe on
the mat at 4.17. Pat moved in, but Joe tied Cote up again and avoided
the onslaught.
Cote worked hard from the guard. At
2.45, Joe caught Patrick’s right punch, siezed his arm, and turned
him onto his back. Cote tried to roll out from Doerksen’s mount, but
surrendered his back in the process.
At 2.35, Patrick was not able to escape
Joe’s choke.
Result: Joe Doerksen by rear-naked choke – 2.35, Round Three
Referee: Mario Yamasaki
Like the previous bouts, this match
started out tentatively, but you knew with Riggs and Salaverry that
things would be heating up quickly.
4.45: Ivan whipped a right kick at the southpaw’s face to catch his attention, but Joe blocked with his right glove. Salaverry then fired a few front leg kicks and Riggs replied with an inside kick to Ivan’s left leg. Both men were still sizing each other up until 3.50 when Ivan went in for a shoot and Joe came over the top, seizing Salaverry’s neck and right arm. Joe tried to deliver knees, but the seasoned Salaverry blocked the strikes with his forearms, and collapsed his stance, dragging Riggs into his guard. Joe landed a heavy left before Ivan surrendered his back in order to stand up. Riggs attempted to capitalise on the positioning with a takedown, but Salaverry sprawled and offered his opponent only dead weight. They fell to the mat with Joe still holding Ivan by his right arm from behind, and throwing left fists at Salaverry. Ivan was too versed at covering up and avoided the punches. Like a truck driver thrashing through gears, Salaverry skipped from one submission attempt to another, before Joe opted to ground’n’pound from the guard. With Ivan still on his back, Joe stood and attempted to line up one of his signature lunge-and-punch attacks. However, Ivan had practised for this move (see Ivan Salaverry Part 2 at knucklepit.com), and as Riggs lunged forward, Salaverry caught Riggs first with a right kick to the face, then a full-on left kick straight into Joe’s jaw that snapped his head right back. As Joe fell forward, Ivan locked a triangle choke on the dazed Riggs and forced him to top out. Ivan celebrated with a Catherine wheel, while Joe couldn’t help showing he was bitterly disappointed. But the 22-year-old Riggs has a huge future in front of him, and it’s only through competing against seasoned fighters such as Salaverry that Joe will improve even more. And Riggs showed what a true professional he is when he stayed in the ring to be interviewed by Joe Rogan, despite the disappointment. Result: Ivan Salaverry by triangle choke – 1.36 Round One
Referee: Big John McCarthy
Round 1
4.53:
Miller attempted a right kick at St. Pierre’s leg, but Georges
stepped back out of range.
4.42:
Miller tried the same kick and Georges caught it with his left mitt,
throwing Jason on his back, before delivering a kick to Miller’s
legs. Georges followed with an axe kick to Miller’s ribs. St. Pierre
continued to out-gun the ever-game Miller with punches and
counterpunches.
3.46:
Georges whipped out a spinning back-fist that narrowly missed its
intended target, and let Jason know to expect the unexpected. Miller
dispatched high and low kicks, fists and leaping knees, but St. Pierre
covered well and continued to dissect his opponent’s game.
2.43:
They clinched, with Georges against the fence. Miller believed he
would be a handful for Georges on the floor, but it was St. Pierre who
took Jason down from the clinch at 2.34, then Georges sprang back to
his feet at 2.14, leaving Miller on his back with claret flowing from
his nose. Jason elected to stay down and kick from his back. St.
Pierre stood and slammed another axe kick into Miller’s midsection.
Joe Rogan commented that Miller
"is light years beyond him (St. Pierre) on the ground."
Perhaps Jason’s ground skills were superior in some far-off UFO
world, but they certainly weren’t at UFC 52.
Georges moved in after his axe kick and
began unloading an unhealthy serving of g’n’p-ing.
1.36:
St. Pierre had Miller in a kimura. Jason avoided the submission, and
climbed back to his feet. The superbly well-rounded Georges dominated
all aspects of the first round and left Miller’s face looking like
it was the bullseye at a Spanish tomato fight.
Round 2
4.48: They
clinched. Jason badly wanted to take Georges down. St.Pierre was happy
to fight anywhere, and at 4.05 the pair eventually oozed down onto the
canvas, rather than it being through a well-executed takedown. Georges
fought from the half-guard and was searching for a kimura again.
Miller remained evasive rather than being a threat to his opponent.
If Jason did have a superior ground
game, it was certainly well concealed as Miller used his face to block
Georges’s fists, whilst St. Pierre kept dominating the round. He
battered Jason some more before trying on an arm bar at 0.16. But
Miller survived another round.
Round 3
4.31: Georges
shot in and they were on the mat again, with St. Pierre roughing
Miller up against the fence. Jason’s only answer was to absorb and
survive.
1.31:
Georges went for an arm bar and Joe Rogan was now crediting Eddie
Bravo with saying Miller was light years ahead of St. Pierre on the
ground.
1.20: Jason
escaped and climbed on top of Georges, before getting side control.
Georges rolled over and had side control of Miller. For the last 50
seconds of round three he ground’n’pounded Jason.
Miller did survive and showed a
trunkful of courage, but he never really threatened St. Pierre.
Result: Georges St.Pierre by unanimous decision
Referee: Steve Mazzagatti
Round 1
There was no pussyfooting in the
opening of this clash. A few fists were exchanged before a very
animated Matt and Travis crunched in what appeared to be fast-forward
fighting. Both fought furiously for the upper hand and kept active in
the clinch until Matt slammed Travis to the floor at 4.32.
The super-fit Lindland was working at
the pace of an Aussie truck driver on a 25/7 roster. BJJ exponent
Lutter held Matt in his guard whilst the Team Quest rep sought to
g’n’p Travis. But the skilled Lutter rolled Lindland and got the
mount at 4.02.
Matt trapped Travis’s neck and left
arm in a hug, to prevent Travis from raising his upper body and
delivering power strikes. Lutter’s attack was shut down until 2.58
when Matt rolled out from under Travis and scrambled to his feet.
Lindland then held Lutter in a clinch
against the fence and touched him up with knees and uppercuts.
1.16:
Travis decided to reciprocate, spinning Matt into the fence, then
pulled him to the floor. With the downed Lindland forced against the
cage, Travis appeared to be going for a kimura that didn’t quite
work out.
Round 2
4.53: Lindland
seemed more energised as he elected to take his opponent back down.
Travis was fighting from his back and wanted to tie Lindland up, but
Matt was unrelenting and landed punches to Lutter’s body and head.
Constant dripping wears away the stone,
and while Lindland turned up the heat and continued to work his
opponent, commentators Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan discussed barbeques
they had attended. And just after Rogan said of Lindland, "He’s
not really doing any damage, though, here," Matt slipped on a
guillotine and Travis tapped out.
Result: Matt Lindland by guillotine choke – 3.13, Round Two
Referee: Mario Yamasaki
Set for five 5-minute rounds, no one
expects this title match to go the distance. As usual, Frank enters
the Octagon and stands with back to his opponent for the introductions
from Bruce Buffer. But Matt chooses to stare down Frank’s tattooed
back anyway.
Mario calls the warriors in for
last-minute instructions. Matt and Frank literally stand nose to nose,
Eskimo-style. It is definitely going to be murder on the war-dance
floor. Frank looks to give Matt a little peck and Matt shoves
Frank’s chest back with both mitts. This is a true grudge match and
there’s more than the welterweight belt on the line here.
5.00: Trigg
commences as a southpaw.
4.49:
Hughes fires a high right kick that Trigg blocks with his mitts. Both
men are gauging their punches.
4.38:
Matt snaps out a right leg-kick. He moves in and they clench in centre
ring. Hughes pushes Trigg to the fence and tries for a takedown. Frank
works his knee strikes and fists on Matt’s body.
4.12:
Hughes looks to referee Yamasaki as though he’s copped one in the
cricket set. Yamasaki is unaware that Hughes wore a right knee down
there, and instructs them to keep fighting, so Trigg moves in.
4.05:
Matt is on the ground with Frank unloading a salvo of leather and
elbows. Hughes is wearing it all but manages to regroup enough to hug
Trigg’s back while Frank is in the mount position.
3.06: Trigg
secures Hughes’s back and is going for the rear-naked choke. Matt is
still a wounded bull.
2.31:
Hughes tries to roll onto his knees, but Trigg stays with him all the
way and maintains the choke. Matt’s face is red, and he looks to be
in trouble. The crowd goes into shock mode.
2.22:
Hughes attempts to climb to his knees, but his face is turning a
deeper red. He somehow continues to fight the choke.
2.19: Matt’s
attempt to climb to his knees fails as Frank falls back to keep Hughes
down, still with the choke in position.
2.18:
Trigg’s hands drop from the choke and Matt miraculously turns on
Frank. The crowd erupts in disbelief. Hughes has Trigg against the
fence and picks him up.
2.12:
The crowd now goes totally troppo as Matt carries Frank across the
Octagon and slams him into the canvas.
2.00:
Hughes mounts Trigg. He holds Frank down by the neck with his left
hand and pounds him with his right fist.
1.46: Frank
rolls and gives Matt his back. Now Matt looks for the rear-naked
choke.
1.34:
After Trigg successfully avoids Matt’s choke attempt, Hughes decides
Trigg needs some more punishment to wear him down. He drags Frank over
to the fence like a lion with its prey and rips in some elbow strikes.
1.16: Frank
rolls and surrenders his back again.
1.03:
Matt takes Frank in a death roll and claps on another rear-naked
choke. Hughes has his right forearm buried in Trigg’s neck, his
right hand on his left bicep, and his left hand pushing Trigg’s head
down – BJJ-style. Frank reaches up and pulls Matt’s left hand
away, so Matt clasps both his hands together – Judo-style – and
Frank taps out.
This has been a huge battle for the fans. It’s hard to believe all the action occured in the first round. Once again, Matt Hughes has shown why he is still the world’s best 170-pound fighter. A bout between Georges St. Pierre and Frank Trigg now seems imminent. Result: Matt Hughes by rear-naked choke – 4.05, Round One
Referee: Herb Dean
Round one was a five-minute scramble
for domination, with both men going through the paces from standing
clinches to takedowns and g’n’p exchanges. Neither man was clearly
in front at the round’s end, although the wind did appear to be
shifting Babalu’s way.
Round 2
Babalu and Travis shaped up. Babalu
shot out a low right kick that Travis caught and used to take Babalu
down. Babalu had Travis in his guard. He seized Wiuff’s left arm and
snapped on an arm bar. Travis tapped.
Result: Babalu by arm bar – 0.24, Round Two
Referee: Big John McCarthy
Randy and Chuck had previously fought
on June 6, 2003, at Meltdown, when Couture came away
victorious. Since then, each has defeated Tito Ortiz. Chuck has beaten
Vernon White by a round one KO at UFC 49, and Randy has demolished
Vitor Belfort. They now meet here to decide who takes home UFC’s
light-heavyweight belt.
Round 1
Both gladiators look extremely
confident. As in their first match-up, Randy edges forward in pursuit
of Chuck. Couture has his hands up and elbows in, guarding his ribs.
Liddell has his hands wide and probes with his left loops.
Unlike their previous fight where Randy
countered Chuck’s loops with straight jabs, he seems to be hooking
and looping more, allowing Chuck to jab and run.
Liddell tries a front leg-kick to
Couture’s left leg.
4.39:
Randy moves in with fists firing, but Chuck hits back and moves out of
range to the side, to avoid a takedown or clinch.
3.41:
Randy catches Chuck with a nice left, but Chuck has shown in the past
that he possesses a strong jaw.
3.32:
Both fighters land leg kicks. Randy is still in pursuit.
3.27: Couture
catches up with Liddell, and they clinch with Liddell against the
fence.
3.19:
They separate and Randy is holding his right eye. Big Mac halts the
action and gets the ring doctor to check Randy’s eye.
3.10:
The fight recommences. Randy catches a left hook, then tries to move
in. They both miss with wild loops before Couture wears a right to the
jaw from Liddell. Randy is knocked out.
What impact Couture’s being hit in the eye had on the result is impossible to determine, but Randy says he’ll be back and Chuck says he won’t go away. Liddell vs Couture 3 is planned for January, 2006. The sooner the media forgets about Randy Couture’s age, the sooner fans will be able to focus on this remarkable fighter’s skills. Chuck is now looking at mounting a challenge for UFC’s heavyweight title (see Chuck Liddell Part 4 at www.knucklepit.com). Result: Chuck Liddell by KO – 2.06, Round One.
For info on the UFC 53: Big Hitters – www.ufc.tv
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