Another UFC is in the books and overall the event was pretty solid. You can’t deny this fight card was probably the strongest card the UFC has ever put on. For those who can’t stand fights going to the distance, you were probably somewhat disappointed with UFC 73; for those who love good MMA matchups, you were probably greatly pleased. Personally, I was greatly pleased.
- Anderson Silva vs Nathan Marquardt - Silva looked dominating and I think Rich Franklin’s face said it all when they showed him after the fight ended; Silva will probably be hanging onto the UFC Middleweight belt for a long time. Rich didn’t look to anxious to get back into the mix with Silva.
- Tito Ortiz vs Rashad Evans - As much as people probably hate fights that end in a draw, this is probably one of those rare times where the decision is perfectly fitting. Ortiz and Evans truly fought to a draw; neither fighter was better or more dominating in this matchup than the other. Ortiz shot himself in the foot by losing a point for grabbing the fence, and would have otherwise won this fight on points. But, in the end, it just feels right that Ortiz lost that point and the fight ended in a draw.
- Sean Sherk vs Hermes Franca - It may not be very aesthetically pleasing to watch Sean Sherk wrestle and “lay” on his opponents for a full 25-minute fight, but if it earns him a victory I say he should keep doing it until someone can stop him. Sherk dominated Franca even more then he did against Florian. Sherk passed guard with ease and did anything and everything he wanted to on the floor. I held my breath every time he shot in and ate a knee, but in the end, Sherk proved he deserves the belt.
- Heath Herring vs Minotouro Nogueira - I have to admit I’m completely surprised the ref didn’t stop this fight in the first round when Big Nog was rocked by Herring’s head kick. Personally, had it been me, I would have stopped the fight and we’ve all seen fights stopped for far less. But you’ve got to give credit to Yves Levigne for not stopping it considering that Herring was willing to get off Nogueira and ask for him to stand back up. Nog, Dana White, and the UFC dodged a bullet and Nog was able to pull out the victory and now the UFC has their next challenger for the winner of Couture vs Gonzaga at UFC 74.
- Did I really hear Joe Rogan say that Rashad Evans got “kicked in the balls”? What?!?!? Rogan has always been one to speak his mind, but I guess I’m still used to it being referred to as the “groin” on TV. Definitely got a chuckle in my house.
- The UFC needs to pick and choose their upcoming movie sponsors a little better because hearing Bruce Buffer say “I now pronounce you Chuck and Larry” during the main event pre-fight intros was just weird and creepy.
- Once again, I found myself missing the PrideFC shows where we would get 8 or 9 fights every PPV in a 3 hour span. The UFC continues to struggle to get 4-5 fights in a 3 hour window. That “swing bout” with Kenny Florian and Alvin Robinson seemed rushed. I barely blinked and Florian and Robinson where in the ring and Buffer was introducing them talking nearly as fast as that old MicroMachines guy.
- It was good to see “Mach” Sakurai at the event last night. I was hoping for some kind of “announcement” regarding him but there was none.
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Here’s my take on the event:
Nog vs. Herring:
I have to start by admitting that I gained a new respect for Heath Herring. First off, I applaud the ref for NOT stopping the fight. Even though so many idiot fans there were booing, I was saying “amazing†for letting the fight go on, knowing how tough Nog is and how well he has always shown to recover. Watching Herring, I could not understand why he continued to go back to the same kick, with Nog obviously expecting it. I sometimes question Herring’s intelligence and conditioning, since his supposed “punching power†always fades down the stretch. I also couldn’t believe how horrible his take-down defense is. Then I started to see something else…Heath Herring has some of the best submission defense I have ever seen, especially for a heavyweight. As slow as he is, on the ground I must say that I was very impressed with his abilties to escape consecutive submission attempts by probably the second best submission heavyweight in the world.
Sherk vs. Franca:
Basically a wrestling match with punching…no big surprises. I don’t think anyone wants a a champ that wins every fight by decision. Sherk showed just how dominating he can be on top of his ability to take a direct shot to the chin
Ortiz vs. Evans:
What is there to say, I’m sure no one thought it would end that way. Tito showed he’s getting old and can’t go past 2 1/2 rounds anymore. Rashad showed he can dance and dance and dance some more, without actually throwing any punches. I think the fans put it best with their boos. Both fighters asked for a rematch, but do we really care to see another one? So far, it looks like “the greatest fight card in combat sports†is turning out to be another stinker!!!
All I have to say is…”thank G-d for Anderson Silva”
ah i dont know i though there were all pretty good fights except Ortiz vs. Evans but the reason i liked the Ortiz/Evans fight is because it was funny as hell watch the fight again if you can and look for all the rule breaking lol it was blatant and obvious.
Tito: grabbing trunks, eye poking, headbutting, grabbing fence, groin strikes.
Rashad: grabbing trunks, eye poking (almost took Tito’s eye out with a thumb), headbutting, groin strikes.
i cant really say i like Sherks style but he made me a fan last night. the man is a beast and he showed complete domination last night over Franca who i though would be too slippery for Sherk to control. i’ll bet you Sherk’s corner sh*t them selfs just a little every time he took one of those knees. the second one Franca cought him with could have been the end if Franca had of jumped on him and tryed to finish.
Silva is the man thats it, thats all! please people dont doubt this man ever again he will destroy any middle weight right now.
Nog got saved…its sad but true. Yves is awesome he refs TKO and UCC all the time and he is known for letting fights go and quick stand ups. i think he is a fan of the knock-out
hey guys, i noticed fullcontact zone is getting pretty late uploading their xvid torrents, then get a HD version VERY FAST, but your probably looking at 5 days eta for a 9 gig torrent.
So i uploaded the ufc 73 xvid to fullcontact zone just now, for all you guys who still havent copped it yet.
i though last nights fight were good from a mma standpoint but as a fan the all sucked except for silva i almost shat myself when nog went down there is no more sure things in this sport anymore but herring is just stupid hes big and strong but i doubt if he has a brain,sherk i like sherk but someone forgot to tell him this was a mma match ,ortiz rashad i personnally think if tito wouldnt of grabbed the cage rashad would of got the take down and the round,now silva is a fu*cken animal plan and simple,now kenny florian is awesome im a fan now i even loved the way he talked about finishing fights u know and i know he was talking about sherk
Dr. J
This is off topic but what happened with the T-shirt contest?
who won and how do I get one?
@Chris,
Yeah, unfortunately I’be been a big slacker on the shirts. Sarah’s “modified” design won. I had the shirt laid out and was checking with shops to get them made and my drive crashed and I lost the original design. Since then I really haven’t done much with it. I’ve got to remake it and get some made up.
I know a few guys won some shirt bets and are waiting on them, so as soon as I have them done, I’ll make a post about it and how to order.