UFC 74 is in the books and it was a good card from start to finish. I still have issues with the way that Zuffa runs their PPV shows, and I will probably say this after every event, but they need to show more than 5 fights over the course of 3 hours. UFC 74 saw most of the favorites win their fights, with most bouts being exciting from the opening bell.
- Randy Couture vs Gabriel Gonzaga - Randy Couture did what he does so well yet again, and dominated yet another UFC heavyweight while keeping his title belt. Reminiscent of the Couture vs Sylvia fight, Couture rocked Gonzaga with a punch to the head early in the first round and seemed to keep control from there. Once Gonzaga’s nose was broken and the blood started to flow, Couture was easily able to impose his will and keep Gonzaga pressed against the cage while working his clinch game.
Had Gonzaga’s nose not been so badly damaged I think the fight might have played out differently. Gonzaga’s vision and breathing was severly altered and, even still, he was occasionally able to land solid head kicks or strikes to Couture’s head. As we have seen time and time again, it only takes one good strike. However, Randy proved why he is the champ and how valuable knowledge and cage experience can be. Gonzaga still has a long career ahead of him, but for now the spotlight rests on the Hall of Famer.
- Georges St Pierre vs Josh Koscheck - Georges St Pierre put on yet another clinic against an “elite level” wrestler and proved that he deserves that accolades that are heaped upon him. As he did with Frank Trigg, Sean Sherk and Matt Hughes, Georges St Pierre was able to control the fight all three rounds on the ground a fighter who supposedly outclassed him on the mat. Before the fight, Koscheck repeatedly said in interviews that he had some new strategy for St. Pierre that no one had ever seen before and that would blow people away. If that strategy was to lay on his back and get manhandled in his own “specialty” then, I’m sorry Josh, but we all have seen that before.
From the moment GSP ran Koscheck into the mat in the first round with that double-leg takedown, I knew that St. Pierre had this fight in the bag. Hopefully now, all those who have been doubting St. Pierre and his “mental fortitude” even since his loss at UFC 69 will take a break and just enjoy watching this guy fight.
- Roger Huerta vs Alberto Crane - To put it simply, Roger Huerta looked better than I have ever seen him look before. While Huerta takes criticism for the level of his competition thus far in the UFC, each and every fight he has been in has put him in a situation where he could further develop a skill setl. Last night, he was able to work his BJJ game and BJJ defense and he did so perfectly. Huerta’s endurance and conditioning was spectacular last night and I think he is legitimately two more fights away from a title shot.
- Joe Stevenson vs Kurt Pellegrino - This fight was everything I expected it to be and was a pretty close battle the whole time. While Pellegrino is a good MMA fighter, Stevenson is just that much better in all aspects of the fight came. Joe “Daddy” once again proved that he is fully deserving of the title shot that he most certainly will be given.
- Kendall Grove vs Patrick Cote - Patrick Cote once again proved the point that all it takes is one punch. A nicely landed right hook rocked Grove and sent him sprawling to the mat and Cote was able to mount and ground-and-pound Gove to victory.
- Renato Sobral continues to fall further and further out of grace with the MMA public. Sobral won his fight against David Heath by submission in the 2nd round, but held onto the choke approximately 5 seconds after Heath tapped. In the post fight interview, Sobral admitted he held the choke late on purpose to “teach Heath a lesson.” It will be interesting to see if Zuffa takes any action on this; my guess is they won’t and Sobral will just continue to be buried on undercards until his contract is over.
- Frank Mir easily defeated Antoni Hardonk in the first round, as I expected. Don’t get excited though, Mir fans; this doesn’t mean anything.
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[...] Original post by MMA HQ - Mixed Martial Arts News and Analysis [...]
[...] 5 fights over the course of 3 hours. UFC 74 saw most of the favorites win their fights, source: UFC 74: Respect Recap, MMA HQ - Mixed Martial Arts News and [...]
I agree, UFC needs to show more of the under cards. I always feels like I should have seen more, especially paying $50 for the HD..lol. I will hold myself back from getting on the GSP band wagon. Yeah one great mental performance doesn’t erase the fact that he could not defend the championship. I still believe he will never be a great champ, and I sure hope I don’t have to listen to him talk very much, he sounds like a damn robot…….lol.
Did you guys watch elite XC? Horrible production, they are one step closer to being the AA of MMA. The fights were garbage…..it was just a second rate production.
Was a great card, check out the videos from UFC 74:
UFC 74 Video: Randy Couture vs. Gabriel Gonzaga
UFC 74 Video: Josh Koscheck vs. Georges St. Pierre
UFC 74 Video: Kendall Grove vs. Patrick Cote
UFC 74 Video: Joe Stevenson vs. Kurt Pellegrino
UFC 74 Video: Roger Huerta vs Alberto Crane
UFC 74 Respect Torrent - High Quality
Now u think dana will think twice about giving fighters”easy”fights ,after what happened to kendall i think they will
Sorry Ozzy but I think GSP i s going to be at the top for a looong time. i think this fight and the Penn fight should pretty much shut up all the doubters. Serra was a fluke, it happens, happened before, will happen again. It’s only a matter of time before GSP wears gold again.
Great recap Dr. J!
Well, wow, that was a night of mixed surprises… I thought for sure that Gonzaga would win, but Couture with a head butt on the ground broke Gonzo’s nose and bam there you have it again, he pulls another one out…. I am sure the head butt was not intentional, but I know that unless these kinds of “lucky” injuries keep happening in favor of Randy, his reign is hanging on by a thread, I mean each fight he is in I and everyone else keep thinking… “is this it” “I hope Randy doesn’t get hurt” “will Randy lose this one”.. … good thing that he was training with Wanderlei Silva for this fight, he looked really good and I was happily surprised to see him win… as far as Mir, Joe, GSP, and Sobral go….. all went as planned and we will see more of them later, I think Gsp made Ko’s look green and inexperienced… the differences between Randy/Gsp and their opponents were GAME PLAN…. they came in with a strategy and stuck to it, and it worked… that is pure intelligence and a good strategy will trump size, strength, and even at times skill….. good for them… I cannot wait to see Shogun fight Forrest…
Dam Kansas.. you covered almost everything i was gonna say! lol. The main thing being strategy, when you got 2 pro fighters and theyre both well rounded its almost a coin flip. The main distinction that can be made is the stragey used, thats why they say its 90% mental and 10% physical, and its true (assuming the fighters are well matched or somewhat equal in ability).
Randy definately benefited from working with Wandy, see those elbows from the clinch? Randy never used to throw elbows that viciously hehe. He probably asked Wandy, how do you beat a BJJ blackbelt from Brazil whos also 35lbs heavier than you? Anser: Elbows on the inside, standing, on the ground whatever, Thanks buddy, see you in 2008 hehehe. Randy crushed his nosewith a head clash, but after rewatching it today.. I noticed Gonzagas Knee connected with Randys head on the way down adding to the impact. Either way, I dont think it was intentional in any way, but i didnt agree with Herb Deans immediate point deduction for holding the fence. Without even 1 warning in a championship 5 round match? nah, i think that was a bit of US favortism. RANDY DOES IT AGAIN..
GSP vs Kos, again, great gameplan! they knew Kos wanted to stand, and unlike me and RJ said, it was GSP who worked his manlove from the top. You wanna wrestle? lets see who the btch really is! lol. I guarantee you one thing, if they were in prison, Kos would be clipping GSPs toenails and doing his laundry.. I picked Kos to upset GSP in that fight but to my delight, GSP pulled it out in the end.
Huerta did a great job in that fight like Dr.J said, though his opponents are still looking hand picked to me and i feel hes STILL yet to be tested. His BJJ skills were tested for sure, but Crane just wasnt a well rounded fighter in my opinion. Even though he got beatup and completely gassed out, i give respect to Alberto Crane, he hung in there and almost submitted Huerta a few times, great fight!
Wow! much respect to Pellegrino, i didnt expect him to perform as well as he did! talk about leaving it all on the mat! if he was in better condition he might have won that fight. I think he needed to use alot of intensity to perform as well as he did in the first 2 rounds and by the 3rd, he was DEAD. I mean completely drained.. imagine if it was a 5 round bout? Stevenson would have finished him for sure with 1 more round. I think hes the top contender for the LW title, when Sherk is stripped of it, the dream match, BJ vs Joe Daddy.
Grove vs Cote was a pretty good fight, they both came out confident, i think Grove just showed a little bit of inexperience not being able to survive when he got rocked. I was happy to see Cote finally get a well earned win, bringin it back to MTO lol.
Very entertaining fight card and it answered alot of questions we all had! anyone watch the prelims???
@BV
Hey man I enjoyed reading that.. right on the money…. I noticed that Herb “Bob Marley” Dean deducted a point in the first round of a fight with no warning as well, kind of bums me out because when I was watching the GSP fight with KO’s, I noticed that GSP got a warning for that, but only after like 6 cage grabs and never lost a point???!!! Then they go in the HW Championship fight and start deducting points for one cage grab?!… Herb is def. in the back pocket of White and company, but hey, I am glad that Couture won, and who cares in the end.. it never went to a decision, the only thing though, if it ever came down to points, and Herb pulled that CRAP that he ALWAYS PULLS, (HEY DANA, WE AREN’T STUPID PAL!) it could RUIN a great fighters career.. but other than that it was the most dynamic set of fights I have seen in forever, I was SOOO SATISFIED with the fights, not a hump fest or a bore one..
Ohhh, and Champ vs Champ is gonna be off the chain, that is FREE and it’s the best lineup in over a year for sure!
One last thought, on the undercard Babalu won, and the UFC is complaining about him holding the Anaconda Choke on David Heath too long to put him to sleep… it for one wasn’t that long, and for two, you can always tell when the UFC has it in for a fighter and wants to end their career so they wont have to resign them…. I loved the fight, it was action packed and it was great through and through, they had some bad blood, and Babalu lost half his purse for holding the lock for an extra 3 seconds… oh well, the crowd was dominantly cheering for him so screw the UFC brass and Joe the idiot Rogan, that guy needs to stick a sock in his mouth… lol
hehe Thanks Kansas, i think there will always be that US bias towards non american fighters. Everyone wanted to see Randy win that fight, Gonzaga isnt a marketable fighter to the extent Couture is. I think Big John should Ref all the championship fights, cuz lets face it, thats where all the scrutiny is.
Who you like for champ vs champ Kansas?? i already picked Hendo, the guys just a miracle worker, what can you say, if Rampage gets tired i think Dan can control him on the ground and grind out a decision.
@BV
Champ vs Champ is hard for me… Jackson has the strength but Hendo is never say die cuss that keeps coming over and over, not to mention he has done pretty good against the like of Wand ect so I would have to say Hendo is gonna take it just because he can take a beating and keep hitting hard… he is just conditioned for punishment in my opinion..
Thats for sure Kansas, plus his conditioning, imagine Randy vs Dan? the team quest version of Silva vs Shogun. Now all these guys are gonna be in the UFC.. how cool is that? lol. I know weight classes are different but those can change pretty quick if the price is right.
Yeah Randy can go up and down fast… Dan is naturally in my opinion best at 185 but if he take Jackson… my Lord man he will prove to be the best guy on Team Quest after Randy in my opinion… oops there it is … 1000
if hendo beats rampage then i think he should be wright up there with fedor in my eyes
how mad must have babalou been to choke a guy out cold ,for reals man hes gangsta he said he aint sorry and he ment to do it
I think he was justified.. Babalu knew what he was doing no doubt.. and I think he got his point across.. same as B.J. Penn.. but of course nobody said a whole lot about what he did to Pulver IN A MAIN EVENT no doubt and he didn’t get half his purse ripped from him either, oh and he told everyone he was going to do it BEFORE THE FIGHT.. lol… the UFC is so biased in everything … the refs, the brass… lol… and Rich I don’t think you can say Dan is up there with Fedor just yet eve with a win over Jackson..if he can 2 out of 3 Wand and then beat Chuck after Rampage, yeah I will agree, but right now as it stands, he is 1-1 with Wand and eventually owes him a rubber match, and he has never beaten Liddell, nor has he beaten the current champ Jackson, nor has he beaten Shogun Rua, or Cyborg, or Ortiz… yeah he has a ways to go before he can be classified up there with Fedor..
Hey guys, if Chuck wins against Jardine, you think Dennis will start posting again, or did he move the the Netherlands and get stoned permanently?
Oh, and BV/Richard… what do you guys think is next for Gonzaga at this point… I mean he IS a good heavyweight, perhaps better than most, if he hadn’t gotten that broken nose, I think he would have beaten Randy badly… but hey, you think the UFC will let him try again any time soon or is he doomed to undercards and low ranked fights for the next year and a half?
gonzaga i mean what would of happened if he would of got his nose broken,he hit couture with a brutual leg kick i thought couture was out but he didnt even looked dazed.But gonzaga showed he has power man he was hitting randy with some nice shots.he will be back.Now kansas have u seen shogun vs little nog ,now that match shows that shogun aint unbeatable he humped little nog into a decision on that fight.
[...] my UFC 74 recap post, I said that I think Huerta is probably only two fights away from getting a title shot. So, the [...]
Kansas/Richard
Man gonzaga had me worried when he was throwing those flurrys at randy in the 1st round. DAM if he connected Randy would have been in big trouble, hes a big dude with heavy hands. Randy just used the fact that hes smaller, kept a wide stance and slipped most of his shots probably hoping for Gonzaga to get tired. Then he would rush in between the combos and clinch up, what an amazing gameplan man! Randys a smart guy but hes playing with fire man, all it takes is one good shot to get him rocked and we all know Gonzaga is a finisher.
Thats the problem with guys like Randy and crocop fighting at heavyweight, theyre still pretty small guys, the only thing that keeps them competative is their level of skill! dam these guys got some ballz man lol!!
Yeah BV I agree.. and Rich yeah I have seen ol’ Shoguns fight with lil’ Nog.. but hey I have also seen Couture’s fight with Liddell, and he got knocked tfo twice by a guy half the size of Gonzaga with little ground skill who got demolished by Rampage in 30 seconds inside round 1…. so what everyone slips, I don’t think Shogun or Fedor or anyone is unbeatable.. I like Shogun and I like Fedor, and heck I like Randy, but he is gonna get knocked out before 2008 is over, he will, its life…
For sure Kansas, Randy wont make it through 2008, unless he only has 1 fight, he might be able to eek out one more, but not 2.
I never answered you question tho, whats next for Gonzaga.. really id like to see some of the older guys back in the UFC, Ricco Rodriguez has been looking pretty good lately, id like to see him come back with a rematch vs Sylvia to put him to the test… too bad TK is retired, man that guy fought like a champ (sometimes).
Considering whos in the UFC right now, Tim is already scheduled to fight Vera, so thats not happeneing.. Arlovski isnt fighting anytime soon so hes available. Heath Herring is always there, then you got Minotauro he should be available by UFC 78. I think Gonzaga deserves a shot at one of those guys, if he got a title shot just for beating crocop, he should def get another legitimate run at the HW ladder. If he beats Arlovski, Herring or Minotauro hes right back in title contention in my book. If he loses his next fight, he will probably get another shot against brad imes or dan christianson LOL. By that point it will be a loooong road back which he will probably never reach.
Gonzaga needs a W in his next fight.
@BV
Arlovski would be the perfect fight for Gonzaga… by December if Gonzo’s beak heals up good, man he was missing FLESH, he had a MANHOLE in his nose…lol… pending all that heals okay I think he should fight Arlovski, it will be a stand up war and we will see what Andrei is made of as well as Gonzo… because I don’t think the smaller Andrei really wants to go down there with a bigger and skilled Gonzaga…
I like that Match too, its giving Arlovski a chance to get back into contention, but like you said, definately a tough fight for Dre. Gonzaga will definately be the favorite in that one.. ill be pulling for Arlovski for sure tho.
Josh Barnett Calls Out Couture, Calls Him ‘Paper Champ’
The following is from Josh Barnett’s MySpace blog:
Let’s get straight to it and say that Randy did a phenomenal job at UFC 74 in defending his title. As a fan and a fellow Washingtonian I was happy to see him win. But as for the title itself — it still sits in my house. No one in UFC ever beat me for it, and as far as I am concerned, no one in the UFC can be the heavyweight champion until they take that belt off of me in the cage.
At the post fight press conference, Dana White said “there isn’t anyone in the world that can beat this guy” in reference to Randy. All this because Randy beat a guy that had less than ten fights and only one noteworthy win? That’s not even a world championship level fight, let alone reason to proclaim the winner as “unbeatable”. This comment was made even more ridiculous by the fact that I was standing right there, living proof that Randy Couture is definitely beatable.
“Unbeatable”, Dana says. If he actually believes that, I’m more than willing to step into the cage and prove him wrong. It wouldn’t even have to be for the belt. I already got the real belt. They can keep their pile of brass they purport as the UFC Heavyweight Title and put it on their next paper champ.
Wow.
Thank god Barnett said that!
maybe now he will sign with the ufc!
I don’t think so Zak, in response…Dana White said,
“Nobody gives a **** about Josh Barnett, especially me.”
Couture says he wants Fedor next but will most likely face Nog.
Hey Doc,
Why is the Fight Night banner say Spencer Fisher vs. Din Thomas?
is Florian off the card? whats going on?
i just always thought shogun was some like mma god lil nog was beating the hell out of him.now i care about josh barnett
@Richard
You have a problem with ANY brazilian that is like awesome, you take one fight and you highlight that as a reason to bag on a fighter… lets look at Randy Couture’s record and Shoguns.. whose is more extensive and who has the better record…. or Wands vs Chucks.. get over it bro… you just can’t stand it that he is ranked #1 on that MMAWEEKLY list can you?…. Anderson Silva, Wand, Shogun, they are all great.. even Gonzo, man he is gonna come back, if he fights Arlovski, I feel sorry for Andrei to be honest… lol… taking nothing from Cap America, but hey, facts are what they are and Shogun is darn good, much better than say… Josh “who cares about Josh Barnett” Barnett… lol
i like little nog kansas im just saying that i never seen that fight ive never seen shogun get dominated i can handle him being ranked at number one but he wont for long LONG LIVE HENDOISM
and if my mind serves me right little nog is brazilian,and captain america demolished a younger bigger stronger brazilian
Again Rich, you look at one fight and judge a fighter…. line 36 says it all….. buy hey Wand is 1-1 on Hendo, and if he makes it to the octagon to fight ol’ Wanderlei, I feel sorry for him, cause Wandi will come in healthy, undistracted, and kicking his arse amigo!
i am looking at one fight with shogun that he sucked cuz thats all he really has hes an awesome fighter but im sure we will see hendo wandy two for sure but first i want to see hendo vs shogun i think that would be a better fight AMIGO
i think Shogun would eat Henderson for lunch and ask for a Rampage desert!
[quote comment="9447"]Hey Doc,
Why is the Fight Night banner say Spencer Fisher vs. Din Thomas?
is Florian off the card? whats going on?[/quote]
No, Florian actually replaced Spencer Fisher. I just have never gotten an updated banner from the UFC yet.
Shogun is gunna dominate the ufc he will be champ faster then you think.
rj
we will see this fight after hendo beats rampage
[quote comment="9470"]rj
we will see this fight after hendo beats rampage[/quote]
im picking Rampage to beat Henderson. i dont know why im picking Rampage i just think he will do it. and when Shogun get his shot….. well you know what i think will happen.
some of the things im wondering about is are they going to drop the two different belts for one new one, are they going to make the winner defend both belts after there unified. i would like to see Dan win just because i think it would be funny as hell to see him come down to the ring carrying four belts… hes gonna need a wheelbarrow to carry all his belts lol
the best part of the champion vs champion card is that is free
@Richard
I think the best part of champ vs champ is the fight card itself… I would pay this price plus to see this fight card, it’s the best one Joe has put together in months….
yeah its a awesome card but its FREE
@Richard
It’s FREEEEE but so is the IFL and I don’t hear you raving.. its all about the card.. you can give me a free biscuit, and if the biscuit is old, hard, and half eaten, I would probably just pass…. but you give me a fresh biscuit smothered in gravy.. fresh out of the oven.. hmmm yeah there is a DIFFERENCE the difference is the CARD is awesome…
btw you’d argue with a stop sign, but thats cool cause’ so would I… lol!
kansas
if u gave me an old hard biscuit i would still probably eat it ,and if i gave u an old brazilian biscuit u would to LOL
lol you guys are jokers.. OK lets get some official opinions, champ vs champ.. who you like? Hendo or Rampage??
Im saying Hendo, though no matter who wins ill be happy hehe
im going with Rampage i think hes getting a taste of the good life being champ and he seems more likely become more driven to stay on top then to fall in to the Hollywood trap of parties and girls. with that said, im sure Henderson is going to give Rampage a hard time but i think he has size and determination on his side. so thats my lame reason for picking Rampage.
[quote comment="9481"]lol you guys are jokers.. OK lets get some official opinions, champ vs champ.. who you like? Hendo or Rampage??
Im saying Hendo, though no matter who wins ill be happy hehe[/quote]
bvrasp
i second that no matter who wins ill be happy and even happier cuz its free
I think hendersons gunna win he has worked to hard to just give away one of his belts and be sides he gunna wanna rematch with wanderlai so he’s gunna try his hardest to hold on to it till he gets that chance cuz if he is champ he will definitly get another match cuz wanderlai is gunna light the ufc up