Ultimate Fighting Championship IX: Motor City Madness
- Before I get into the tape, please remind yourself that this is the first time I've ever attempted recaping a UFC show, so bare with me when I don't know technical names for holds, incase I go into wrestling mode and call something a headlock or armbar. I'm only doing this as a change into another direction to see how well it turns out.
- On the show tonight...
SuperFight Champion Ken Shamrock v. UFC V & Ultimate-Ultimate Winner Dan Severn
UF VIII Winner Don Frye v. Amaury Bitetti
Mark Hall v. Koji Kitao
David Beneteau v. Gary Goodridge
And More...!
- Bruce Beck, Don "The Dragon" Wilson, and some other schmuck who I've never heard of are roaming around doing interviews and doing duties in the broadcast position. Knockout, Submission (Tap Out), Corner Throwing in the Towel, Referee Stops the Contest, Disqualification, and Judges Decision are the ways to win a fight. All of tonights fights with the exception of the Superfight have a 12:00 time limit, with a 3:00 overtime. Also, there are no weight classes for tonights card.
Tonight's Judges are... Robert Ferguson, Steve Neklia (who looks plastered), and Luther Campbell (who looks drugged up). As usual, John McCarthy is the referee in the Octagon. The ringside (first wrestling mistake... saying ringside) "medical advisor" is Dr. Richard Istrico. Finally, about 15 minutes into the tape, we are ready for the 1st fight of the show...
Fight #1 - Zane Frazier v. Cal Worsham:
Tale of the Tape:
Zane Frazier (Discipline: American Kenpo, Age: 32, Height: 6'5", Weight: 235 lbs, From: North Hollywood, CA)
Cal Worsham (Discipline: Tae Kwon Do, Age: 32, Height: 5'10", Weight: 230 lbs, From: Folsom, CA)
More TOTT: Frazier is a powerful strike with good foot work and some shoot fighting experience, but has questionable stamina. Worsham has a cautious approach, has studied Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and can take a punch. In a small trivia note, Frazier competed in UFC 1. Both men open the fight in a stand-off to feel each other out. Worsham goes for a leg, but Frazier backs away. Frazier dances around like his name is Muhammad Ali, then comes in for a knee strike to the chest. Worsham with a single leg takedown and mounts Frazier with some short-contact headbutts. Frazier hooks the legs and right arm of Worsham in defense. Worsham escapes momentarily to throw a couple of elbows and punches, but gets hooked again. McCarthy warns him about the headbutts. Worsham with some short punches to the face, and I guess that was enough for Frazir to tap out. Time of the Tapout: 3:17. Pretty one sided fight, and not much action. 0 for 1.
Fight #2 - Rafael Carino v. Matt Andersen:
Tale of the Tape:
Rafael Carino (Discipline: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Age: 23, Height: 6'8", Weight: 245 lbs, From: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
Matt Andersen (Discipline: Warrior Training, Age: 24, Height: 6'2", Weight: 225 lbs, From: Omaha, Nebraska)
Judging from this comparison, it's what I would call a "Squash" in wrestling terms. No disrespect to Brazilians, but I hate the pronunciation of their names. More TOTT: Carino is a powerful shooter who prefers going for arm locks, but has no experience getting hit. Andersen is a well-rounded fighter that will strike in the ground, but is vulnerable on his back. Feeling out process as usual. Carino goes for the waist and takes Andersen down. Andersen goes into the guard position, with a body scissors as Carino is mounted on him in a comprimising position. Carino goes for a big right, but Andersen avoids it, otherwise it would've been nap-time. Andersen with random blows to the ribs and Carino takes a nice swing at the right eye. Anderson tries for a headlock, but Carino powers out and back into the mopunt. He misses a forearm strike. I notice the mat is soaked in blood, probably from one of the preliminary matches not aired. Carino with a some right hands to the side of the head. He throws some wild left and rights after escaping the guard position. Andersen tries working out of the mount, but Carino is too big. More big blows all over the place from Carino. Really nasty punches to the mouth, and I notice now he has a pretty bad cut over his right eye, and after some more bombs, McCarthy calls it in favor of Carino. Time of the Decision: 5:31. Even more one sided than the previous fight in terms of offense, but Andersen tried several failed comebacks. 0.5 for 2.
Fight #3 - Mark Schultz (sub. for David Beneteau) v. Gary Goodridge:
Tale of the Tape:
Mark Schultz (Discipline: Wrestling, Age: 33, Height: 5'10", Weight: 203 lbs, From: Lindon, Utah)
Gary Goodridge (Discipline: Kuk Sool Won, Age: 30, Height: 6'3", Weight: 240 lbs, From: Barrie, Ontario, Canada)
Schultz is a very late replacement for David Beneteau, who broke his hand sparring with him the previous day. Much like a wrestling show, it's a bait-and-switch, as there was no mention of the replacement until now. More TOTT: Schultz is a world class grappler with some Jiu-Jitsu experience, but has questionable striking ability. Goodridge is a knockout puncher with a very strong upper body, but has limited ground skills. Goodridge was also the runner up in UFC VIII. The usual feeling out process, as you could probably guess. Schultz goes for the legs and takes Goodrige down with a nice slam, but Goodridge hooks the leg and tries for a guillotine hold, but doesn't hook the arm under the chin. Schultz punches away at the ribs of Goodridge while looking for an escape. The rib punching continues and Schultz is out of the defensive position from the choke earlier. After some horrible camera work, we see that someone is bloodied up, and it looks like it's either coming from the side of the head of Goodridge, or from his mouth. Yep, it's the mouth, and he's leaving a bloody kiss on the armpit of Schutlz. McCarthy brings both men up for a restart, which is a good thing for Goodridge. Waist takedown from Schultz, and now Goodrdige with a body scissors defense as Schultz punches at the ribs again. Either the crowd is booing pretty loudly, or they do some kind of chant for someone that sounds like it. Schultz tries sufficating Goodridge, which is pretty fucking dirty. Goodridge spat out the mouthpiece, so McCarthy takes him over to his corner for some medical decision. Restart #2 and Goodridge with a kick to the left knee. Short left-punch to the cut on the side of the eye by Schultz, and he takes Goodridge down hard again. Both try something, with Goodridge hooking the left ankle and Schultz doing the same shit he's been doing the whole fight. Goodridge is a bloody fucking mess, and now Schultz is just beating the shit out of him in a mounted position, covering his hands in blood. There goes the buzzer, so it's Overtime I guess. Overhearing McCarthy, he's calling the fight, and Schultz is the winner. Time of Decision: 12:00. Very boring fight, but gonna give it half a point for him opening up Goodridge and making him a mess in the last minute. 1 for 3.
Fight #4 - Mark Hall v. Koji Kitao:
Tale of the Tape:
Mark Hall (Discipline: Moo Yea Do, Age: 35, Height: 6'0", Weight: 189 lbs, From: Murrieta, CA)
Koji Kitao (Discipline: Sumo, Age: 33, Height: 6'7", Weight: 390 lbs, From: Tsu, Mie Pref., Japan)
Going by normal thinking, you would usually think that someone so much bigger and fatter would be impossible to take down, or at least get in a comprimising position for a knockout. Kitao is the 1986 Yokozuna (Grand Champion) of Sumo. More TOTT: Hall is a strong striker that's fast on his feet and has Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu experience, but he isn't much of a clincher. He's also 2-1 in the UFC. Kitao is a power striker, but his mobility is questionable, and he's very vulnerable when mounted. A warm American record means booing the Japanese guy out of the building. Hall with a big kicking strike to the chest and a couple of bigf blows to the nose. Kitao hugs him aghainst the mesh and strikes, then takes him down... but Kitao has his nose broken, courtesy of the 2nd blow from Hall in the fight, and it's all over! Hall wins by decision in less than a minute, and his chest is covered in Kitao's blood. Loud U-S-A chant from the Detroit crowd. Time of Decision: 47 seconds. I'm giving it a point for the easy victory and it woke up the crowd. 2 for 4.
Fight #5 - Amaury Bitetti (sub. for Marco Ruas) v. Don Frye:
Tale of the Tape:
Amaury Bitetti (Discipline: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Age: 27, Height: 5'9", Weight: 185 lbs, From: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
Don Frye (Discipline: Wrestling, Age: 30, Height: 6'1", Weight: 210 lbs, From: Sierra Vista, AZ)
The final fight before the big Superfight between Shamrock and Severn. More TOTT: Bitetti is a well seasoned fighter, who throws strong leg kicks and punches, as well as being a master of submissions. Frye is a former pro boxer with good, aggressive abilities striking on the ground, as well as being a competitive wrestler. Looks like a tough fight to call in the predictions point of view. Frye is the reigning UFC Champion and is undefeated. Bitetti goes for a kick early on and a sloppy lockup heads into the fence. Frye with an elbow to the head, and now Bitetti with a waistlock. The two trade punches as Frye refuses to go down. Frye knees him in the waist and punches away on him while locking the arm. They head down, and Frye goes for a front dacelock, but Bitetti fights back to his feet against the fence of the Octagon. Bitetti tries a hook of the ankle, but Frye shoves him off and he stuns him with a hard strike. Frye takes him down and applies a front waistlock. Into a guard, and now this isn't the place to be. Bitetti escapes and kicks Frye in the mouth, and they are back on their feet. The two exchange some hard blows, and Frye rocks him with rights and knees him in the face. Bitetti goes down, and now Frye is on him with more lefts. Bitetti is fucked already as it apears he's got 2 nasty cuts. Sick looking elbows to the face, and Frye grinds it into the eyes for extra damage. Loud U-S-A chant by the crowd. Frye with another vicious elbow. The fight finally slows down considerably after a hot opening 4+ minutes. Frye with some brutal lefts into the ribs to squeaze through the guard. McCarthy with a restart since nothing happend for quite a bit, and sends Bitetti to the medic for observation. Frye with an arm-hook takedown, and helps him hard to the back of the head, and now we're back to the same position... hold that, another elbow to the face. The thuds of Frye's elbow against the skull of Bitetti is just sickening. Bitetti's sucking wind apparently, as his mouth piece goes bye-bye. Frye is simply fucking Bitetti's shit up. The guy is pretty much out on his feet, as McCarthy basically drags him to his corner. Restart #2, and a leg takedown leads to Frye driving a knee into the top of Bitetti's head then appliyng a front facelock. The lower back of Bitetti is a target now, with more elbows from Frye. Knees to the head, and the crowd is fucking hot. Frye fucks up the shit he fucked up earlier on. McCarthy finally calls it, awarding the fight to Don Frye. Time of Decision: 9:29. Very good fight, although it was basically Frye beating the shit out of a guy who just wouldn't quit. Easy point for this one. 3 for 5.
Fight #6: SUPERFIGHT: Ken Shamrock v. "The Beast" Dan Severn:
Tale of the Tape:
Dan Severn (Discipline: Greco-Roman, Age: 37, Height: 6'2", Weight: 247 lbs, From: Coldwater, MI)
Ken Shamrock (Discipline: Shoot Fighting, Age: 32, Height: 6'0", Weight: 215 lbs, From: Lockeford, CA)
Rather famous fight here, and not for any good reasons. More TOTT Severn is a master grappler with a cautious approach. He'll knee and elbow you on the ground, but is limited with submissions. Shamrock is a master of submissions and a heavy hitter on the ground, as well as being well conditioned. Severn is clearly the favorite of the fight. This fight has a 24 minute Time Limit with 2 3:00 overtimes if necessary. Feeling out prcoess, with Severn dancing around Shamrock in the center of the octagon. Both men with a thrown punch, but nothing connects. 2 minutes in, and nothing of note happens. More weak punch attempts missing. The feeling out continues past the 6 minute mark. 10 minutes in, and STILL nothing happens. McCarthy mouths them off and restarts them, which is pointless, because it's MORE feeling out! 14 minutes in, and neither man is breaking a sweat. 15:45, and we FINALLY get a takedown attempt, as Severn hooks the ankle. Shamrock goes for a headlock, as does Severn, but both escape into a nuetral position, so guess what... more feeling out. Takedown #2 at the 17:00 mark, with Shamrock with a leg takedown into a mount. Right now it looks more like 2 greased up men in speedos dry humping each other than an actual fight. Shamrock finally starts throwing punches, but good luck hurting Severn that way. 20 minutes in, and Severn has done shit in this fight. Severn makes a go for a counter, but Shamrock is in the guard position. Severn cuts Shamrock open somewhere in this time frame with some hard rights as the crowd stops booing and going silent... and Shamrock is fucking busted. Finally! Severn makes Shamrock his bitch with less than 30 seconds left in regulation. With only 9 seconds left, Shamrock gets some medical advice for the cut. Overtime period~! Severn does the UFC Dance, and helpful commentary tells me 1 punch has been thrown in the 3 minute overtime. Overtime 2... punches are thrown, missing by the way, and Severn waistlocks Shamrock against the fence as the buzzer ends the fight. The crowd rightfully boos the shit out of it. Judges Decision: Shamrock, Severn, Severn by the Judges, so Dan Severn is awarded the fight by Decision. Time of Decision: 30:00 (2 OT). I won't go into detail, but this, clearly, is proof why people hate on shoot fighting like UFC. A overhyped superfight consisting of the 2 "best fighters in the world" is nothing but stalling, dancing around, and more stalling. Only 1 minute of the fight actually mattered, but it was enough for Severn to win. I would take away points from the show if possible because of this fight. 3 for 6.
Final Thoughts: In terms of MMA/Shoot Fighting/Whatever you want to call UFC, the show wasn't too bad. One fight delivered some great action, another was an awesome 45 second fucking, a couple of the undercard fights were fairly decent, and the opener was rather bad. However, the Superfight was fucking atrocious, and because of that I alone, I give UFC IX a thumbs down.