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UFC 67: All or Nothing Recap
By Erin | February 3, 2007
Ed. — The Japanese media is already taking notice of Mirko coming to the Octagon with the PRIDE theme. And the Japanese person standing next to Mirko in the Octagon after the fight appeared to be Ken Imai, who is his Japanese agent in PRIDE. — Zach
Hmm, the Gladiator seems a bit different this time around. Did we get a Gladiator Update? Still not as cool as Rome though.
Eastman says that he will fight anyone, including Godzilla. Roommate Jen wants to know if that includes Mothra. Extra legs, ya know.
Lutter says that the fight won’t go to the fifth round as their styles are too different and someone will go down. Considering that you didn’t even make weight, Lutter, I’m betting that will be you.
If fighting for a world championship isn’t enough to get you motivated to loose the weight, you’re kinda fucked. ‘Cause it really doesn’t get any better than that.
I hear “Jump Around†come on, and then become disappointed that someone isn’t coming out to it. A much more entertaining song than half that stuff these guys come out to. Yes, I’m a dork.
Scott Smith vs. Patrick Cote
Wow, we just have a slew of new graphics tonight.
Damn I’m conflicted on this. Smith is from Sacramento, so home-town-love there. But Cote has the accent, and I’m an accent whore. Decisions, decisions…..oh GSP is in Cote’s corner, which works as a tie-breaker for me. God Dammit, Smith is coming out to Godsmack, now I’m confused again. Jen suggests that we can just be happy either way.
Goodness, Urijah Faber (Smith’s corner man) is tiny. Even standing on the box, he’s still barely taller than the cage.
Round 1. Both guys seem content to stick to the stand up with the occasional leg kick from Cote. They clinch against the cage until Smith gets a nice punch and they go back to circling. Back to clinching until Cote grabs a knee and gets a takedown. Smith gets back up and there’s more standup with brief activity by both guys until the end of the round.
Round 2. Both guys seem a bit more willing to engage this round. Cote gets a nasty hit, Smith is wobbly but Cote won’t go in to finish it. That was… odd. Though, Cote is much more confident afterward. Smith gets a kick as the round ends.
Round 3. Smith gets some good punches in before Cote manages to tie him up. Smith tries for a takedown but is less than successful at it. The ref moves them to the center of the ring where they continue the standup. Both guys take control of the punching at different times, then end up clinched against the cage. The ref doesn’t let them stay there for long though. Not too long before the go back and not much else happens.
Kinda boring opening match, but I think Cote did a bit more.
Tito Ortiz and his Really Ugly Tie are seen in the crowd.
Winner: Patrick Cote wins by unanimous decision.
Rampage Jackson vs. Marvin Eastman
Eastman’s song samples “Amadeus†by Falco. I’m not sure if I’m amused by that or horrified.
Rampage makes sure to stop at random intervals on his way to the cage in order to howl.
He also takes out his contacts right before the fight. Isn’t this something he could do before walking down? Was he afraid of getting lost, ala Spinal Tap, on the way down?
Do guys really not realize how bad it looks when they get THAT close during the stare down?
Round 1. Both guys are ready to exchange fists early on. They clinch up and both throw a few knees. Big John separates them after a few moments and moves them back to the middle of the ring. Big separates them a second time and both guys are swinging for the fences as the round ends.
Round 2. Rampage’s corner man is very big on the full body demonstrations for what action Quinton should take in the next round. Round 2 goes the same as round 1, but with Rampage getting a bit more of the hits in. Rampage then gets a series of uppercuts and Eastman hits the ground. Big John calls the fight.
Winner: Rampage Jackson via TKO.
I don’t think that anyone really expected a different outcome, but Eastman certainly wasn’t a pushover.
Chuck is shown in the crowd, unsurprisingly with a skinny blond. Jen suggests that he does have a type and it’s kinda like Pokemon: Gotta Bang ‘Em All.
Roger Huerta vs. John Halverson
Roger makes comparisons between bullfighting and his upcoming fight. Umm, dude? Matadors have all the additional help, aka Picadors, to “wear down†the bull first. There’s also a whole lot of stabination, so I’m not so sure about that comparison. Unless your corner men are planning a covert lockeroom attack.
Round 1. Halverson lands a kick early, but goes down. Huerta hits a possible illegal knee to a grounded opponent, gets Halverson’s back and drops punches on him until the ref calls the fight.
Winner: Roger Huerta via TKO
Upon repeat viewings with the Tivo, it looks to both myself and Roommate Jen think the knee hit the side of the head and shoulder.
I love you Mirko, but you need to learn that wearing a shirt that’s almost as long as your shorts looks pretty dorky.
Mirko Cro Cop vs. Eddie Sanchez
Goodness, there’s a lot of checkers in the crowd. That’s kinda awesome.
Sanchez seems to be going for “attack for all you are worth†while Cro Cop is going for “singular and nastyâ€. As expected a whole lotta stand up. After a few moments Sanchez gets wobbly and slides to the ground. Mirko gets a full mount and punches Sanchez until the ref calls the fight. Sanchez’s face is all puffy while Mirko looks like he’s been for a walk in the park.
Winner: Mirko Cro Cop via TKO
Anderson Silva vs. Travis Lutter
Lutter looks so depressed on his way down. Silva, on the other hand, looks positively upbeat.
Round 1. Silva’s very dancy, though there’s not a lot of action from either guy to start. Silva goes for a flying knee, though Lutter manages to catch it and move it into a takedown. Silva gets full guard and starts working for a triangle. Silva manages to get up for a second but Lutter grabs a leg and gets the fight back down. Lutter moves to side control and then manages to get a full mount. Silva gets back up, and looks annoyed when Lutter is content to lie on his back until the round ends. Or maybe that’s just me projecting, as I know I would be.
Round 2. Lutter gets a takedown and lands in Silva’s guard. Silva locks in a triangle and squeezes it until Lutter finally taps when Silva starts throwing elbows as well.
Winner: Anderson Silva via triangle choke (and strikes, either/or works)
Nice faux-cowboy shirt there, Diego. Did you steal that from Back to the Future 3?
Tyson Griffin vs. Frank Edgar
Frank “The Answer†Edgar? The answer to what? One hand clapping? The Chicken or the egg? If a tree falls in the forest……? Could we BE more vague?
Frank, don’t make the poor security guards run down to the octagon. That’s just cruel.
Tyson wins Bestest Song Ever, by coming down to “Eye of the Tigerâ€. Such points, and the only thing that would be better is if he “cabbage patched†down.
Round 1. Both guys come out aggressive. Tyson goes for a high kick but Edgar gets a takedown. Tyson snags a guillotine but Edgar moves to side control and slips out. Griffin gets his own slam and they end up tied up on the ground. I love the light weight fights, but damn are they hard to recap. Back to standing and after some exchanges Edgar gets a takedown and lands in Griffin’s guard. Back to standing as the round ends.
Round 2. Griffin gets Edgar down against the fence but Edgar gets back up and they clinch against the cage. They separate and exchange some punches before Edgar grabs a leg when Griffin goes for a low kick. Back to standing and Griffin hits three low kicks in a row. Edgar gets a takedown and Griffin goes for a kimura. Edgar gets a full mount as the round ends.
Good grief, this is a good fight. I suggest that this is a very good argument for both the lighter fighters AND ground fighting.
Round 3. Stand up fighting and Rogan comments on Griffin’s “ba-donk-a-donk†his words, not mine. I giggle helplessly. Edgar gets some knees in the clinch against the cage and it looks like Griffin might have taken a nut shot, but Mazzagatti tells them to keep going. Edgar gets a takedown against the cage, and eventually works to his back. Griffin rolls and grabs a knee bar and Edgar hangs in until the round ends.
Well, that was an awesome fight. I don’t really care who wins, they both deserve it.
Winner: Frank Edgar via unanimous decision.
Terry Martin vs. Jorge Rivera
Rivera goes for a high kick which Martin catches it and hits Rivera in the head. Rivera goes down and Martin punches him until the fight is called. Rogan makes a reference to “Queer Streetâ€. Which gives me visions of the octagon draped in rainbow flags.
Winner: Terry Martin via knockout.
Decent show, though most fights weren’t hugely exciting, minus the Griffin/Edgar fight.
Topics: All Topics, Erin Bucknell, MMA, UFC | 22 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
I thought it was a good PPV despite the Cote fight. I really wanted to see the Machida fight though.
Zach – Ken Imai is Mirko’s manager. Of course he would be there. Not his Japanese manger. Ken is his manager period.
Isn’t Ken Imai Mirko’s agent period?
UFC 67 really felt like Chapter 1 of a novel. The character development was all there, without any big surprises of action. Based on the rumored cards, it looks like UFC 68 & 69 should have somewhat more competitive fights. Still, the night of action was exciting.
It felt more like an HBO free show where they have guys fight and then put the winners together on PPV four months later. The only difference was that this was already on PPV.
Though as a whole I enjoyed watching this show, I want to share this story. I was watching at a local bar here in RI with several televisions. During the first fight, a brawl broke out in the Boston Bruins game which was on a few of the screens, and it was vastly more entertaining than the Cote fight and had the whole place screaming louder than they did the whole rest of the night. Who said hockey’s dead? 🙂
Erin, I have read many of your fight analysys in the past. In every instance I read with the anticipation that you will have actually to add to what was actually happening. In almost every instance I am leaving your column disappointed. Although it is goods to see a female perpesctive of the nights events, your perspective is a watered down cheap attempt on humor that does not give the MMA fan any original insight on the event that past.
With that said, it does appear you have potential as far as analitical writer on an event. For future re-cap’s, try taking more notes on the fight with the UFC play by play team muted on your television or try not to be influenced by Rogan or Goldberg’ s call of an event.
Although these guys are paid well to call the fight, if you were to listen to their pre fight comments, this card was hyped up to be as the most fantastic fight card in the history of MMA. Do not allow their bias to become your bias.
Read some of Larry Merchant’s columns or listen to some Howard Cosells old fights in which he was the play by play voice. These guys have always called it like it was and were original in doing so. You could be the first woman in MMA to actually have an impact in fight analysis or you could be Zach Arnolds internet puppet.
The choice is yours.
Or I could write what entertains me. While I do appreciate the constructive criticism, this isn’t a job for me. I write what entertains me, and if anyone is entertained as well, fantastic. If not, oh well. Altering what comes naturally to me in order to make more of an impact would ruin all the fun of not only writing, but also watching the event. I’ll leave the groundbreaking in MMA to much more capable hands.
If she was my puppet, her writing style and what she wrote would be a lot different than what it is.
It’s one thing to criticize variety, but it’s another to call out someone as a lightweight because they are different than someone else in terms of writing style. The only one who should be embarassed in this situation should be you.
Erin,
Write the way you want to write. The very best writers are the ones that use their own voice, not the ones that try to copy others.
As a writer myself, I say Amen to that, Lynchman.
Zach Arnold Says:
February 4th, 2007 at 12:37 pm
You could be the first woman in MMA to actually have an impact in fight analysis or you could be Zach Arnolds internet puppet.
If she was my puppet, her writing style and what she wrote would be a lot different than what it is.
It’s one thing to criticize variety, but it’s another to call out someone as a lightweight because they are different than someone else in terms of writing style. The only one who should be embarassed in this situation should be you.
Zach, I have no embarrassment over voicing an opinion as a reader. You are the one who highlights Erin as a key contributor to the sight. I just voiced an opinion that you feel taken aback on most likely due to the fact that my opinion was probably close to truth.
The writing style was not being question, the depth of the article was.
Is it possible that on the Fight Opinion site, Zach Arnold only wants the correct opinion to be his?
Food for though Zach.
DDW,
If Erin’s choice of writing style, and what you are talking about is indeed part of the style of writing, is not what you want, read the work of other writers.
I alluded to this before, but Erin is choosing to use her own voice and allow her personality to play in her commentary. Nothing wrong with that.
Another person might make the decision to be more analytical, that would also be fine.
But the very aspects that bother Dave are the same things that likely draw some people to read Miz Erin.
I edit for a Crime Fiction Magazine. I deal with plenty of writers, almost all of them are nationally published with some being award-winners and bestsellers.
Some, like Christopher Moore, choose a lighter style, while others, like George Pelecanos, take a more serious and harder approach.
There is no right or wrong.
Personally, I think Zach’s response had more to do with Dave belittling Erin’s contributions (suggesting that by not taking the route you prefer, she is simply Zach’s puppet) than you being on the money.
Lynchman, I thank you for your comments. I do feel a little mis understood on this. The point I was trying to make was the articles that Erin contributes are just very light on the scope of the event. I try to read every article in order to have an open mind on specific events and to get more insight on the event that I just witnessed. I feel that Erin’s view of a fight would not assist a fan who was not fortunate to view an event. If she provided more real analysis, she could provide more to the sight. She does have the tools to do this I would like her to evolve this skill.
So am I correct in saying that no writer should ever be criticized no matter what? Is that the point that’s being made? Maybe calling her a puppet was a bit over the line, but, aside from that, I completely agreed. Fashion tips to Cro Cop? News Flash: I’ve seen pictures, Erin…you look considerably dorkier than Cro Cop in a long fucking t-shirt.
Also, it was a huuuuge fuck-up for Lutter not to have made weight, but I doubt it was due to a lack of motivation.
Of course, you should be able to present criticisms — and my repsonse to those criticisms was that I do this for my own entertainment and that I don’t really have any interest in becoming “pro” at it as that would ruin my own interest in it. If I did, I would happily take Diamond’s suggestions.
As for Lutter, he specifically stated that he had trouble motivating himself to lose weight. I’m not sure of the EXACT quote, but the term “motivation” (or some variation thereof) was used, by him.
You’re the one who continues, in every reply, to perpetuate a situation on this site that doesn’t exist. I’m calling you out on your bull**** – that’s what I’m doing.
That is completely incorrect. The troll is trying to market the assumption that everyone who writes on this site is somehow under my ‘spell’ as far as what to politically say or write. That’s 100% false. I control no one – for better or for worse – in regards to their thoughts when writing on this site. I’ve had people before tell me that I should be a copy editor for all the op-eds that other writers do on the site. If I did that, you would have people cry censorship.
Don’t try to take the high road, Ben, when all you were doing in your reply was presenting a front and then setting up for the silly cheap shot at the end. Enough out of the marks, already.
Zach
Uh, no. That was one example out of many from the recap that got on my nerves. If you think I’d bother with a paragraph of buildup just to call somebody a dork, you’re mistaken. I could have gone with other things as well, from the fact that she mentioned she likes Godsmack (yeah yeah, personal taste) to the implication that Eastman and Rampage having a close stare-down might imply that they’re gay (tee-hee).
Zach, your response is exactly what I am talking about, I was just questioning the depth of the article. If a fan who did not watch the event would read Erin’s RE-CAP in the hopes of gaining any insight to the event itself, they would leave not learning much at all other than who won and who lost.
By hosting this site and insulting other opinions by calling someones opinion BS and by calling them a troll, you providing enough inneuendo that states the only opinion that counts is yours.
As Ben stated, by referring to Erin as your puppet, that may have been a harsh statement, however Ben is correct in his analysis of the Cro-Cop fashion statement as this provides nothing in the form of a fight re-cap.
As far as Zach Paraphrase ” I control no one – for better or for worse – in regards to their thoughts when writing on this site.”
This may be true Zach, but when you are challenged on an opinion on YOUR site, you try to trash the opinion or thought of the person writing it.
I am the most recent example of this.
Guys, it comes down to simply this: My humor is not for everyone. This is how I review fights and this is how I have reviewed different TV events for years. If you aren’t cool with it, that’s fine. There are plenty of other recaps out there for you to read, in fact most that I have seen are far more serious than mine. Perhaps you would be happier reading them.
You launch a flame attack on a writer. You question their writing ability, then set it up for a punchline. And you don’t expect to be fired upon?
It isn’t me or the writers on this site who can’t take the heat. It’s the trolls who can’t handle it when fired back in their face. This has nothing to do with criticism of writers and has everything to do with the cheap shots. There’s a big difference between being challenged on facts and being open-endedly cheapshotted by someone intentionally looking for a pissing contest. Congratulations.
Zach, that is exactly my point that you made. It is when any crititism is tossed at you or the writers on the site, instead of you taking the comments and analyzing the situation, you always take the low road and lash out at anyone who dares walk on your hollowed ground. Zach, do you honestly think that your writers are the best they could be? Do you think you are providing the most informative information that you can? If you have peaked the traffic on the site will decrease. If you want to improve take crititism constructively and learn from what others think. The innuendo in Erins last comments, tell me that she had picked up on the point. Zach, you could learn something from her.