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UFC 80 (Newcastle, England)
By Zach Arnold | January 19, 2008
Steve Cofield has some audio interviews with John McCarthy, Sam Caplan, and Loretta Hunt.
Previews/news: MMA HQ | Mike Coughlin | MMA Betting | MMA Analyst | Pramit Mohapatra interviews Dana White | Harley Davidson signs deal with UFC | Is UFC 80 a Dana White rip-off?
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Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, UK, Zach Arnold | 36 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
In the UFC’s infinite scheduling wisdom, they’re holding this event such that the main card starts at 8 PM local time in Newcastle, with a Newcastle United home game taking place from 5:15 PM to 7:15 PM. I checked on Google Maps and St. James’ Park is 1.1 miles from Metro Radio Arena, and there will no doubt be 40,000 people in there for this game.
The attendance at the match was just announced: 52,250
You do know the UFC sold out the Newcastle venue and set a new gate record for it right? I’d say attendance won’t be a problem for their event.
Maybe…they actually know what they’re doing after all.
I’m sat ringside and can vouch the arena is full. Football fans are football fans, and MMA fans are MMA fans. Each sport can do fine by itself.
The football fans in Newcastle pretty much only care about football. They wouldn’t give a crap about MMA
According to Meltzer, the arena sold out, and then the UFC put an additional 300 tickets on sale once the octagon was configured. And those tickets were expected to sell.
So far, this PPv has been a little crazy. It really needs to switch names with UFC 76 and be called Knockout.
Rivera/Grove – I think it is fair to say that Grove really doesn’t have much of a future in the UFC in terms of title contention. Both Rivera & Cote are fights that any fighter should be expected to win if they are to be taken seriously in the UFC.
Lambert/Gouveia – To me, Lambert is still the better fighter. However, his striking is so wide open that getting hit flush like that was bound to happen while he was flinging those strikes. Gouveia is now 4-1 in the UFC, with only a decision loss to Jardine in his debut. While he likely will never be champion, I think it is now time for him to at least be mentioned with the list of worthy fighters in the division.
Davis/Liaudin – I still have to laugh at Marcus David being mentioned as a Top 10 Level fighter. Who has he beaten? Put him in there with a any of the top guys, and he is an instant underdog.
So far, the event has been entertaining. I was looking forward to this event more then UFC 81, but even I didn’t have too much expectations for the undercard.
I agree about Davis.
I just think the UFC sees him as a very marketable guy dually in the US and in the European market (using his Irish heritage). He’s got some serious hands and I think it’s fair to say the casual mma fan likes to see guys stand and bang it out for the KO. So they’ll likely continue to set him up in fights where he can show those skills – b/c honestly there’s enough fights at the top level of 170 that he could foreseeably continue fighting “mid-card” level fighters to continue to develop as a fighter.
So this means PRIDE actually is better now? lol
Kelley/Taylor – Decent fight, but these UK guys really frustrate me with their lack of wrestling abilities.
Werdum/Gonzaga – I think it is official that Gonzaga is a one kick wonder at this point. He has so much ability, but as soon as somebody starts hitting him back, he crumbles. This is a big win for Werdum. A loss here, and his UFC career would have been virtually over. I was impressed with the way he came back from losing the first round.
Man you really quit on Gonzaga quickly.
The guy lost to Couture, who I don’t really think is much of a slouch, and in that fight he looked pretty darned good but for the fucked up nose that really, really made a difference in that fight. It completely affected his breathing and lead to what I think was pre-mature fatigue.
Having only read the *spoilers* on this fight – I’m not sure I can make much of a comment, other than to say that people were really sleeping on Werdum b/c he had one bad fight with Arlovski. That’s what happens when you have people making such knee-jerk reactions to fighters losing one or two fights…not too many people stay undefeated their whole careers.
So basically am I to understand things like this (based on your comments in the past):
Fedor Emelianenko is overrated b/c he hasn’t fought many good HW’s – his only big wins were over Cro Cop and Nog.
Nog really isn’t that great at all, among other things he almost got knocked out by Heath Herring (an overrated Pride guy). Mirko Cro Cop was actually just an overrated fighter from over in Japan too, this was proven by his loss to Gonzaga. Gonzaga is also an overrated fighter – proven by this loss to Werdum (who was also proven to be overrated in the Arlovski fight, mind you) and earlier loss to Couture. But let’s not forget that Couture is actually an overrated crybaby who beat Sylvia with a bad back and a broken nosed Gonzaga, who remember is overrated.
Who exactly is a “good” (and not overrated)?
I’m really disappointed in Gonzaga. It sounds like he was absolutely mauling Werdum right up to the point that he lost.
He has the talent to be the best fighter in the world, but I don’t know if he has the chin, the heart, or the dedication.
And I just want to take this chance to mention (now having seen this fight), how retarded the 4-points rule is with regards to knees to the head of a downed opponent.
They need to start allowing knees to the head on the ground b/c it’s getting ridiculous how easy it is for a fighter to nullify the advantage of the other fighter. Just off the top of my head I’ve seen it in the Hendo-Silva II, Huerta-Guida and now Werdum-Gonzaga. It’s utter bullshit that all a fighter needs to do is drop to a knee or touch their hand to the ground to at worst nullify the advantage the opponent has gained and at best gives them the advantage of being able to go for a takedown or throw strikes (ala Huerta) virtually unmolested.
MTB,
I’d actually say Werdum was doing quite well in the second round. Gonzaga easily won the first, but I’d say the 2nd round was looking to be Werdum’s.
He really looks like he improved his clinch game by working with the Chute Boxe guys (I guess that really should be a no-brainer).
I know the UFC wants knees on the ground. But they have to work with the ACs to get it, and the ACs are incompetent as all hell.
Oh I’m in no way blaming the UFC for this, I think they’ve made it pretty well known that they want the knees on the ground. But as you said the AC’s are a bunch of incompetent pussies that will be worried they are “too brutal” (but imo elbows are pretty much just as bad as knees).
Can I just say I’m so pissed off about SS. It’s a shame we didn’t have ben johnson’s commentary on the ’91 WC 100m. dana white is a cunt.
I wasn’t saying it so much in a “nobody’s going to buy tickets to UFC” way, I was saying it in a “why not choose a day where there aren’t already 50,000 people a mile away” way.
BJ Penn looked unstoppable tonight. His physique, conditioning, striking and grappling were all flawless. Only GSP and Anderson Silva have looked as invincible in recent performances. This will increase BJ’s standing in the pound-for-pound as well as the lightweight rankings.
It was sad to see Stevenson go down in defeat this way. He’ll fight another day.
By the way, Sean “Roid Shark” Sherk looked absolutely terrified after the fight.
BJ Penn is now 8-1-1 as a Lightweight. And he has wins over both Uno & Pulver, the guys who gave him the loss and draw.
To me, BJ Penn is the #1 LW in the world. I am a big Sean Sherk fan, but I don’t see how he can beat Penn. Sherk is similiar to Stevenson, just better. But he will get beaten on the feet and on the ground.
As for Gonzaga…. The guy just doesn’t have the heart of a champion. i really think he is an animal…. That is until he gets hit….
I think Gonzaga buys his own hype, really. He got the KO over Mirko, and now he thinks that’s what he should do.
He wouldn’t even ENGAGE Werdum on the ground in the second round. Like he made up his mind in the first that he was going to KO Werdum standing no matter what. As it was, Werdum stopped Gonzaga with strikes.
Plus, it looked like he got tired which isn’t good at all.
As I said earlier, I don’t think he has the heart or dedication to be the champ right now, and I don’t know if he’ll ever turn it around.
I had alarms go off in my head the other day when I saw he’s opening his own gym. All the other truly dedicated fighters are crosstraining with athletes from the different martial arts, moving to top gyms, in some cases moving from gym to gym to specifically work on specific skills. Gonzaga is going the opposite direction.
I think I have 45 all figured out now, he’s just a mark for whoever or whatever is “it”. He’s probably one of those guys you know who magically has been a Red Sox/Patriots/Senators fan “his whole life” but you only hear this when the team suddenly becomes dominant and wins championships.
You’re an expert and fan on everyone when they win and “you always knew they weren’t that good” once they look like there might be a chink in their armour.
I am shocked at how well this UFC turned out.
Stevenson is a great fighter but he looked like a totally amateur against BJ Penn. I’d love to see BJ Penn dedicate himself, run through the LW divison and challenge GSP for the welterweight crown. That would be a blockbuster fight.
Good to see Penn looking so great in the ring. Tap out sherk and then move up in weight and get the win over GSP or if Hughes is still fighting finish him off.
Werdum was never losing that fight(lost r1 on points, but pretty much by design). He just used the first round to settle in, then immediately took a more aggressive approach in R.2.
However, for anyone to change their perception of Gonzaga because of this fight indicates a lack of knowledge about MMA and Werdum’s skills. Gonzaga pretty much did nothing different, better or worse here than against Cro Cop and Couture. The difference has been the skill level, size, mindset and reaction of his opponents.
Now then, if only Nog kills Timmy, UFC can stop worrying about Couture still being perceived as the undisputed nr.1 in the company. Interesting that they still are calling it an interim-title fight even after the lawsuit. Should tell us all something about the main motivation behind that lawsuit.
All in all a very good show that fulfilled its potential. Looking forward to Fight Night and ShoXC next week.
Werdum-Gonzaga was underwhelming. Gonzaga’s leg kicks were brutal but he didn’t get around to using them to set up the knockout head kick.
Werdum did not shake off his reputation as boring and overly cautious. There were moments near the end where both fighters faced each other with hands up and feet planted. And at the end of the first round on the ground, the fighters anti-climactically froze in a bizarre position.
1. Penn displayed the kind of skill that makes it seem like he is head and shoulders above everyone else in the LW division. Whether or not that is true is one thing, but you cannot disagree with the fact that Penn made mince-meat of a guy who was very well respected in the lightweight division.
2. Werdum showed what a fighter can do when he does not give up. I am not going to blame Gonzaga for giving up or accusing him of it..I just think that he got hit in the face by a big guy ALOT of times…but I also think that he has become too high-kick happy, ala Hendo with his right hand.
3. I think that Jason Lambert might be finished after he hears how awesome the UFC telecasters were making him out to be…right up until he got KTFO. Big props to Wilson for not giving up…and knowing how to punch. Also, props to Rogan for the Extreme Fighting reference and “Conan”
4. The Hardonk/Robinson fight was totally legit stoppage…Robinson actually stood up and fell back down.
5. Sam Stout shadow boxes IN his fights, Alessio Sakara CAN punch hard, Marcus Davis is really really for real, James Lee does not give up on a takedown that he should have, and finally, Kendall Grove is ruined and needs to take a long time off…maybe go to Japan, and start re-building his career.
Someone’s gotta tell Dana that that his plan to show the card twice today didn’t work.
I was just over at my local sports pub, and they didn’t want to show the event at 10 because they said they already shown it at 3. This lead to vocal protests and ended when 2/3 of the place left in disgust.
So much for Super Saturday for that place.
Michaelthebox,
You’re taking the wrong lesson from Link opening a gym in Cambridge.
Link is out in Ludlow now, which is a Brazilian town dropped in the middle of nowhere New England with no facilities to speak of.
Opening up in Cambridge means that Gonzaga is now going to have the resources of Sityodtong less than ten minutes away, and I think that this is going to make fighters at both schools that much more fearsome.
BJJ crossed with Muay Thai is deadly, and the fact that he’ll be moving to the city (Ludlow is really too far to commute), means that he’s going to have access to a lot better regular athletic facilities as well.
I don’t know if Link even has a cage in their current location, it’s pretty spartan.
“I think I have 45 all figured out now, he’s just a mark for whoever or whatever is “it”. He’s probably one of those guys you know who magically has been a Red Sox/Patriots/Senators fan “his whole life” but you only hear this when the team suddenly becomes dominant and wins championships.
You’re an expert and fan on everyone when they win and “you always knew they weren’t that good” once they look like there might be a chink in their armour.”
He didn’t say “I always knew Gonzaga sucked”. To paraphrase, he said that after watching Gonzaga’s last two fights it’s safe to say he was over-rated.
If more people would change/alter their opinions on fighters when proof smacks them in the face, I’d be a much happier lurker. I’d much rather read comments from a guy who is able to admit a fighter he liked was/is overrated than talk to a guy who nuthugs a fighter indefinitely.
1. Penn is back on the winning streak in light weight division where midgets struggle to remain in ppv after running from Welter weight. Penn should sooner or later grow out of this farm and get back to the fast lane. There’re plenty of tough Welter Weight contenders everywhere who can help him rebuild the leading status in MMA that he once almost had before. (I personally think Jake Shields, Jon Fitch, Diego Sanchez, Josh Koscheck all have very good chance of defeating BJ. )
2. “Life I love you, all is groovy” I heard Grove singing the phrase during the pre-fight interview and it disgusted me. He’s lost his warrior’s spirit somewhere along the way. He somewhat looked a little retarded too. I hope he will come back stronger like tuf sempai, Chris Laben who seems to carry even lower IQ and GPA.
3. Werdum’s hard training at CB paid off. When two equally skilled guys of similar background fight, the guy with better conditioning will most likely win. Gonzaga never proved that he had stamina and long lasting will whereas Werdum has always been prepared to fight over time.
The Gaijn is grasping at straws. I will still enjoy watching Gonzaga fight. Yet I think everybody can see that as soon as he gets hit, he crumbles. This is the second time it has happened. It is completely different then a Stevenson or GSP, who once they get hurt, they fight back even harder.
When a former PRIDE guy loses, the PRIDE fighter is considered over-rated and people speculate that they were juicing back in PRIDE.
But when a former PRIDE guy wins, this gets conveniently overlooked by the same people who trash PRIDE fighters when they lose.
“It is completely different then a Stevenson or GSP, who once they get hurt, they fight back even harder.”
Except vs Serra when GSP tapped out to strikes.
Zack, please. You’re coming off as a 13-year-old fanboy. GSP tapping out to strikes means he doesn’t have a fighting spirit?
Should he have NOT tapped out, and gotten his nose/jaw/eye socket shattered, just to prove he wouldn’t tap?
It is being bad-ass when someone like Tim Sylvia refuses to give up, and gets his arm snapped in half? Or MAYBE that just being an idiot…