UFC 92: The Ultimate 2008

Yes

 

Awesome event! I'll write a full review when I get time. All I have to say is wow @ Frank Mir. The guy is talented. He learned how to box in six months. Crazy. He is going to beat Lesnar again, no doubt.

 

Before the weigh-in's UFC Fight Club members were invited to a question-and-answer period with former UFC Champion Randy Couture moderated by Mike Goldberg. Randy answered a variety of questions from fans. Surprisingly pretty much anybody who wanted to ask a question got to, and at some points nobody was lined up at the microphones. One of the better moments came when a fan told Randy that his (cousin?) was serving in the military and was in 'The Sandbox' and wanted his autograph, and Randy graciously jumped off the stage and signed one for him right away. Another good moment was when a woman asked Randy to spank her like he spanked Tito. One of the more awkward moments came when some self-promoting jackass rambled on and on about his new series of t-shirts, the details of which I'll withhold so as not to justify what he was doing. He was eventually booed off the microphone for wasting everyone's time. Randy is every bit as humble and cool as you would expect. He still wants to fight Fedor but my money is on him fighting Big Nog, retiring in a loss and continuing for another title shot with a win. Quick note: Randy won't corner anyone if Griffin fights Silva; too much friendship involved.

The weigh-in's were fun. Most of the fighters did nothing interesting but the atmosphere was electric. Wandy shoved Rampage after Dana went to separate them, then turned his back and walked off the stage. It was a punk move and Rampage took advantage of the moment, turning to the crowd and doing the throat-slash motion. 'Page had a mixed response before this but got mostly cheers with this move. It made Wandy look weak, like Diego looked when he shoved Kos. It was a bad sign for anyone who had money on The Axe Murderer. Frank Mir looked cut (for once) and that was a telltale sign that he was ready to fight Big Nog, but nobody could've predicted how that fight would go. Mike Wessel looked absolutely huge on the scales, tipping at 260-lbs, but had no confidence in his eyes. He lost his fight before it started.

The event itself was great fun. For anyone planning on attending a UFC in the future, go for it. We had $150 tickets, which weren't the cheapest seats ($75), but they were hardly better. We were about six rows from the ceiling in the corner. The MGM Grand Garden Arena isn't massive, though, so we could still see fine. We were behind the big screens so when we watched the projection it was in reverse--which was fine when the fight was on but a bit annoying during the tale-of-the-tape segments. Also, watching the show without commentary is an interesting experience. It gives you an untainted perspective. The Blackburn/Chonan fight was very close. I thought Blackburn edged him out with the knockdown in the second round but many in attendance were convinced Chonan won. It he had been more aggressive in the second round he could've pulled that one out but I agreed wit the judges (unanimous) decision. After meeting Chonan I was hoping the best for him but when we saw him he looked totally drawn-out (the day before) and I wonder how much success he had rehydrating. He is one guy who would benefit from a 160-lbs weight class, I reckon.

We also met Antoni Hardonk who speaks a questionable amount of English, or just uses that as an excuse not to engage fans too much. His leg kicks are awesome but his take down defense sucks the big one. Thankfully he was fighting someone without confidence or a clue of what to do in top position. His sweep was incredibly slow and obvious but he made it work and was able to finish the fight from a dominant position. Good for him. Cheick Kongo and Pat Berry had similar performances, beating sub-par opponents with brutal leg kicks and solid boxing. Kongo's eye-for-an-eye cock kicking was over the top and I didn't like it but the crowd thought it was great. Kongo is the last guy who should be taking revenge for nut shots after he gave Cro Cop a vasectomy in their last tilt. Kongo was signing autographs and posing for pictures in the casino the day before and is someone who loves the spotlight. He can be a star if he learns ground fighting.

Just as a quick aside, here are the guys we got close to or met this weekend for people wondering if you can see fighters at these events: Rolando Delgado, Efrain Escudero, Minotauro, Cheick Kongo, Rashad Evans, Anthony Johnson, Matt Hamill, Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture, Antoni Hardonk, Shawn Thompkins, and Rampage's sleeveless trainer. So yes, if you are going to go to a UFC event, especially in Vegas, hang around the venue Friday and Saturday and you are sure to see and meet fighters.

Matt Hamill looked terrible for the first round bit got his shit together in the second. His striking is still atrocious. Thankfully the shell shock he had when fighting Rich Franklin was gone. Tough to fight a friend, I bet. Andy was brought in to lose to Vera and Hamill and so far he has done just that. At one point Hamill had Andy up against the fence in a good position to knee him, and everyone in the crowd (including us) started yelling "KNEES!". Then everyone realized yelling was a stupid thing to do and there was a bit of a chuckle shared by the crowd, which was a priceless moment.

The main fights were exciting Kongo's win was explosive, but his brutal cock shot might've screwed up Al-Turk for the rest of the fight. It's not the pain of getting hit in the sack, its the five minutes of nausea afterwards. The way Kongo exploded on him made me think Al-Turk didn't recover from that. CB Dollaway looked great recovering from a hard shot and smashing Mike Massenzio. Dollaway over-celebrated after his win and was met with a loud round of boos for his antics. I want someone to punch him in the mouth so hard they fix his upper lip. I don't know who is next for him but he has potential in that weight class.

Wandy/Rampage was very disappointing for me. I am a big Silva fan but this is a problem. His wide-open style hasn't been successful in the UFC. He caught Jardine with his head down and was able to win that fight, but his haymaker swings led to a loss against Liddell and a brutal KO loss to Rampage. He looked very undisciplined last night. The 205-lbs weight class is very stacked so he's going to have to get under control if he wants to continue. A Liddell/Silva rematch seems inevitable now and it should be a great fight, but the loser of that one should be on his way towards retirement. Rampage, on the other hand, has earned a title shot with that punch. No doubt he should be the next one to challenge Evans--the timing works, too. The winner of the Machida/Silva fight is a top contender but in this weight class you have to beat a household name to get a title shot. Rampage looked good which should come as a relief to everyone who was questioning his sanity as lately as Friday. Randy Couture bet against 'Page at the Q&A because he didn't think he would be focused. Well, nuts to that. Also, the extra shot or two he landed at the end of that fight was a bit classless but the emotions involved can explain that away.

Frank Mir tooling Big Nog was incredible. Incredibly incredible. Frank Mir not only learned how to box, but he has suddenly become one of the best boxers in the weight class. Wow! Nog looked completely bewildered. Frank landed uppercut after uppercut, flooring Nog repeatedly. I thought Herb Dean got a little jumpy when Mir had him down the last time. In PRIDE that fight never would've been stopped, but in the UFC they don't let guys take anything excessive. Nog tried to get back up after the fight was stopped and almost fell over. Just because he's never lost by (T)KO doesn't mean he's never been knocked out. By UFC standards he'd have a few more losses on his record, I think. He left the arena and went into the casino after his fight, sporting black eyes. Mir--well, what can you say? The guy should be favored to beat Lesnar again. He looked every bit a champion last night. I was way wrong about this guy. His cardio looked great, his striking looked great--what are his weaknesses now? If he can beat Lesnar again, I don't know who can challenge him. I think he would beat Randy.

Finally, the main event. Forrest "jacked-up" Evans' leg early in the fight and landed a lot of good head and body punches, including some good body kicks. When Forrest had Evans up against the fence landing shots it looked like he was going to be able to control the rest of the fight. His size advantage was very noticeable live, I don't know how it looked on TV. But Evans basically ate everything Forrest threw at him and then told him to kiss his dick, which I think showed everyone that he wasn't going to be denied in this fight. After seeing him in the casino then again at the weigh-ins, I was convinced he would win. The air of confidence around him was palpable. When he pounded Forrest out it just seemed like the only way the fight would end. I don't know if they said anything on TV but it really looked like Forrest tapped out when he was getting pumped on the mat.

A few more notes: the crowd was 2/3rds full or less until the main card started. Fuck the fans who don't show up for the whole event. Its like basketball fans who show up at half time. What the hell are you doing that's so important you're willing to miss half the fights you (pay?) to see. We spoke to a few people who had been coming to UFC's for years but couldn't get ringside/floor level seats anymore. If these seats are being comp'd to people that don't even care enough to show up until they might get on TV, screw them. That's not cool.

The entire event lasted about four, four and a half hours. The time goes quick. The production is well done. Everything flows nicely. No long breaks between fights. Two times they announce a ten-minute intermission to allow people to go relieve themselves or buy beer. "Do what you gotta do" is what Buffer says at these points. Otherwise you're not waiting around much. One complaint about the production I have is that anyone on the microphone is difficult to understand, especially the guys who don't speak up or speak English well. We couldn't understand anyone. It might be where we were sitting or the arena, I don't know. But I'm looking forward to downloading the event later this week so I can hear what these guys said. Forrest I guess was funny and humble but we didn't get it.

 

We saw Brad Blackburn at Rouge on Friday night, forgot to mention that.

Also, we saw Reese Andy on Sunday morning. The guy's face was ruined. He was with his wife and wasn't looking super interested in talking to anyone so we let him get away.

 

Payouts (includes bonuses):

Rashad Evans ($250,000) d. Forrest Griffin ($100,000)
Antonio Nogueira ($250,000) d. Frank Mir ($95,000)
Quinton Jackson ($385,000) d. Wanderlei Silva ($200,000)
Cheick Kongo ($90,000) d. Mustapha Al-Turk ($7,000)
CB Dollaway ($20,000) d. Mike Massenzio ($5,000)
Yushin Okami ($32,000) d. Dean Lister ($19,000)
Antoni Hardonk ($28,000) d. Mike Wessel ($4,000)
Matt Hamill ($20,000) d. Reese Andy ($15,000)
Brad Blackburn ($14,000) d. Ryo Chonan ($18,000)
Pat Berry ($10,000) d. Dan Evensen ($4,000)


Mark this event down as one of the most lucrative for fighters in recent memory. Rampage's base pay of nearly $400k is outstanding.

Also, it shows how much money Affliction is wasting when the top six fighters on this card are well paid but don't add up to much more than $1-million, which is what Affliction paid Tim Sylvia to tap out to Fedor's Adam's Apple crush in 40 seconds.