UFC 73: 'The Greatest Card in The History of Combat Sports'
Posted by RB, 17 Jul 2007
It's pretty hard not to bust a gut laughing, as an informed fan of the sport, when Goldberg introduces a card such as UFC 73: Stacked (the name itself a push) as “what could very well be the greatest card top to bottom in the history of combat sports.”
Perhaps the use of the broad “combat sports” is telling: the UFC is probably hoping for their new fans (and the media outlets that have just started covering the sport) to draw direct comparisons to boxing cards rather than MMA cards from the past or in other organisations.
This would be to their advantage -- on the face of it boxing gives one noteworthy fight per card, while in MMA we are usually treated to several quality fights per card. Therefore one might jump to the conclusion that MMA offers much more than boxing per card just for that reason. It's an easy numbers game for the UFC to play.
What it fails to take into account however are the basic differences between fights in the two sports. Boxing is structured around one headline fight per card because it offers twelve round fights that almost always go into the late rounds, or go the distance. The rules of that sport make it a bankable fact that fans will get their money’s worth from one marquee fight after a few warm-ups between no-name or local fighters.
With thinly padded gloves and no standing count, one shot landed flush often ends the fight in MMA, and first round stoppages are commonplace even in headline fights. There's also the basic fact that title fights last 25 minutes as opposed to boxing’s 36. Put simply, in MMA it is too big a risk to bank a card on one marquee fight and hope it doesn't end in the first couple of minutes: a safety net has to be added through the undercard, and that means featuring good fights on it. Basically, MMA offers more than one quality fight per card because any one of them might end in seconds.
Taking into consideration the history of MMA cards and how 'stacked' they have been compared to UFC 73, Goldberg's opening comment assumes a fan base ignorant of the sport's history—not only in Japan but in the UFC itself --, and this is certainly true of many new fans. But fans quickly educate themselves, and as they do they will come to appreciate patronising hyperbole such as that fed to them at UFC 73 as little as hardcore fans appreciate it now.
These issues aside, UFC 73 turned out to be a solid enough card (though many will have viewed it as a big let down after the hype). Anderson Silva and Sean Sherk both defended their titles with ease against tough opposition, and Ortiz/Evans and Nogueira/Herring were both long distance wars with good pace and moments of excitement.
For many Nog/Herring III seemed like a set piece to give Nogueira his first UFC win in impressive fashion, having two wins over Herring already in his back catalogue, and with the exception of one moment of disbelief in the first round that’s exactly what it turned out to be. But what a moment it was.
With less than a minute left in the first round Herring landed a flush high kick, knocking Nogueira down and what looked like out as he followed up with strikes that were barely being intelligently defended. Then, incredibly, Herring stood back up with about twenty seconds left on the clock and motioned Nogueira to get up really, really quickly -- presumably so he could finish him on the feet where there is no risk of falling into Nog’s guard and a possible submission.
Needless to say this tactic was ineffective, and Minotauro ran the clock out without much difficulty once back on the feet. In the next round he regained his full senses, and proceeded to better Herring on the feet and on the ground throughout rounds two and three to walk away with a unanimous decision.
If this fight showed us anything, it was where each fighter belongs in the UFC heavyweight mix: Herring as a solid gatekeeper, and Nogueira as a future contender for the belt. Then again, isn't this something we already knew?
The lightweight division is beginning to feel properly taken care of in the UFC, with the recent lightweight-exclusive TUF finale, and now with Sherk getting a good title defence behind him, Florian featured in a second televised lightweight match, and Sakurai shown on camera strongly suggesting he has been signed into the division. BJ Penn was also announced as Sherk’s next challenger at the post-fight press conference -- which will make for the highest profile UFC lightweight bout in years.
As for the Sherk/Franca title match at UFC 73, Franca landed some dangerous knees and caught Sherk in a guillotine early in the first round that looked deep, but Sherk survived the knees, powered out the guillotine and turned the fight into a five round wrestling domination reminiscent of a Hughes performance. If Sherk can continue to apply this formula to the lightweight division we may see him hold the title as long as Hughes did. Of course, Penn will prove a massive first challenge.
Tito Ortiz vs Rashad Evans seemed to have fate written all over it -- this would be the match to prove Tito is in fact over the hill after years of unconvincing decisions, and propel Rashad close to title contendership. Like is often the case in MMA however, things didn’t wrap themselves up so neatly. Rashad did not give a bad performance but was tentative early on, when he was out-muscled and outscored in the clinch and on the ground. Ortiz came out and performed consistently, worked well, and had Rashad in a tight guillotine that may have ended the fight if the bell didn’t sound to end round two.
It wasn’t until the third round that Rashad started to come out on top, Tito coming out from his corner looking half as fresh as Evans. Most of the round was spent with Ortiz tying Rashad up against the fence with take down attempts, and he became visibly tired by his unsuccessful efforts. When the fighters broke apart on a few occasions Rashad did well throwing some combinations -- not all of them landed, but enough did to bloody Tito up by the end of the round. Then in the closing moments of the third round Rashad scored the biggest take down of the fight, lifting Tito and dropping him on the mat. He managed to follow up with a few strikes before the bell sounded to end the fight.
Ortiz won the first two rounds, and Rashad easily took the third -- but a point deducted from Tito in the second for cage grabbing ruled the fight a draw. The fight was one of the many non-title fights that would have benefited greatly from having five rounds -- especially as the change of fortune in the third round seemed largely down to Rashad’s fresher condition. An extra two rounds would have turned the fight into a war of attrition and, whatever the result, provided a more satisfying ending. Alas, the fight can be chalked up as another three rounder that felt as if it was just getting interesting as the final bell rang.
Ironically, Silva needed less than one of the five rounds allotted to his title defence against Marquardt to bring it to a definitive ending. After once again demonstrating his proficiency on his back against a renowned ground fighter, it is safe to say Big and Little Nog have taught him well. Silva looked like a fish in water when on the ground in this fight, as he did against Lutter save for one full mount that briefly looked dangerous, and combined with his exceptional striking skills Silva is clearly the most dynamic and exciting of the current UFC champions.
With about a minute left in the first round, Silva showed why they call him ‘The Spider’ with his long arms easily reaching his floored opponent from standing, one piercing punch cutting straight through Marquardt’s defence to connect flush with his jaw and effectively end the fight, the referee stepping in after a few follow up strikes to the side of the head that were mere formality.
Despite personal reservations with the marketing approach taken for this card, it was a welcome change to have four televised fights between well established talent in the UFC. There just isn't a need to pitch it as the greatest thing ever to bless the sport, when in fact there have been several MMA cards already this year with greater depth of talent.
