I’m checking out — normal blogging will resume sometime after the New York Football Giants hoist the Vince Lombardi Trophy into the dry Arizona night.
It’s an unofficial holiday here at MMAmania.com and it’s critical the we focus all of our time and resources getting drunk and fat during the big game.
We suggest you do the same.
The Giants are underdogs, but that doesn’t mean shit. Just ask Frank Mir.
Whoot!
Written by admin on February 3rd, 2008 with comments disabled.
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“There’s no shame in losing. I lost my first amateur wrestling match as a kid. My coach told me when I was wanting to quit, that you first have to lose before you learn how not to lose. I don’t like to lose so I have to learn not to lose in this sport…. Obviously I’m disappointed, but it was a great experience. I must have worked on defending that leglock 1,000 times maybe. I thought I was going to get out…. I’m here for as long as I can fight here. I love what I’m doing. The company has been great.”
– Former WWE superstar, Brock Lesnar, reflects on his submission loss to Frank Mir at UFC 81: “Breaking Point” last night via Yahoo!Sports.com during his Octagon debut. He looked unstoppable in the early part of the fight, but he just got caught. Blame it on a deadly cocktail of inexperience and adrenaline or what have you, but I’d pay to see him fight again. That was an action-packed, edge-of-your seat 90 seconds.
Written by admin on February 3rd, 2008 with comments disabled.
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In addition to their base salaries, which we will pass along most likely tomorrow, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Tim Sylvia, Frank Mir and Chris Lytle earned $60,000 each in bonus money for their performances at UFC 81: “Breaking Point” last night.
Here’s the breakdown:
Fight of the Night: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Tim Sylvia
Knockout of the Night: Chris Lytle
Submission of the Night: Frank Mir
Most retarded of the night went to Kyle Bradley, who almost took on the referee after the fight had been stopped because Lytle beat him senseless.
He gets nothing extra other than a headache and a bruised ego.
The $60,000 award is the most Zuffa has ever doled out to date in terms of bonus pay. For all of the latest UFC 81 results coverage click here and here.
Written by admin on February 3rd, 2008 with comments disabled.
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True to form Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira survived a beating to defeat Tim Sylvia via submission (guillotine choke) in round three of their fight tonight at UFC 81: “Breaking Point” to capture the interim UFC heavyweight championship crown.
With the win, “Big Nog” made history, becoming the first man ever to hold titles in Pride FC and the UFC.
Some fans newer to the sport may call it “luck,” however, it’s how Minotauro has made a name for himself throughout his career. Even Sylvia acknowledged in his post-fight comments that the Brazilian has an uncanny ability to endure punishment and come out victorious.
As far as the fight is concerned, Sylvia looked dominant in the early rounds, peppering Nogueira with stiff jabs and effective power punches. In fact, “The Maine-iac” had Noguiera hurt bad in the first round, dropping him with a devastating left-right combination. However, Sylvia — like the 30-some odd opponents before him — could not finish.
And he paid dearly for it in the third stanza.
Nogueira respectfully called out Randy Couture during his in-ring post-fight interview. Couture already turned down the fight, but he may want to reconsider after tonight’s performance of Minotauro. It would only add more to his legacy and free him up from his contractual stalemate.
Not to mention, with a win, it would truly mean that Fedor Emelianenko is the only man left for him to conquer to be considered the best heavyweight of all time.
Of course, how could we forget the ridiculously hyped Octagon debut of former WWE wrestling superstar, Brock Lesnar, against former heavyweight champion, Frank Mir.
We didn’t.
Lesnar — with former co-workers “The Undertaker,” Kurt Angle and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin sitting ringside — started out solid, taking down Mir and brutalizing “The Baddest Man on the Planet” with destructive ground and pound. For a minute it seemed like Mir was tapping and the fight was over when the referee stepped in and called a halt to the action.
However, Lesnar dropped about three sledgehammers on the back of Mir’s head as he rolled to avoid the rape. Mazzagatti docked Lesnar a point and the fight wasn’t the same after — Mir eventually caught the giant in a knee bar and he was forced to tap.
Or was he smacking that ass?
That’s what it looked like, anyway … perhaps Greg Nelson didn’t cover the proper way to tap during MMA 101.
It just showed that he was real green when it comes to MMA competition. But having said that, Lesnar did not look terrible. He’s an incredibly strong and athletic fighter with loads of talent. Look no further than Mir’s face after less than five minutes of fight time — it looked like he got into another motorcycle accident.
Put simply, Lesnar has promise … but is UFC President Dana White prepared to pay him a quarter-million dollars to beat up cans while he buds into a potential title contender?
I guess the pay-per-view (PPV) buys will tell that tale.
Mir more than likely didn’t earn himself a title shot with the win, but he did more than enough to earn himself a rematch with Sylvia if he wants it.
In other action, Nate Marquardt was about seven seconds away from ripping Jeremy Horn’s neck off his spine before “Gumby” wisely tapped. Marquardt looked real strong and powerful. If he keeps it up he’ll get another crack at the 185-pound crown real soon.
“Nate the Great,” in the meantime, may have earned himself a rematch with Ricardo Almeida, who wasted no time submitting last-minute replacement, Rob Yundt. Almedia tapped Marquardt in a legendary Pancrase bout that included a Renzo Gracie post-fight kick the face.
Google it.
Tyson Griffin kept on trudging, earning a well-deserved unanimous decision over a game Gleison Tibau. Griffin is a force, but he needs to start putting guys away if he really wants advance to the front of the line in a crowded lightweight division title picture.
It’s late and the New York Giants are on the eve of winning their first Superbowl in 18 years; therefore, this recap is ending a bit sudden. For all the UFC 81 round-by-round coverage click here.
Written by admin on February 3rd, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on Tyson Griffin and Jeremy Stephens and Brock Lesnar and Gleison Tibau and UFC 81 and UFC Results and Tim Sylvia and Nate Marquardt and Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and UFC Heavyweight Division and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and UFC Pay Per View (PPV) Events and MMA.