Liddell Powers Past Horn, Retains UFC Light Heavyweight Title
Couture Wins, Sanchez Debut a Success
Josh Gross Aug 21, 2005
Though he wasn’t at his best, Randy Couture (Pictures) made a successful return to the
Octagon tonight, submitting fellow veteran wrestler Mike Van Arsdale (Pictures).
The former UFC light heavyweight and heavyweight champion caught Van Arsdale in a modified choke, forcing a tapout from an awkward position 52 seconds into the third round.
Coming off his knockout loss to Liddell in April, this marked the
first time in several years that Couture did not have to prepare
for a five-round fight.
Van Arsdale did well in the first frame, repeatedly beating Couture to the punch. Yet it was Couture who was the more effective grappler. He smartly used head-and-arm control to control Van Arsdale and wear him down over the second half of the opening round.
The fight’s final round opened with an easy Couture takedown. The fight, at this point, was his to lose and he worked for what looked like a variation on the anaconda choke first used by Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera.
Couture turned Van Arsdale to his side and found the leverage to lock it in, forcing the tapout.
Despite the submission, it was a rather undistinguished performance from Couture, who it seems will have a tough time regaining the speed, timing and magic that led him to back-to-back wins over Liddell and Tito Ortiz (Pictures) in the summer of 2003.
Just exactly what he has left is a lingering question after tonight’s performance.
Like Couture, former heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia (Pictures) rebounded from a difficult loss to score a decisive victory tonight, slamming the shin of his right leg into the side of Tra Telligman (Pictures)’s head, the force of which instantly knocked the veteran out. He crashed to the canvas and his head thudded, with a loud crash, on the cage flooring.
It was an ugly scene, one that brought EMT’s into the Octagon for the second time tonight. Telligman breathed in rapid, shallow breaths and appeared to be in bad shape. Quickly, he was given oxygen and, like Terry Martin (Pictures) after his preliminary bout versus James Irvin (Pictures), was put in a cervical brace and carried out on a stretcher.
(On a side note, the tackiness displayed by both Irvin and Sylvia when they chose to thank sponsors while ignoring the men they just badly hurt was an all-time low. Also, shame on the UFC for its refusal to acknowledge what was happening in the cage — at no time was either man showed on any of the giant screens displaying action to fans in the building.)
The fight was Sylvia’s from the opening bell. At 6’ 8” his reach was obvious, and tonight was appeared sharp. It was that combination that saw him defeat Ricco Rodriguez (Pictures) for the UFC heavyweight belt in 2003. Telligman was the victim tonight. Two minutes into the fight his face was already showing signs of damage. Punch after punch was connecting, whether Sylvia fired first or was countering.
In the round’s final seconds, Sylvia pushed forward and, with Telligman moving straight backward, he fired the fight-ending kick. Telligman was taken to the hospital for observation and according to UFC officials is conscious and responsive.
Making the first of what, odds are, will be many UFC pay-per-view appearances, “Ultimate Fighter” season one middleweight winner Diego Sanchez (Pictures) dominated Brian Gassaway (Pictures), forcing a tapout to strikes 1:56 the second period.
The end was just the culmination of almost six-minutes worth of heavy, punishing ground-and-pound from the young Sanchez, who faced Gassaway at 170 pounds, the weight he’d fought most of his now 19 career bouts before joining the first cast of Spike TV’s “The Ultimate Fighter.”
Sanchez nearly had the fight in the first. Three plastering punches from the mount put Chicago’s Gassaway on the defensive. Though he did well to escape Sanchez’s clutches, little was offered in the way of offense and he failed to challenge the youngster from Albuquerque on the canvas.
A confident Sanchez, who invested time in the gym with Oscar De La Hoya’s trainer Rob Garcia, looked to apply what he practiced. However, Gassaway, whose edge on paper came in the striking category, cracked the kid as he came forward.
Sanchez reacted angrily, tossing Gassaway to his back like one might do to his younger brother, and fired multiple strikes. The overwhelmed challenger had enough and he opted to end the punishment.
There is little doubt after tonight’s impressive performance in victory over Frank Trigg (Pictures) that Georges St. Pierre (Pictures) is ready to fight Matt Hughes (Pictures) a second time. The Canadian welterweight manhandled Trigg in a way even Hughes could not, following a crisp one-two combination with almost four minutes worth of bloody, angry, technical fighting.
Controlling from the mount or back-mount nearly the entire time they were in the Octagon, St. Pierre did what he wanted, muscling the former No. 1 contender at 170 pounds before closing action with a rear-naked choke 4:09 or round one.
It was eye-opening performance for many who felt that St. Pierre, while good and young, wasn’t at the level of Trigg, let alone Hughes. But if tonight’s performance is any indication, he is beyond ready to earn another shot at Hughes, who will likely have to get past Karo Parisyan (Pictures) in November first.
The former UFC light heavyweight and heavyweight champion caught Van Arsdale in a modified choke, forcing a tapout from an awkward position 52 seconds into the third round.
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Van Arsdale did well in the first frame, repeatedly beating Couture to the punch. Yet it was Couture who was the more effective grappler. He smartly used head-and-arm control to control Van Arsdale and wear him down over the second half of the opening round.
The two fighters exchanged strikes in round two, Van Arsdale
appearing to hurt Couture with a right straight. But the former
champion pushed through and kept up the pressure. By the end of the
period, Van Arsdale bled from his right eye and sported a
noticeable mouse as well.
The fight’s final round opened with an easy Couture takedown. The fight, at this point, was his to lose and he worked for what looked like a variation on the anaconda choke first used by Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera.
Couture turned Van Arsdale to his side and found the leverage to lock it in, forcing the tapout.
Despite the submission, it was a rather undistinguished performance from Couture, who it seems will have a tough time regaining the speed, timing and magic that led him to back-to-back wins over Liddell and Tito Ortiz (Pictures) in the summer of 2003.
Just exactly what he has left is a lingering question after tonight’s performance.
Like Couture, former heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia (Pictures) rebounded from a difficult loss to score a decisive victory tonight, slamming the shin of his right leg into the side of Tra Telligman (Pictures)’s head, the force of which instantly knocked the veteran out. He crashed to the canvas and his head thudded, with a loud crash, on the cage flooring.
It was an ugly scene, one that brought EMT’s into the Octagon for the second time tonight. Telligman breathed in rapid, shallow breaths and appeared to be in bad shape. Quickly, he was given oxygen and, like Terry Martin (Pictures) after his preliminary bout versus James Irvin (Pictures), was put in a cervical brace and carried out on a stretcher.
(On a side note, the tackiness displayed by both Irvin and Sylvia when they chose to thank sponsors while ignoring the men they just badly hurt was an all-time low. Also, shame on the UFC for its refusal to acknowledge what was happening in the cage — at no time was either man showed on any of the giant screens displaying action to fans in the building.)
The fight was Sylvia’s from the opening bell. At 6’ 8” his reach was obvious, and tonight was appeared sharp. It was that combination that saw him defeat Ricco Rodriguez (Pictures) for the UFC heavyweight belt in 2003. Telligman was the victim tonight. Two minutes into the fight his face was already showing signs of damage. Punch after punch was connecting, whether Sylvia fired first or was countering.
In the round’s final seconds, Sylvia pushed forward and, with Telligman moving straight backward, he fired the fight-ending kick. Telligman was taken to the hospital for observation and according to UFC officials is conscious and responsive.
Making the first of what, odds are, will be many UFC pay-per-view appearances, “Ultimate Fighter” season one middleweight winner Diego Sanchez (Pictures) dominated Brian Gassaway (Pictures), forcing a tapout to strikes 1:56 the second period.
The end was just the culmination of almost six-minutes worth of heavy, punishing ground-and-pound from the young Sanchez, who faced Gassaway at 170 pounds, the weight he’d fought most of his now 19 career bouts before joining the first cast of Spike TV’s “The Ultimate Fighter.”
Sanchez nearly had the fight in the first. Three plastering punches from the mount put Chicago’s Gassaway on the defensive. Though he did well to escape Sanchez’s clutches, little was offered in the way of offense and he failed to challenge the youngster from Albuquerque on the canvas.
A confident Sanchez, who invested time in the gym with Oscar De La Hoya’s trainer Rob Garcia, looked to apply what he practiced. However, Gassaway, whose edge on paper came in the striking category, cracked the kid as he came forward.
Sanchez reacted angrily, tossing Gassaway to his back like one might do to his younger brother, and fired multiple strikes. The overwhelmed challenger had enough and he opted to end the punishment.
There is little doubt after tonight’s impressive performance in victory over Frank Trigg (Pictures) that Georges St. Pierre (Pictures) is ready to fight Matt Hughes (Pictures) a second time. The Canadian welterweight manhandled Trigg in a way even Hughes could not, following a crisp one-two combination with almost four minutes worth of bloody, angry, technical fighting.
Controlling from the mount or back-mount nearly the entire time they were in the Octagon, St. Pierre did what he wanted, muscling the former No. 1 contender at 170 pounds before closing action with a rear-naked choke 4:09 or round one.
It was eye-opening performance for many who felt that St. Pierre, while good and young, wasn’t at the level of Trigg, let alone Hughes. But if tonight’s performance is any indication, he is beyond ready to earn another shot at Hughes, who will likely have to get past Karo Parisyan (Pictures) in November first.
