Liddell-Jackson II Headlines UFC 71 Card
Salaverry vs. Martin
May 24, 2007
Ivan
Salaverry (Pictures) vs. Terry Martin (Pictures)
In what is one of the more interesting style clashes of the evening, the flamboyant Ivan Salaverry (Pictures) makes his return to the UFC against rising middleweight contender Terry Martin (Pictures). While Martin has made a name for himself with a no-nonsense, workmanlike style, Salaverry is known more for slick technique that was often overshadowed by his own complacency in the Octagon.
Indeed, this will be the 36-year-old Salaverry's third run in the
UFC and if he is to find a permanent home this time around, he'll
have to learn how to put it all on the line.
The great irony of Salaverry's past UFC fights is that he has shown a penchant for the spectacular; his absolute thrashing of Andrei Semenov (Pictures) at UFC 37 remains one of his more memorable performances, but that was followed by what could only be described as a display of sporadic narcolepsy against Matt Lindland (Pictures).
Yet again Salaverry (12-4-0) positioned himself as a contender in the middleweight division and yet again he would throw it all away with an uninspired performance, this time against Nate Marquardt.
While Salaverry has shown that he can rebound from such disappointments, in Chicago's Martin he'll face a man who has gone through the same lows and is hell bent on never revisiting them.
For a while there, it looked like Martin (15-2-0) would never notch a win in the UFC. Starting out as a light heavyweight, the squat fighter squandered a dominant first round against James Irvin (Pictures) by falling victim to a spectacular flying knee KO in the opening moments of the second round.
Unfazed by the lost opportunity, Martin made his return to the UFC against Jason Lambert (Pictures), and once again fell to pieces in the second round after jumping out to an early lead.
At that point, Martin had proven he was a viable fighter, albeit one prone to making fight-ending mistakes. Instead of dwelling on his defeats, Martin simply changed up his game plan, beginning with a move down 20 pounds to the middleweight division. Revitalized by the change, Martin came into UFC 67 slated to face Jorge Rivera (Pictures), knowing full well that a loss would mean the end of his days in the UFC.
If the burden was as heavy as one would think, Martin certainly seemed to carry it with ease as he scored a stunning KO just 14 seconds into the opening stanza. With one massive overhand right, Martin exorcised the demons of his past UFC performances and emerged as a legitimate contender in the stacked middleweight division.
While no official announcements have been made, the winner of this fight could find themselves in position to jockey for a UFC middleweight title shot, and that is an opportunity that could go a long way towards helping either man put to rest any lingering doubts about their place in the sport.
Martin, 26, will no doubt come in looking to pressure Salaverry, though he'll have to be wary of Salaverry's knack for taking advantage of his opponent's aggression. At times it seems as though Salaverry allows his competitors to dictate the terms of the fight, but because the Seattle-based fighter is so well rounded, he often finds himself more than capable of countering and taking over with his own offensive arsenal.
Keeping that in mind, Martin would certainly be best served avoiding any action on the ground with Salaverry, who is at his best twisting his opponents into pretzels. At the same time, Martin must pressure Salaverry on the feet and keep him from getting comfortable in the pocket and firing away with leg kicks. Disciplined aggression should be the name of the game for Martin -- but he has never faced someone who thrives on his opponent's aggression like Salaverry does.
While Martin is the more powerful striker of the two and would do well keeping it on the feet, Salaverry is notoriously difficult to hit and has the patience to peck away at a distance while racking up points. At some point I expect Martin to revert to his wrestling background in search of a ground-and-pound victory. Instead, what he'll find is a far superior grappler who knows how to avoid punishment and work the guard to his advantage.
This will be an interesting fight to watch unfold, but I expect Salaverry to frustrate Martin every step of the way and eventually take advantage of Martin's less than stellar grappling skills en route to a submission win late in the second round.
In what is one of the more interesting style clashes of the evening, the flamboyant Ivan Salaverry (Pictures) makes his return to the UFC against rising middleweight contender Terry Martin (Pictures). While Martin has made a name for himself with a no-nonsense, workmanlike style, Salaverry is known more for slick technique that was often overshadowed by his own complacency in the Octagon.
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The great irony of Salaverry's past UFC fights is that he has shown a penchant for the spectacular; his absolute thrashing of Andrei Semenov (Pictures) at UFC 37 remains one of his more memorable performances, but that was followed by what could only be described as a display of sporadic narcolepsy against Matt Lindland (Pictures).
This pattern would continue in Salaverry's second UFC stint, as he
scored a pair of spectacular submission wins over Tony Fryklund (Pictures) and the incredible shrinking man
known as Joe Riggs
(Pictures).
Yet again Salaverry (12-4-0) positioned himself as a contender in the middleweight division and yet again he would throw it all away with an uninspired performance, this time against Nate Marquardt.
While Salaverry has shown that he can rebound from such disappointments, in Chicago's Martin he'll face a man who has gone through the same lows and is hell bent on never revisiting them.
For a while there, it looked like Martin (15-2-0) would never notch a win in the UFC. Starting out as a light heavyweight, the squat fighter squandered a dominant first round against James Irvin (Pictures) by falling victim to a spectacular flying knee KO in the opening moments of the second round.
Unfazed by the lost opportunity, Martin made his return to the UFC against Jason Lambert (Pictures), and once again fell to pieces in the second round after jumping out to an early lead.
At that point, Martin had proven he was a viable fighter, albeit one prone to making fight-ending mistakes. Instead of dwelling on his defeats, Martin simply changed up his game plan, beginning with a move down 20 pounds to the middleweight division. Revitalized by the change, Martin came into UFC 67 slated to face Jorge Rivera (Pictures), knowing full well that a loss would mean the end of his days in the UFC.
If the burden was as heavy as one would think, Martin certainly seemed to carry it with ease as he scored a stunning KO just 14 seconds into the opening stanza. With one massive overhand right, Martin exorcised the demons of his past UFC performances and emerged as a legitimate contender in the stacked middleweight division.
While no official announcements have been made, the winner of this fight could find themselves in position to jockey for a UFC middleweight title shot, and that is an opportunity that could go a long way towards helping either man put to rest any lingering doubts about their place in the sport.
Martin, 26, will no doubt come in looking to pressure Salaverry, though he'll have to be wary of Salaverry's knack for taking advantage of his opponent's aggression. At times it seems as though Salaverry allows his competitors to dictate the terms of the fight, but because the Seattle-based fighter is so well rounded, he often finds himself more than capable of countering and taking over with his own offensive arsenal.
Keeping that in mind, Martin would certainly be best served avoiding any action on the ground with Salaverry, who is at his best twisting his opponents into pretzels. At the same time, Martin must pressure Salaverry on the feet and keep him from getting comfortable in the pocket and firing away with leg kicks. Disciplined aggression should be the name of the game for Martin -- but he has never faced someone who thrives on his opponent's aggression like Salaverry does.
While Martin is the more powerful striker of the two and would do well keeping it on the feet, Salaverry is notoriously difficult to hit and has the patience to peck away at a distance while racking up points. At some point I expect Martin to revert to his wrestling background in search of a ground-and-pound victory. Instead, what he'll find is a far superior grappler who knows how to avoid punishment and work the guard to his advantage.
This will be an interesting fight to watch unfold, but I expect Salaverry to frustrate Martin every step of the way and eventually take advantage of Martin's less than stellar grappling skills en route to a submission win late in the second round.
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