Turns out I was wrong about Belfort-Ortiz … Sherdog’s Mike Sloan had it for Belfort, while the man who signs our checks had it for Ortiz. (My fault Mike.)
In this addition of The Bag, I close the book on Belfort-Ortiz, tell Duane “Bang” Ludwig which UFC welterweight he should fight, and get taken to task by a Swedish reader. (The Swedes are probably still bitter about Tiger Woods bagging that smokin’ nanny.)
Upon further review
"People tend to focus on finished takedowns. But for me, preventing a takedown is just as important. How many did Belfort stop in round one? And even when he did end up on the floor, it was because of scrambling effort by Ortiz, not the picture-perfect tackle he'd get later in the fight."
I'd still like to re-watch round 1 to decide who I thought won (but I think we all agree that if it comes down to one debatable round, it must have been a close fight, right?) preventing takedown on its own is only defending while the other guy is attacking.
And I don’t think it matters how "picture perfect" a technique is, be it a punch, takedown, or sub, if you get it, you should get credit for it all the same.
And, again, without saying who I think won, the "scrambling effort by Ortiz" is what may have made the difference in that Vitor sprawled nicely on Tito many times but as all wrestlers and grapplers should know, takedowns are won many/most of the time on the follow up and who wants it more. Tito totally out fought Vitor in the relentless battle for the takedown. – No Name Given
Did you get a chance to watch a replay? I did. (Though, stupidly, I didn't listen to my own advice the first time around and I watched it with the audio—there's no doubt the commentary has an impact on how you view a fight.)
After several replays, I still think Vitor won. A couple things became apparent, however. First, Ortiz' first-round takedown was much cleaner than I gave him credit for the night of the fight. And overall, the opening period was tighter on television that it seemed—to me, at least—in the arena.
But neither thing was enough to change my mind on the fight and I still scored it 29-28 for the Brazilian. This was one of the closest, tightly fought UFC main events in quite some time and I'm glad I was in my seat rather than one occupied by judges Jeff Mullen, Cecil Peoples and Nelson "Doc" Hamilton.
Cracking under the pressure?
Regarding your mailbox, I don’t think lacking of mental strength is the reason Vitor lost this time, but lacking of stamina. Vitor very much to me seemed to punch himself out trying to finish Tito in round 2. After the flurries with Tito on his back Vitor simply stepped into Tito’s guard and lay on top of him. When they were stood up, Tito flipped Vitor over like he was a training-doll or something. For the whole of round 3, Vitor seemed to have almost no energy left at all.
I continued reading and saw that you call Fedor and Arlovski countrymen. Isn’t Fedor from Russia? Arlovski is from Belarus as far as I know. – Tomas Rutegård, Lund, Sweden
You’re right about Belfort. His lack of stamina for a 15-minute fight was surprising. Of course, when compared to Ortiz, whose stamina is perhaps his greatest offensive weapon, it’s a high mark to reach. But Belfort’s been in wars, he knows what it takes to defeat a top fighter and he was simply unprepared for the third round.
I still believe that in some part that was a result of his mental weakness, but ask any trainer and they’ll tell you that once a fighter’s cardio goes, so does everything else.
Thanks for pointing out my error in calling Fedor and Arlovski countrymen. Fifteen years ago, maybe. But Belarus and Ukraine are definitely not the same place. Glad to have a European pointing that out to the dumb American journalist.
Random thoughts
Re: UFC 51.
I think it is great to see the celebrities in the crowd. It gives me hope that this sport can, in fact, go main-stream in the next 2-5 years. It would be great if these famous people would do a commercial spot for the UFC (maybe they already have). When we get endorsements from the "beautiful people" of the world I think that will go further than a flying submission, brutal knock-out, or WWE-like trash-talking ever could.
Re: Tito vs. Vitor.
It's interesting to note that both Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell picked Tito to win. Although Chuck was shaking his head at the decision.
Re: Ken vs. Tito.
I love Ken Shamrock but I don't like his chances against Ortiz. I'm worried it will be a repeat of the first fight. I don't want the fight to happen for that reason. But, you have to admire Ken's courage to want to fight again after the beating he took. I don't know how anyone can disrespect Mr. Shamrock.
Re: Arlovski's patience.
This guy is the epitome of class and patience. How many fighters would have been complaining that they deserved a title shot (rightfully so) while this guy just grinned and bared it. The UFC should be proud to have this guy in their organization.
Re: Sean Sherk.
Bring this guy back. He gave Matt Hughes a decent 'go' and is in incredible shape. Why isn't he fighting? I don't understand.
Re: Phil Baroni vs. Sell.
It was strange noting that Baroni was the classy gentleman in defeat while Sells verbally threw his win in Phil's face with his post fight comments. What a turnaround from some of Baroni's past actions after winning. I thought Phil looked a lot better in this fight than in the Tanner fight.
Thanks for your time, Josh. Have a great 2005! – Garry Glidden
I guess celebrities are a sign of the sport’s growth. So that’s good. Other than that, I couldn’t care less.
As much as Chuck despises Tito, he still thought so little of Belfort—who gave him a tougher battle than Ortiz—that he picked him to win the bout. That should tell you something about how far Belfort has slipped in the eyes of his peers.
Ken’s a businessman and knows there are only a handful of fights that could get him the exposure and money he wants. Oh, on top of that, I really think he wants to bury Ortiz. I don’t like his chances though. He’ll point to a repaired knee as a difference maker, but there’s no way he can match Tito’s cardio or athleticism. And, despite his troubles since their fight in 2002, Ortiz has been in wars now. He knows how to deal with adversity and he’s proven he can come back from the brink.
Come on, Arlovski’s got nothing on Liddell, who waited years to get his shot at the light heavyweight belt. There’s no comparison. Now that’s patience.
Read this:
/news/articles/sherk-pessimistic-about-his-future-in-the-ring-2336.
Phil looked dangerously slow. He’s no longer the fighter that pummeled Dave Menne in Connecticut. As far as Sell, he was tough but he needs some time before he can give a top middleweight like Matt Lindland or Evan Tanner problems.
J.G. the A-Hole
Tjena Josh, read your article. It was very nice to read about your thoughts. I must credit you for being an asshole like that. I mean you were not pretty nice against Ortiz, Baroni, Barnett or Shamrock.
For being a honest asshole like that takes a lot of bravery. But you forgot about Tim Sylvia, a really doped steroid fighter. We don’t need him either. I am really a Couture fan; he is always nice and kind and acts like a respectful man. So a lot of credit for you for writing such an article. You will get a lot of hate mail I think :)
So the last thing, you wrote that perhaps Vitor won the match …. to those who don’t believe in your thoughts watch Kevin Randleman against Bas Rutten. How could Bas Rutten win? I don’t know but perhaps they were thinking like you. Bas Rutten had some take-down defense.
So more honest writings from you in the future I hope. I am really tired of the Ortiz-Shamrock screaming at each other like they did on UFC 51. How could they just held the mic to Shamrock and he just kept yelling nasty stuff. The girl who held the mic is just terrible, how could she just held the mic in front of shamrock so long. It’s like she is so afraid to do anything she just kept standing there with her hands in the air (and the mic).............it would be nice to have the man who did the weight-in commentating. I am from Sweden so you knows for sure the man.... the fear factory man I think :)
Bye from Sweden (where we don’t speak about respect to each other because its so natural) – Martin Davidsson
I couldn't tell if you were calling me an a-hole or being sarcastic. Either way, you're probably right.
Playing matchmaker for Bang
He is another question for your mail bag, who should Duane Ludwig fight in the UFC at 170? – Duane “Bang” Ludwig
The two guys that jump out at me are Nick Diaz and Karo Parisyan.
Diaz is a solid all-around fighter who’s shown a real willingness to stand up and fight even when people didn’t think he had a chance. He found holes in Robbie Lawler (turned out there were many) and exploited them. I don’t know if he’d try the same with you, though he takes great pride in his boxing ability.
Parisyan, in my opinion, is a tougher fight for you. He’s a hell of a grappler and his unorthodox style prevents the typical sprawl-and-brawl counter style you’ve employed against submission fighters. Your Muay Thai clinch versus Parisyan’s judo background? Interesting.
Of course, a rematch with Genki Sudo would fire fans up.
So, Duane, who’s it gonna be?
Questions or comments? E-mail J.G. at joshg@sherdog.com.