Match-by-match reactions to UFC 47

[destro713]

1. Sims/Kyle - Kyle's performance was very impressive. Sims definitely showed serious gaps in his fighting style, particularly in his conditioning and his proficiency with applying submissions. It was interesting how the fight ended very similarly to the Sims/Mir fight: they get up from the guard, Sims is in a daze, he gets caught with a big knee that basically puts his lights out and then eats a handful of brutal strikes before he goes down. As for the bite thing, if Kyle bit Sims at the exact moment that Sims says he did, the bite mark would have been on the other side of his body. Granted, Kyle definitely bit sims at some point, but it still has no bearing on the fight. The announcers made it clear after the fight that the bite would be a foul, not a disqualification. And since the fight didn't go to decision, the worst they could do is slap Kyle with a fine and make him have a rematch. (Correct me if I'm wrong.)

2. Lawler/Diaz - Nothing much to write about here. Lawler was really pumped during the fight but he simply got outperformed. He showed class in his post-fight interview. VERY impressive striking by Diaz. The taunts... no big deal. Both of them will be back.

3. Cabbage/Arlovski - Arlovski was very impressive here but I'm almost more impressed with Cabbage. It had been a while since I'd seen him fight so I forgot how inhumanly tough he is. After every single one of those flurries he still had his hands up. His trip in the end was probably due to being dazed by the punches, but he didn't fall. He rolled, and he was still guarding with his hands. I want to say the fight was prematurely stopped but I know that the fight just would have kept going the same way and gone to a decision if it continued. Either that or Arlovski would have pounced on him when he was down and TKO'ed him. I'm also hesitant to call the stoppage premature because Cabbage himself seemed fine with it. If he didn't think it was stopped too soon, I shouldn't either. I just wish we got to see Arlovski's chin get tested.

4. Edwards/Franca - This was my favorite fight of the night mostly because I thought Franca's performance was awesome. He was throwing wild kicks, pulling single-leg takedowns out of thin air, doing crazy-good submission grappling on the ground... he was fighting like Sakuraba. I really have no idea how Edwards won the decision. He mounted no impressive offense in the second or third rounds whatsoever. He did a good job of evading Franca's submissions, but he didn't go for any of his own. That is, unless you count that heelhook that he could have gone for but didn't. Franca won that fight standing and on the ground, and he got screwed. He's now one of my top 2 or 3 favorite fighters.

5. Lytle/Ghosn - Lytle was impressive. Tiki wasn't, and I'm beginning to wonder why they bothered bringing him back when he was 0-3 there. Now he's 0-4. The only cool thing about this fight was the "Carlos Newton schoolyard choke" at the end, which is actually called a side naked choke if I'm not mistaken.

6. Ortiz/Liddell - What can I say? Tito showed serious guts for making himself stand with one of the most dangerous strikers out there, and Chuck showed serious skill for dealing Tito the first straight-up KO of his career and doing it swiftly and spectacularly. I'm really glad that Liddell won. If Tito had been the winner, he would have been a contender for the title (which means it would have been 2 years before he had another fight) and Chuck would have had to deal with being 34 years old with 3 straight losses. But now that Chuck is the winner his career just got a shot of adrenaline, and it's not a problem for Tito because he's young and he already has the hype machine chugging away for his impending fight with Murray. What Tito lacks in fighting skills he makes up for with some of the best marketing chops of any pro athlete out there. Electrifying matchup, awesome finish.

7. Brown/Sudo - The result was as expected. Brown showed great heart when he tried to break out of that triangle, but he was outclassed in this fight. What surprised me was the fact that I really liked Sudo's showmanship. (It kinda pissed me off when he entered for the Ludwig fight.) His robotic movements before the opening bell were cool, and the "We Are All One" poster put a smile on my face. A fitting end to the broadcast, even though it wasn't the real ending to the event.

This event shocked me. After UFC 46 (and everything I've heard about UFC 45), I was expecting 47 to be a sub-par night of sloppy fights and odd finishes. Instead, I got one of the best MMA events I've ever seen. Perhaps Sylvia's last-minute ineligibility was a blessing in disguise. 7 fights, 6 finishes, a new favorite to root for, an electrifying main event, a whole slew of highlight reel moments... awesome show. I think I may buy this one on DVD.

[grapplingengineer]

Lots of good points there IMO. I thought the event could be a wreck due to recent issues, but it turned out to be one of the best. Even the fans were respect-worthy.

I can't add much, but...

Sims/Kyle: I put ALITTLE more stress on the bite mostly because of how it looks to the nay-sayers of our sport...barbarism. Now McCain has pictures of what occurs at our sporting event. Yes, 1 picture, but what were the repercussions?... And I'm wondering if the bite occured during Kyle's choke, encouraging Sims to release. Haven't watched it again.

Diaz/Lawler: Smart fighter in Diaz. MFS must be going through some aches & pains these days. Hope they recover well.

Arlovski/Cabbage: Pretty much went as expected, but I'd prefer to see the fight go a little longer myself. Cabbage seemed to recover fine, and could've done damage soonafter, but expect it would have been over soon anyway.

Franca/Edwards: First time I'd seen Franca and am real impressed. Loved how he attacked from head to toe, literally. And made it fun you know. Hope to see more of him.

Lytle/Ghosen: What can I say. I've never like Ghosen's attitude so glad the nice guy won. I am wondering why Ghosen wasn't resisting the choke in any way...wasn't trying to create room or undo Lytle's fingers or anything. Oh well.

Liddell/Ortiz: I see Ortiz's standing as more stupidity than guts, but that's his choice. Really good point about Liddell getting the boost he needs, yet Ortiz probably ok since he's so good at creating his own hype.

Sudo/Brown: Awesome. Good effort by Brown, great fight by Sudo, and Sudo is one of the coolest guys in the game, on and off the mat. For me, that flag Sudo pulled out was one of the sweetest sights I've seen in MMA. McCain better carry that picture around too.

[Tony Montana]

I think I agree with every you two guys said so I'll only add a couple more comments;

Lytle is a force in the WW division. I would love to see him vs. St Pierre next.

Tiki is good, but not UFC material. Thanks for coming out.

Sims is a bum. His antics merit him perhaps a prelim fight. But I never want to see him on a main card again.

I wasn't impressed with Kyle. I think he should fight Cabbage next and he'll get killed.

Lawler/Diaz was a coin flip. I actually thought Lawler was on his way to knocking him and then bang! What a spectacular ending. I would love to see these guys fight again. Diaz has all the tools to be a champ sometime down the road.

Arlovski is awesome.

Cabbage cannot beat good boxers.

Chuck has been re-energized.

Tito was petrified to close the distance. He fought the wrong fight in both of his last fights.

Joe Rogan was awesome.
"It sounds like the snapping of dry carrots"! hahahaha - referring to the damage a heel hook can do to you
"Check you out"! hahaha referring to Randy after he said neither Chuck nor Tito ever really hit him
He explained how Brown could have escaped Genki's traingle choke perfectly.
Overall, every word that comes out of his mouth has merit. He's got a great delivery. The best announcer ever in MMA.

[D241]

kyle vs sims-huge advantage for kyle going into this fight, i had him beating cabbage actually.
anyways, kyle was dominating most of the fight, and although wrong and immoral, i don't think the biting really would have affected the outcome of his match much at all if any.

arvloski vs cabbage-i'm impressed with arvloski, his punches are very precise.he picks and chooses well.I still question his ground game and chin, but as the aggressor, he looks nice.cabbage seemed very cautious througout the fight, and i think that the fight was stopped prematurely.
i had andre winning the 1st round, but come on, it's cabbage for cryin out loud, he's not going to get knocked out, his head is full of cement and stuff.

Genki vs tomato can(i forgot his name)-good fight, Genki intriguing as always.I'd like to see Genki fight, and I'd also like for it to be guranteed to be shown on ppv, and I'd also like for there to be an adience instead of empty chairs in the backround.

Lytle vs Tiki-Very good fight, and I thought lytle vs lawler should have at least been a draw.this lytle guy is the real deal, and I hope to see him fight in the future.

Franca vs Yves-being that i'm from texas, me along with most of my guest were picking him to win.i thought this fight could easily be a toss up, and i think that franca was robbed.he was obviously the agressor, tried to end it by going for numerous subs.he went for takedowns and got them.he pushed the pace in the striking.all yves did was basically counter.
i think franca deserves another shot in ufc.

Diaz vs Lawler-i, like most, picked lawler by ko for this fight.was i shocked of the outcome, not really, but how.I never would have thought that nick diaz would ko robbie lawler.i thought he was capable of winning via decision or j/d though.this was an awesome fight, probably my 2nd favorite of the night, and nick diaz is the real deal.he totally picked apart robbie.

tito vs chuck-this fight was awesome, but could have been better.i LOVE THE OUTCOME.I also love the fact that it's not a questionable ko victory.
no "early ref" stoppage crap.Chuck knocked tito straight on his ass.
one thing i knew before this fight, was that chuck was going in ready, and was going to have a gameplan.one thing i knew about tito, was that he was going in ready.about a fightplan....that was the question.where was it?
tito prepared to lose, and i think he wanted to make a statement by standing with chuck, and not getting koed, but it didn't work out that way.
i mean, he had a losing speech already made after he lost.
watch the fight, he through like two 1-2 combo left rights, and a couple of kicks.i went for maybe two takedowns to no avail.i'm dissappointed in his effort to win.if his effort was 30-70 to win instead of 90-10preparing to lose, he would have had a chance.

overall, this ufc was ****in awesome, but i don't know if i'm looking forward to ufc 48, but i definatly am a happy customer who isn't missing my $30 too much

[Cbear]

Tony I give Rogan props but he has a way to go before he is as good as the unemployed Quadros.

[robbypark]

Wes Sims vs Mike Kyle= Sims took the fight on one days notice so what did you really expect from him? Average fight filled with controversy. Kyle got the win by TKO even though he illegally used his teeth in that fight.

Chris Lytle vs Tiki= I actually chose Tiki in this fight based on the fact that I thought both guys would stand up. Tiki impressed me when he fought Lawler so I thought if the fight stayed standing he would win. Lytle did what he needed to do and got the takedowns though, finishing things off with a choke. Good win for Lytle, bad loss for Tiki since he'll likely never get a chance at the UFC again.

Cabbage vs Arlovski= Arlovski beat the crap out of Cabbage. It was somewhat evidenced how incapable Cabbage is compared to the top heavyweights in the world. Cabbage has good hands, average takedown defense and that's it. I didn't think he'd beat Arlovski and he didn't. Arlovski also showed great striking power by being the first man to ever knock Cabbage out.

Genki Sudo vs Mike Brown= Sudo's a pimp. From his entrance to his amazing submission victory, Genki was completely on fire. It was a shame this fight was a prelim instead of the Tiki fight though. Genki is one of the biggest stars in the UFC and he deserved far better. Personally, I think Genki is the best lightweight in the UFC and would beat Franca, Thompson, or Edwards.

Hermes Franca vs Yves Edwards= Great technical fight. Good stand up action and great grondwork as well. I thought Franca won the fight but the judges gave it to Edwards. It was far from a screwjob for the fight could have gone either way.

Nick Diaz vs Robbie Lawler= Robbie Lawler has always been overrated and this fight proved it to be true more than ever. Robbie's got weak ground skills and slightly above average striking skills. He'll beat some of the uneducated strikers but he'll never beat legit kickboxers or great ground fighters. Great job by Diaz to outclass Robbie in the stand up department and knock his ass out.

Chuck Liddell vs Tito Ortiz= Great fight for Liddell, amazingly tough loss for Tito. Tito lost a lot of fans tonight. At the start, Tito went for a couple takedowns but couldn't get them on Chuck. People don't know this, but Chuck's actually a far more accomplished wrestler than Tito is. Of course after the two lackluster TD attempts, for some reason Tito seemed content to attempt and strike with a former US national kickboxing champion that had a record of 20-2.

[killed_instinct]

give tiki another chance ufc.

[Juggernaut]

1. Sims/Kyle - I'm not impressed at all with kyles win. Had he fought cabbage, he would've lost. He didnt display anything spectacular, especially against an inexperienced fighter like sims.

2. Lawler/Diaz - very fast paced toe to toe fight. This is the kind of stuff the fans that pay money to see. 2 guys not afraid of standing up, and not always taking it to the ground turning the event into a snoozefest.

3. Cabbage/Arlovski - Arlovski was clearly the better fighter. I've seen cabbage fight many times here, and it looked like he overtrained, or just couldnt adapt to fighting a different fighter other than the guy he was training to fight. He seemed burned out, wasnt too active during the fight.

4. Edwards/Franca - Should've been a DRAW.

5. Lytle/Ghosn - Lytle had a good showing against lawler in their fight. So he deserved to be on the card again. Tiki on the other hand didnt. Why bring him back to fight at 0-3? unless he gets some major victories in pride against big names, he doesnt belong competing in the UFC. That would be like bringing back Paul Varleans or John Matua to fight Don Frye in a legends fight.

6. Ortiz/Liddell - Chuck clearly mauled tito. Only problem I have is that it was a thumb to the eye that stunned tito, not an actual punch. When chuck saw tito wincing from the shot, he turned on the heat. It's just like when belforts glove cut courtures eye. It's a freak accident that greatly affects the fight. But even if the thumb to the eye didnt happen, chuck would've killed him anyway. I wanted chuck to give tito a kick to the face to finish him.

7. Brown/Sudo - Sudo shouldnt be competing in the prelims. He's the kind of character the UFC needs that puts on a show drawing the fans interest. The UFC's intro's, and promos are boring compared to what pride does for its events.

Is it me, or was UFC 47 half assed? no rampway for entrances, a zillion promos, and nobody cares about that bitch carson daly. How can you promote the sport of real life tough guys, and have that soft son of a bitch in an interview on the show? Whats next? ashton kutcher doing play by play?

[Cbear]

Tiki/Lytle wasn't exciting which is what Dana isn't wanting to have these days so I suspect Lytle might move down a slot on the shows unless he finds a way to show more personality. I don't see how Dana can bring Tiki back or rehab him. Some time spent elsewhere might help and lets have UFC use his slot for a different fighter.

I don't remember what Sudos contract has left on it but most seem to think he is short term. Dana does check out the internet and there is a pretty good fanbase for Sudo. Everywhere you looked people were hyped that UFC better show the Sudo fight on ppv and guess what? They did. I'd like to see Dana lock up Sudo on a nice multi-fight contract and move him up on the card so we make sure he is on ppv. His visual antics and skill really make him exactly what Dana keeps saying he wants in fighters--put on a show. So, heres hoping.

Lawler isn't going anywhere since even in losing he does show fire. Sort of a more low key Baroni effect. Diaz really impressed me and there is no doubt we will see more of him.

Kyle didn't excite me as a fighter and his vampire b.s. really turned me off. I don't care to see him again at this point.

Cabbage will always be somewhat entertaining but his chin is his best weapon and it didn't help him against a good sharp striker in Arlov. Cabbage seems to be on his way to being the UFC heavy weight gate keeper that guys make their rep on since he is tough and not a pushover.

How many fights does Tito have left on his contract...2 or 3? If its two, then one will be a rehab fight and most likely Dana would want to give him one more shot at the belt. However, Dana also doesn't like to give guys shots at the belt on their last fight unless they sign a new contract. If Tito doesn't rehab his record, the big money contract is likely to be cut next time.

Chuck has rebuilt himself but he can't beat Randy with a rematch I don't think. So, his best hope is Vitor keeping the belt and getting the match.

[Iron Maiden]

don't remember what Sudos contract has left on it but most seem to think he is short term. Dana does check out the internet and there is a pretty good fanbase for Sudo. Everywhere you looked people were hyped that UFC better show the Sudo fight on ppv and guess what? They did. I'd like to see Dana lock up Sudo on a nice multi-fight contract and move him up on the card so we make sure he is on ppv. His visual antics and skill really make him exactly what Dana keeps saying he wants in fighters--put on a show. So, heres hoping

Very doubtful....though that would make my day!

[destro713]

Liddell was absolutely on fire in that fight. Tito was afraid to close the distance, his movements were nervous and stiff, and it was just a matter of time before one of Liddell's jabs snuck through his hands and popped him in the chin. The eye poke may have made the KO come sooner but I doubt it changed the outcome.

Tito's salary may decrease a little bit, but he was always more valuable to the UFC as a spokesman-type figure than as a dominant champion. And he's still great at building hype. It couldn't have been more than 5 minutes after he was KO'ed by Chuck when he turned his defeat speech into a promo for his fight with Murray. He's one of the UFC's most valuable assets.

I completely fail to see how Franca/Edwards could be a draw. Besides one nice takedown in the first round I don't remember a single moment when Edwards mounted any impressive offense. Franca didn't come close to finishing the fight that many times, but stylistically, he ran circles around Edwards. He was the clear victor in standup and on the mat.

Until Tiki gets 2-3 wins against UFC caliber opponents in other organizations, he doesn't deserve another chance. The only reason they keep bringing him back is because he's part of Tito's team. Why else would they stick an 0-3 fighter on the main card?