UFC 39 "Return of the Warriors" Results

[Guest Army Eye]

1. Sean Sherk defeated Benji Radach by TKO (cut) - 4:16 into Round 1

2. Matt Lindland defeated Ivan Salaverry by unanimous decision

3. Tim Sylvia defeated Wesley Correira by TKO (corner stoppage) - 1:43 into Round 2

4. Phil Baroni defeated Dave Menne by TKO (strikes) - 0:18 into Round 1

5. Gan McGee defeated Pedro Rizzo by TKO (corner stoppage) - 5:00 into Round 1

6. Caol Uno defeated Din Thomas by unanimous decision

7. B.J. Penn defeated Matt Serra by unanimous decision

8. Ricco Rodriguez defeated Randy Couture by verbal submission (strikes) - 3:04 into Round 5 ** Ricco Rodriguez becomes new UFC Heavyweight champion **

 

 

I was out and didn't get to see the PPV. In fact I was supposed to see it live (I live in MA) but it didn't happen.. but that's another story.

 

If you watched the broadcast, please post your comments.

 

 

Sherk's and Lindland's victories didn't make the show I guess.

 

Also heard that the fight I was REALLY excited for, Penn vs. Serra, turned out to be a disappointment (most of the fight was standing up? NOOOO)

 

Rizzo, who was probably on his way back to a heavyweight title match, was doing well but got his nose smashed in by a punch and they had to stop the fight. Too bad for Rizzo. He was fighting a monster though.

 

We'll be seeing a Penn/Uno rematch for the light-heavy title! Let's hope Uno can last a little longer this time?

[Guest Brush with Greatness]

Alright, they way I rank the matches will be on an entertainment scale: Bad, Low, Average, Good, Great. Various factors come into play and I will judge the matches on how entertaining they were to watch. I am by no means a UFC expert and don't follow it religously but here we are:

 

Baroni v. Menne - Good

 

Sure this match only lasted 18 seconds but it was one hell of a way to get the show started (this match aired first). Baroni's heel act is great. I expected more out of Menne but I think he just got caught off guard. Ref could've stepped in a little earlier to stop the match as well as Baroni just hammered on Menne against the cage.

 

McGee v. Rizzo - Average

 

This match was started slow but got increasingly better as the first round progressed. Rizzo was fighting a good fight and just got caught with a good punch near the end of round one that cut him open and wouldn't stop bleeding. Was really looking forward to round 2 but when the fight was stopped it was dissapointing. Would like to see a rematch.

 

Uno v. Thomas - Good

 

Match of the night contender. These guys showed a lot. Thomas won the first round Uno won the next two. Uno won 29-27 on the cards due to a point deduction for a heel kick by Thomas to the back of Uno's head. Deduction was questionable as it really did no damage to Uno. It didn't matter in the end though

 

Penn v. Serra - Average

 

Like Army Eye mentioned, a lot was expected out of this one and it was not all delivered. First round was good with Penn winning it easily. Second round was very tight and I think this was the round Serra won. Third round sucked. Yes, it sucked. Both guys were very tentative, as if they were trying not to lost rather than trying to win. It could have been this round that Serra won as well. Fight was a total tossup as Penn dominated round one, next two rounds were really even and Penn won 29-28.

 

Sylvia v. Correira - Good

 

Everyone has seen the movie Rocky were Appolo Creed lays a total beating on Rocky. While thats what this match was. Sylvia was Creed and Correira was Rocky. They went to the ground maybe once and were back up right away and there was about a total of 3 kicks thrown. Correira, also known as Cabbage, took one of the biggest beatings I have ever seen. This match was just great to watch because of the licking Cabbage took and it just didn't seem to faze him. He took a finger to the eye near the end which is why the towel was thrown in.

 

Couture v. Rodriguez - Good

 

In all likelihood match of the night. Couture won the first two rounds, round three was fairly even, Rodriguez won round four before winning it in round 5. Rodriguez fell funny and appeared to hurt his knee near the end of round 2. Couture went in for the kill but couldn't finish him. Ricco seemed okay after that though. Couture just seemed blown up. If this match had been 3 rounds Couture would have won on decision (although admittedly Ricco would have fought a different fight.) Ricco won with an elbow to the eye of Couture which seemed to really hurt Couture.

 

 

All in all, a good show but nothing spectacular. On the other hand, nothing sucked. Rodriguez called on Nogueira after the match. A nice thought but not yet Ricco. I'm not sure who is actually next for Rodriguez though. Would like to see a Rizzo-McGee rematch winner get the shot. Couture needs to retire. As much as I like him he can't go 5 rounds with 25 year old boys. Penn-Uno rematch should be better than their last match. Hopefully that is slated for the November card. Shamrock-Ortiz could be huge. Both big names. UFC needs to get a lot of mainstream pub behind the fight as well as put on a great undercard. Doing both those things would help draw in, as well as keep them drawn in, a lot of newfans.

[Guest Army Eye]

Thanks for the report. I'm not sure where Couture should go from here. The first instinct is to say he should retire, since it sucks to see him lose, but still, it sounds like he was soundly beating Ricco for the first couple rounds; plus catching an elbow to the eye which definitely could've figured in the submission.. you're right that he will continue to struggle with younger guys as he gets into the later rounds, but he's still unquestionably one of the best heavyweights UFC has got. I hope he sticks around. I have a feeling he's had enough though.

 

I fully expect Penn to win the title; he's a great fighter, but it's too bad Pulver bailed. It won't be the same as it would if if Penn could take it from Pulver. Kind of the same thing with Barnett too, although he vacated the belt for entirely different reasons But stuff like that DOES hurt the title, in the same way that a wrestler vacates a belt/loses his smile/lays down for a finger poke etc.

 

Shamrock-Ortiz could be huge. Both big names. UFC needs to get a lot of mainstream pub behind the fight as well as put on a great undercard

 

Yup. It's great that they got this match signed. It will be their biggest buyrate in a long time. The promotion has been great so far, the rivalry is good, it's the old guard vs. the new, all the pieces are there. Most importantly, for the first time in a long time, 'casuals' are talking about MMA again. Let's hope the fight delivers, as well as the UFC 40 card overall, because there will be a lot of potential fans watching.