For Your Consideration

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

Roger Huerta vs. Alberto Crane 8/25/07 - UFC 74: Respect

 

http://www.spikedhumor.com/articles/131257...erto_Crane.html

 

This may fly a bit under the radar considering Huertas earlier scrap with Leonard Garcia, but this fight is fucking awesome. It is perhaps most noted for Huertas big screen elbows, but before that it was an ultra-competitive, very slick, constantly fluid, ground fight.

 

Tyson Griffin vs. Thiago Tavares 9/22/07 - UFC 76: Knockout

 

http://www.spikedhumor.com/articles/131088...on_Griffin.html

 

Not as insane a pace as Huerta/Crane, but still a very active, very close fight. Griffins breakdance fighting in spinning out of the omaplata was dope. Thiago Tavares flying knee, again, dope.

 

Nick Diaz vs. Takanori Gomi 2/24/2007 - PRIDE 33: The Second Coming

 

http://www.spikedhumor.com/articles/87576/Diaz_vs_Gomi.html

 

Wild fight in the later-stages of Round 1 with Gomi throwing bombs and Diaz picking him off with short punches. Ends with the Brad Imes Special. Double Wrist-Lock.

 

Tyson Griffin vs. Frankie Edgar 2/3/2007 - UFC 67: All or Nothing

 

http://www.spikedhumor.com/articles/122990...nkie_Edgar.html

 

Tremendous grappling between a hyped prospect in Griffin vs. a guy who few knew about, but now a lot more do.

 

Tyson Griffin vs. Clay Guida 6/16/2007 - UFC 72: Victory

 

http://www.spikedhumor.com/articles/131109...Clay_Guida.html

 

Pretty much the fight everyone expected. Clay Guida never stops and Griffin can go for days.

[Mik 0]

Sam Stout vs. Spencer Fisher: UFN June 12, 2007

 

http://www.spikedhumor.com/articles/110565...cer_Fisher.html

[Lord of The Curry 0]

I just got done watchin' Guida/Griffin for the billionth time. And Guida won. Fuck it.

[Your Paragon of Virtue 0]

Common thread between all the fights; lightweight division. Fuck yeah I'm glad they brought it back.

 

Hendo/Silva was also awesome, as was Hendo/Rampage. I can't think of many others right now. I liked seeing Lawler storm on his comeback trail and take it to Ninja. Shamrock embarrassing Baroni was also fun to watch. BJ Penn vs. Jens Pulver is also awesome, as it's pretty much just BJ at his best, doing what he does. Being a mark for BJ means I love watching that one. I need to watch it again actually.

 

Griffin-Edgar may be my fight of the year, not sure yet, but no fight had me as pumped as:

 

 

Fuck you, this fight was BOSS. Couture whooping Gonzaga can also be considered, but this one was just WOW. Talk about bringing you out of your seat from the start. It was like UFC 43 all over again, except even crazier and with the odds stacked even more against Randy.

[Lord of The Curry 0]

Anderson Silva vs Rich Franklin II

 

"You get the feeling fighting Anderson Silva that it's only a matter of time."

 

Usually Goldberg doesn't come up with good quotes but I really dug that one during this fight and it couldn't be more true. Respect to Franklin for coming out and exchanging for the first few minutes and doing okay for himself.

 

Then, Silva decides that it's time.

 

Spinning back kick. Clinch knees. Dodging and weaving the kicks and punches with impeccable style. Spinning back fist. Flying knee. Knockdown to end the round.

 

Franklin comes out to start the second and you know it won't be long. The flurry Silva throws at him to finish it is, in the words of Joe Rogan (also describing Silva) is like a ballet of violence. And in the hometown of the man he just beat, Silva shows that he's the classiest fighter going today.

 

Great fucking fight.

[Lord of The Curry 0]

Man, re-watching that fight I'm not as sure of the Griffin decision over Tavares as I was when I watched it. Going into the third round it was simple enough as Tyson had taken round one handily and the same could be said for Tavares in round two. Round three could be a draw or argued in the favor of Tavares but I'm not sure how Griffin could've taken it was he was more or less on the defense for the entire round fending off omoplata's, chokes and leg locks not to mention that Thigao was taking him down at will.

 

The solution is thus: after the Gleison Tibeau fight Tyson Griffin has rematches with Edgar, Guida and Tavares.

[randomguy 0]

I don't dislike Franklin but watching him get beat up is a lot of fun. I think it's the helpless doe-eyed look.

[Lt. Al Giardello 0]

Rampage Vs. Liddell is my fight of the year for personal reasons.

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

As much as I love Franklin vs. Silva, it's hard to consider it because there was little threat of Franklin winning the fight going into it. So the drama is more focused on the how and when of Silva winning. It's still a great story, with Franklin clearly improving in the clinch but it all being for naught as it was evident that he was just delaying the inevitable, but it was not really edge-of-your-seat stuff. In reality, the fight was Franklin vs. Fate, with Anderson Silva being the stylish vessel of gods will.

 

Though, if anything makes it warrant consideration, it's the crowds reaction to when Silva and Franklin first clinch.

 

*edit* Ok, I fucking lied. This is totally worth consideration, if only for Silvas excellence. Him faking a shot to get the plumb put it over the top. Then Franklin getting some shots in, gaining confidence in throwing combos, only for Silva to totally jive-fuck him over by taking a play from the matrix and making Franklin look a fool. It's epic, in that it is a tragedy and triumph in one.

[Lord of The Curry 0]

Eat a dick. Sometimes drama can be valued over fight quality and this one had it in spades.

 

You're coming down for the Finale this Saturday, right?

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

Barring any unforeseen bullshit, yes.

 

Eat a dick? I thought we weren't going to talk about my time in Thailand and that unfortunate misunderstanding I had with one of the local "ladies". But since we are airing each others dirty laundry, "Eat an 80 year old vag". Yeah, sure, you were "volunteering" at the old folks home, but I know how you REALLY got that silverware collection. Spoon indeed.

[Lord of The Curry 0]

...........................

[Lei Tong 0]

I forgot how uncomfortably homosexual things get when you guys post around the same time.

[Lord of The Curry 0]

Oh no it's actually quite comfortable.

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

Quite.

[Mik 0]

FYI, ALOT of these matches were shown in their entirety on the Spike Best of 2007 special last night.

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

Roger Huerta vs. Leonard Garcia 4/7/2007 - UFC 69: Shootout

 

http://www.spikedhumor.com/articles/109947..._vs_Garcia.html

 

Two fighters with absolutely no regard for their own health and safety, throwin fists like it's going out of style. "These guys know each other more now than it would take years to know someone else." Crazy Mexicans.

 

Roger Huerta vs. Clay Guida 12/9/2007 - TUF 6 Finale

 

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseacti...ideoid=23615136

 

I will admit that watching this fight, and the Garcia fight back-to-back... this fight makes the Garcia fight look slow in comparison. This was a fight that, going into it, you knew that it was akin to seeing two trains on the same track heading towards each other. Two upstoppable wills colliding. Into the third round, Clay looked possessed, thinking "Fuck yes, I am going to kill this fucker tonight. I will murder him." And Huerta was like "This guy wants to kill ME? Fuck nah, I ain't grown up the way I did to lose tonight, no sir."

 

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

Forrest Griffin vs. Mauricio Shogun Rua 9/22/2007 - UFC 76: Knockout

 

http://mmafightvideos.blogspot.com/2007/09...st-griffin.html

 

It's hard for me to watch this fight, even after a few months, despite picking Forrest to win. Mike Goldberg, while not entirely incorrect in his assessment that, "Griffin has established a pace that has gassed Shogun Rua", in reality, Shogun established that pace himself and was not prepared for Forrest to meet him and then surpass him at such a tempo. Which is surprising. Not that Shogun gassed necessarily, but that two light heavyweights, both at fight time probably exceeding 220, could fight a pace not common to their weight class. Couple the activity with the personalities involved, and it makes for a very exciting fight. Three things were clear in this fight: 1. Griffin was much bigger than Shogun, 2. Shogun was ill-prepared to deal with moving around such weight, and 3. Griffin has matured as a fighter, and reached the top tier of the division.

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

I'm going to repost this, cause it's just an awesome fight. Huerta vs. Guida.

 

http://mmafightvideos.blogspot.com/2007/12...f-6-finale.html