Just My Thoughts: What Event Are We Watching?
Just My Thoughts
Mike Sloan Feb 2, 2007
Thirty Helens would agree that at first glance UFC 67 is stacked at
the top featuring three of the brightest and most exciting stars in
the sport of mixed martial arts.
What with Anderson Silva defending his middleweight title and the UFC debuts of such fightsport luminaries as Mirko Filipovic (Pictures) and Quinton Jackson (Pictures), who wouldn’t be pumped like a liquor-filled stomach for this event?
A rather curious and intriguing aspect of UFC 67 is the fact that
had this event taken place roughly 365 days earlier, it would have
likely been in Japan inside a PRIDE ring.
Funny how quickly the face of MMA changed seemingly overnight, because if it wasn’t for varying degrees of separation, so to speak, UFC 67 would a different animal altogether. It probably would be filled to the brim with matches featuring the likes of Cheick Kongo (Pictures), Shonie Carter (Pictures) and Matt Serra (Pictures). I would not be surprised if Zuffa threw Ortiz-Shamrock IV into the mix.
Stateside fight fans have already had to change their underwear twice after watching striker extraordinaire Anderson Silva dismantle and discard Chris Leben (Pictures) and Rich Franklin (Pictures). Yet they crave more.
Many American fans, especially those who comprise Generation TUF, have only heard rumors of the striking prowess of “Cro Cop” and the frightful slams of “Rampage.” They all heard the stories, the campfire tales of how Mirko once kicked the antlers off a moose and how Jackson once scooped up a hippo and slammed him into a river. Now, they’ll finally get to witness these modern day Paul Bunions live.
We’ll all see if they’ll live up to the hype.
The title will stay put
Don’t get me wrong: I will probably be silently cheering for UFC middleweight title challenger Travis Lutter (Pictures) because he is a class act, a genuine guy who seems to have not one ill bone in his body.
Lutter is the type of guy who would stop highway traffic just to let a school of ducks cross the road and the kind of human being who would prevent humanity from watching “Kate and Leopold.”
Also, Lutter has been the constant underdog in virtually every professional scrap he’s been in and the fans don’t appear to acknowledge his existence. I’m not one to ever cheer against a fighter, especially someone the caliber of Silva (and, for sake of friendly chatter, Silva seems like a good guy, too), but it would be fitting to see Lutter, a man virtually nobody sees winning, score the upset.
Now that’s not to say that I think Lutter actually will win. My pick is a “Spider” stoppage late in the first round, but I wouldn’t be shocked if Lutter makes a fight of it. My theory is that Silva has a decent enough sprawl and Lutter’s takedowns aren’t close to Josh Koscheck (Pictures)’s. Silva will be able to keep the fight on the feet and after he finds a slight weakness, it’s adios amigo.
If and when Silva prevails over Lutter, there really isn’t much on the horizon right now in terms of fighters under contract to the UFC who will give Anderson a run for his money. As long as he continues to work on his sprawl, he’ll be virtually impossible to beat. And since I don’t foresee Matt Lindland (Pictures), Dan Henderson (Pictures) or Paulo Filho (Pictures) coming over the UFC any time soon, Silva might actually set a record for consecutive defenses of a UFC title.
I’ve been “playing” this fight in my head repeatedly and I keep coming to the same conclusion: a Silva knockout victory. Moreover, this fight doesn’t seem like a true title fight in my eyes and I’m willing to bet that I am not the only man who feels this way.
Sure, Lutter was the “champion” of TUF 4, but did he really earn his title shot? I my opinion he hasn’t because he did not tear through the best opposition en route to said title challenge.
What I find a bit disturbing is the fact that Lutter landed the chance at becoming the UFC middleweight champion before Matt Lindland (Pictures), a man who choked out “The Serial Killer.” It’s just a minor gripe of mine and this is not a knock against Lutter whatsoever. I just feel at this point in the game, there are other fighters more deserving of a shot at Silva’s title than Lutter.
Maybe that’s why the main event doesn’t truly feel like a championship fight. Or maybe it’s because the main event of UFC 67 isn’t a rematch.
He’s here
Yes sir, “Cro Cop” is finally in the U.S. and finally in the UFC.
For anybody out there who doesn’t know what “Cro Cop” is capable of doing, I suggest running out and buying as many PRIDE DVDs from our Sherdog store as possible. Aside from a slip up against one Kevin Randleman (Pictures), the Croatian heavyweight striker has only lost to the elite of the elite (Nogueira, Fedor and former K-1 World Grand Prix champ Mark Hunt (Pictures)).
“Cro Cop” fights similarly to Anderson Silva except not as graceful or as precise. His coup de grâce, however, is his mythical left high kick. He’s nearly decapitated many a foe with it and once it connects, it’s lights completely out.
The only flaw that has plagued the 32-year-old Filipovic over the years is his stamina. He’s prone to tiring out, but I doubt that’ll be a problem against Eddie Sanchez.
As usual, there is a throng of cynics out there who don’t believe in “Cro Cop” just yet because he still is a relative unknown here in the States. There is some debate as to whether or not Mirko will catch on here in America and if Zuffa’s signing him would end up being worth it.
Naturally, such trivial ballyhoo should be discarded like yesterday’s trash because it’s virtually impossible for Filipovic not to become a superstar in America. For all the skeptics out there or for the legions of fans who have not seen him in action, all it will take is one swift kick to Sanchez’s head and that’s it — the “Cro Cop” Fan Club will have thousands of new members within minutes.
Where he goes from there is anybody’s guess (that is, of course, unless Sanchez pulls off the upset). Will Zuffa slowly pit him against B level fighters in an effort to string together a highlight reel of epic proportions?
My guess is that Zuffa throws a few sheep into the wolf’s lair for a full year. UFC president Dana White won’t let him fight Tim Sylvia (Pictures) for the belt just yet. They have to build him up like a great pyramid first.
My only question then would be, provided “Cro Cop” is as successful as I think he will be, what would happen if Sylvia lands a right hand onto the Croat’s jaw?
That would be one hell of a monkey wrench.
What with Anderson Silva defending his middleweight title and the UFC debuts of such fightsport luminaries as Mirko Filipovic (Pictures) and Quinton Jackson (Pictures), who wouldn’t be pumped like a liquor-filled stomach for this event?
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Funny how quickly the face of MMA changed seemingly overnight, because if it wasn’t for varying degrees of separation, so to speak, UFC 67 would a different animal altogether. It probably would be filled to the brim with matches featuring the likes of Cheick Kongo (Pictures), Shonie Carter (Pictures) and Matt Serra (Pictures). I would not be surprised if Zuffa threw Ortiz-Shamrock IV into the mix.
Luckily for UFC fans, the trio of Silva, Jackson and Filipovic at
one point or another opted to walk away from PRIDE and into the
open, welcome arms of the UFC (yes I know Silva was with cage Rage
in between; save the e-mails).
Stateside fight fans have already had to change their underwear twice after watching striker extraordinaire Anderson Silva dismantle and discard Chris Leben (Pictures) and Rich Franklin (Pictures). Yet they crave more.
Many American fans, especially those who comprise Generation TUF, have only heard rumors of the striking prowess of “Cro Cop” and the frightful slams of “Rampage.” They all heard the stories, the campfire tales of how Mirko once kicked the antlers off a moose and how Jackson once scooped up a hippo and slammed him into a river. Now, they’ll finally get to witness these modern day Paul Bunions live.
We’ll all see if they’ll live up to the hype.
The title will stay put
Don’t get me wrong: I will probably be silently cheering for UFC middleweight title challenger Travis Lutter (Pictures) because he is a class act, a genuine guy who seems to have not one ill bone in his body.
Lutter is the type of guy who would stop highway traffic just to let a school of ducks cross the road and the kind of human being who would prevent humanity from watching “Kate and Leopold.”
Also, Lutter has been the constant underdog in virtually every professional scrap he’s been in and the fans don’t appear to acknowledge his existence. I’m not one to ever cheer against a fighter, especially someone the caliber of Silva (and, for sake of friendly chatter, Silva seems like a good guy, too), but it would be fitting to see Lutter, a man virtually nobody sees winning, score the upset.
Now that’s not to say that I think Lutter actually will win. My pick is a “Spider” stoppage late in the first round, but I wouldn’t be shocked if Lutter makes a fight of it. My theory is that Silva has a decent enough sprawl and Lutter’s takedowns aren’t close to Josh Koscheck (Pictures)’s. Silva will be able to keep the fight on the feet and after he finds a slight weakness, it’s adios amigo.
If and when Silva prevails over Lutter, there really isn’t much on the horizon right now in terms of fighters under contract to the UFC who will give Anderson a run for his money. As long as he continues to work on his sprawl, he’ll be virtually impossible to beat. And since I don’t foresee Matt Lindland (Pictures), Dan Henderson (Pictures) or Paulo Filho (Pictures) coming over the UFC any time soon, Silva might actually set a record for consecutive defenses of a UFC title.
I’ve been “playing” this fight in my head repeatedly and I keep coming to the same conclusion: a Silva knockout victory. Moreover, this fight doesn’t seem like a true title fight in my eyes and I’m willing to bet that I am not the only man who feels this way.
Sure, Lutter was the “champion” of TUF 4, but did he really earn his title shot? I my opinion he hasn’t because he did not tear through the best opposition en route to said title challenge.
What I find a bit disturbing is the fact that Lutter landed the chance at becoming the UFC middleweight champion before Matt Lindland (Pictures), a man who choked out “The Serial Killer.” It’s just a minor gripe of mine and this is not a knock against Lutter whatsoever. I just feel at this point in the game, there are other fighters more deserving of a shot at Silva’s title than Lutter.
Maybe that’s why the main event doesn’t truly feel like a championship fight. Or maybe it’s because the main event of UFC 67 isn’t a rematch.
He’s here
Yes sir, “Cro Cop” is finally in the U.S. and finally in the UFC.
For anybody out there who doesn’t know what “Cro Cop” is capable of doing, I suggest running out and buying as many PRIDE DVDs from our Sherdog store as possible. Aside from a slip up against one Kevin Randleman (Pictures), the Croatian heavyweight striker has only lost to the elite of the elite (Nogueira, Fedor and former K-1 World Grand Prix champ Mark Hunt (Pictures)).
“Cro Cop” fights similarly to Anderson Silva except not as graceful or as precise. His coup de grâce, however, is his mythical left high kick. He’s nearly decapitated many a foe with it and once it connects, it’s lights completely out.
The only flaw that has plagued the 32-year-old Filipovic over the years is his stamina. He’s prone to tiring out, but I doubt that’ll be a problem against Eddie Sanchez.
As usual, there is a throng of cynics out there who don’t believe in “Cro Cop” just yet because he still is a relative unknown here in the States. There is some debate as to whether or not Mirko will catch on here in America and if Zuffa’s signing him would end up being worth it.
Naturally, such trivial ballyhoo should be discarded like yesterday’s trash because it’s virtually impossible for Filipovic not to become a superstar in America. For all the skeptics out there or for the legions of fans who have not seen him in action, all it will take is one swift kick to Sanchez’s head and that’s it — the “Cro Cop” Fan Club will have thousands of new members within minutes.
Where he goes from there is anybody’s guess (that is, of course, unless Sanchez pulls off the upset). Will Zuffa slowly pit him against B level fighters in an effort to string together a highlight reel of epic proportions?
My guess is that Zuffa throws a few sheep into the wolf’s lair for a full year. UFC president Dana White won’t let him fight Tim Sylvia (Pictures) for the belt just yet. They have to build him up like a great pyramid first.
My only question then would be, provided “Cro Cop” is as successful as I think he will be, what would happen if Sylvia lands a right hand onto the Croat’s jaw?
That would be one hell of a monkey wrench.
