Uno, Dos, Tres, Quatro...Hermes?
Sep 25, 2003
By: Mike Sloan ([email protected])
Question: What do you get when you cross two top lightweights fighting for a vacant title and a draw?
Answer: Why, you get one of the two lightweights fighting… a
contender (?)
The last time we saw Caol Uno engaged in warfare, he fought a spirited and courageous technical war with now-rival BJ Penn. The two superstar lightweights fought until the searing end for the vacant lightweight crown in one of the chief bouts of UFC 41. For five grueling rounds, each man took as good he gave and even though the vast majority of viewers at home and spectators on hand felt Penn deserved the decision, the fight was insidiously ruled a draw.
Many questions arose that night for the fact that BJ was somehow shafted of a sure victory and Coal was given the gift of a draw. In the ensuing months, Zuffa had failed to materialize the somewhat-anticipated third bout between them (the first, of course, was when Uno was blasted out in 11 seconds). Not much trash talk erupted in the aftermath of the draw and neither has stepped inside the Octagon since.
To most, when the fight was announced, there was a collective groan. “Why is Zuffa putting together this fight?” most fans quipped, as if to doubt Franca’s expertise.
“This fight is a waste of time,” others belched. “Nobody cares about Uno vs. that guy from Florida.”
Well, I care, for one. This fight is full of intrigue and could possibly be the most important fight of Uno’s career. If Uno happens to lose Friday night, it certainly could spell doom for his UFC career. Uno, a former Shooto star who eventually transcended onto the UFC scene, has had a remarkable career thus far, scoring wins over such notable foes as Rumina Sato, Din Thomas (twice) Yves Edwards and Dennis Hallman. Uno’s charisma launched him into the forefront of the lightweight division and even after suffering heartbreaking losses to Penn in their first match and also to former lightweight king Jens Pulver, fans still clamored for more of the Japanese legend.
However, with rumors floating around that Zuffa may squash their lightweight division either temporarily or permanently, Uno has to prove he is the top dog and command fans’ attention and praise. His back is against the wall, so to speak, and a win at this juncture of his UFC career can be considered a do-or-die type of situation.
In the three biggest fights of his UFC career, Uno has lost twice and drew once. Most feel that draw should have been a loss, so he could/should be 0-3. A loss to the little-known Franca would be catastrophic, to say the least.
Think about it: After the Penn rematch, it was near impossible to find a fan of mixed martial arts who actually wanted to see a third Penn/Uno fight. There just wasn’t any excitement whatsoever. Here we have two of the world’s greatest lightweights in a possible historic third match and nobody seemed to notice.
To Zuffa’s credit, they became wise to the situation and pulled the plug, at least for now, on their third meeting. The only surefire way to attract fans to said matchup would be to have the tiny giants lay low for a while, pit them against credible but beatable opponents and slowly rekindle the fans’ interest. Zuffa has half of it completed thus far. Penn still awaits his next move.
Providing Uno gets past Franca, which many believe he will, he’ll still have to wait until Penn does something until they can meet again to decide who is to be UFC’s first lightweight champ since Pulver departed for greener, I guess, pastures.
If any of the fights on Friday’s UFC 44 card is the most important in terms of post-fight intangibles, this is it. Uno has to win and win dramatically. With Franca, though, it won’t be a pushover-type of a fight. Uno will have his hands tied for sure and he could easily lose this match, an outcome that would drastically change not only the livelihood of Uno himself, but also the scope of the entire lightweight division.
Look on the bright side, though; if Caol does lose, he’ll have plenty of spare time to play Uno.
Question: What do you get when you cross two top lightweights fighting for a vacant title and a draw?
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The last time we saw Caol Uno engaged in warfare, he fought a spirited and courageous technical war with now-rival BJ Penn. The two superstar lightweights fought until the searing end for the vacant lightweight crown in one of the chief bouts of UFC 41. For five grueling rounds, each man took as good he gave and even though the vast majority of viewers at home and spectators on hand felt Penn deserved the decision, the fight was insidiously ruled a draw.
Many questions arose that night for the fact that BJ was somehow shafted of a sure victory and Coal was given the gift of a draw. In the ensuing months, Zuffa had failed to materialize the somewhat-anticipated third bout between them (the first, of course, was when Uno was blasted out in 11 seconds). Not much trash talk erupted in the aftermath of the draw and neither has stepped inside the Octagon since.
Finally, one of the two combatants from that fateful night will be
competing again. Caol Uno will be facing the undefeated and gifted
Hermes Franca in a lightweight eliminator-type matchup. Zuffa
didn’t or couldn’t muster the power to allow Uno and Penn to mix it
up again, so they decided to pit Uno versus Franca.
To most, when the fight was announced, there was a collective groan. “Why is Zuffa putting together this fight?” most fans quipped, as if to doubt Franca’s expertise.
“This fight is a waste of time,” others belched. “Nobody cares about Uno vs. that guy from Florida.”
Well, I care, for one. This fight is full of intrigue and could possibly be the most important fight of Uno’s career. If Uno happens to lose Friday night, it certainly could spell doom for his UFC career. Uno, a former Shooto star who eventually transcended onto the UFC scene, has had a remarkable career thus far, scoring wins over such notable foes as Rumina Sato, Din Thomas (twice) Yves Edwards and Dennis Hallman. Uno’s charisma launched him into the forefront of the lightweight division and even after suffering heartbreaking losses to Penn in their first match and also to former lightweight king Jens Pulver, fans still clamored for more of the Japanese legend.
However, with rumors floating around that Zuffa may squash their lightweight division either temporarily or permanently, Uno has to prove he is the top dog and command fans’ attention and praise. His back is against the wall, so to speak, and a win at this juncture of his UFC career can be considered a do-or-die type of situation.
In the three biggest fights of his UFC career, Uno has lost twice and drew once. Most feel that draw should have been a loss, so he could/should be 0-3. A loss to the little-known Franca would be catastrophic, to say the least.
Think about it: After the Penn rematch, it was near impossible to find a fan of mixed martial arts who actually wanted to see a third Penn/Uno fight. There just wasn’t any excitement whatsoever. Here we have two of the world’s greatest lightweights in a possible historic third match and nobody seemed to notice.
To Zuffa’s credit, they became wise to the situation and pulled the plug, at least for now, on their third meeting. The only surefire way to attract fans to said matchup would be to have the tiny giants lay low for a while, pit them against credible but beatable opponents and slowly rekindle the fans’ interest. Zuffa has half of it completed thus far. Penn still awaits his next move.
Providing Uno gets past Franca, which many believe he will, he’ll still have to wait until Penn does something until they can meet again to decide who is to be UFC’s first lightweight champ since Pulver departed for greener, I guess, pastures.
If any of the fights on Friday’s UFC 44 card is the most important in terms of post-fight intangibles, this is it. Uno has to win and win dramatically. With Franca, though, it won’t be a pushover-type of a fight. Uno will have his hands tied for sure and he could easily lose this match, an outcome that would drastically change not only the livelihood of Uno himself, but also the scope of the entire lightweight division.
Look on the bright side, though; if Caol does lose, he’ll have plenty of spare time to play Uno.
