UFC 73 PBP / Results

[White Shogun]

Nog v Herring

Pretty good fight so far, surprisingly. Nog dominated round 1 as expected, then Herring landed a left high head kick and put Nog on the mat. Unbelievably, the ref allowed the fight to continue. Herring forced the ref to get Nog to his feet instead of jumping on him to finish him. I guess he wanted no part of Nog's ground game, no matter how groggy he might be. Anyway, Nog appeared to be out but recovered sufficiently to finish the round.

Round two found Nog dominating again, taking Herring down. But Herring was game and reversed a side mount to Nog's guard. Herring escaped and got the stand up again.

Round three, Herring is landing some leg kicks but Nog gets the takedown. He has Herring's back, secures a neck crank but Herring doesn't tap! He's out and has partial mount on Nogueria. Herring is putting on a great fight against a guy who has beat him twice already.

Wow, acrobatic reversal out of a keylock by Herring. Nog again on Herring's back. Wow, Herring out again! Back on their feet, 1:40 left.

Nog lands some blows, Herring has him against the fence. They're in the center of the ring, Herring throws a couple more head kicks but Nog blocks both. Herring looks gassed, :30 left.

Nog is still throwing some crisp punches. Herring lands another leg kick but that's it.

Nog will probably take the decision, but it was a much better fight than I expected.

Nog 29-28. Great fight!

 

[White Shogun]

Looks like the lightweight championship takes second billing to the Latino-'urban' matchup. Sherk v Franca is next.

 

[White Shogun]

Round 1 - Wow, close! Franca straight kick to the head, Sherk drives him to the cage, slams him to the mat and falls into a deep guillotine! Franca even had him in guard and wrapped tight - Sherk powered out.

Ground n' pound begins. Sherk has mount. He has Franca's head wrapped up with his right arm, moved for an arm triangle but Franca popped out. Sherk had him in a crucifix, but Franca got out. Franca has an arm bar but Sherk powers out. The pace is relentless. First three minutes of the round down.

Sherk in Franca's half guard. Franca trying to pop Sherk with light punches from the bottom, Sherk lands a couple punches to the side of Franca's head. Sherk has mount again. Wow, three punches and down. Looks like he is setting up an arm triangle again but he let it go. Sherk lands several short fast punches over and over. Sherk has Franca's back. He's too high. Franca bottoms out, Sherk stands up, Sherk back in the guard.

Geebus man. Wow. Action packed!! Hope Franca brought a lunch pail!!

 

[White Shogun]

Round 2 - Wow, Franca lands a knee! Sherk goes down! He's stunned! Franca jumps on him, Sherk is recovering and is now in Franca's guard! WOW! Sherk was almost out!!

Sherk in half-guard, he's lying on Franca, tries to secure mount Franca rolls him over and is now in Sherk's guard. Wow, Franca tries to jump and mount and Sherk kicks him completely off with both feet! Franca goes flying! Franca is in the turtle, Sherk is north-south, looking for position. Franca is turtling up trying to get the stand-up. He gives up the turtle, Sherk in half-guard - Franca eats an elbow. Sherk is in half-guard, takes side mount. Sherk landing quick hammer fists. Franca went for a triangle, no chance - Sherk again takes side mount. Sherk is setting up a crucifix, he lands a couple of punches but Franca gets out! He has Sherk in a quillotine! Looks loose, Sherk is in half guard, Sherk is just lying there. :10 left. Sherk just non-chalantly pulls out of the guillotine and takes side mount right at the bell.

Geebuz x 2 man. That knee was brutal. Amazing, amazing fight.

 

[White Shogun]

Round 3 - Sherk moves in, slams Franca to the ground, immediately takes side mount. Sherk landing some light punches, hammer fists, occasional elbows but nothing serious. Franca doesn't appear to be hurt. They move, grapple for position, Sherk has north-south but Franca is out. Sherk is in Franca's guard, moves to side mount. He's pinning Franca's arm with his knee, but Franca escapes. Action has slowed, typical UFC crowd boos. Franca is back in the turtle again, Sherk attempting to make something happen. I hope the judges take Franca's lack of activity into account.

Sherk has Franca's back. moves to north-south. He takes Franca's back again. They're both on their knees, Franca is turtling again. Franca got up and Sherk just attacked and took him down instantly. Back to half guard, immediately takes side mount. Sherk is going for keylock! Wow, it was cranked and Franca rolled out of it, his arm just slipped out. Sherk back to side control, lands a few punches.

Sherk is dominating this guy. Franca doesn't even want to get up. He sits on his knees for a few seconds before going to his stool.

 

[White Shogun]

I lost Internet connectivity, I had round four written and lost everything when I tried to submit it. Regardless, rounds 4 and 5 were the same - Franca landing a knee or two that Sherk brushed off, with Sherk completely dominating on the ground. It should be a unanimous decision for Sherk.

Scores 50-45, 50-45, 49-46, Sherk. The old boxing judge Cecil Peeples gave Franca the one round.

If you haven't seen Sherk in action, rest assured the words used to describe his relentless pace and cardio are not hyperbole. He went practically non-step for 25 minutes. There was no pause in the action for Franca, he was constantly having to defend himself and rarely had an opportunity to mount an attack.

Rashad v Tito up next. Edited by: White Shogun

 

[JD074]

Good job, Muscle Shark!!

 

[White Shogun]

Tito opens with a head kick, immediately drives Evans to the fence. Ttio secures the takedown. They grapple for position, Evans gets back to his feet. He goes after Tito with some punches but Tito takes him to the fence. Rashad's mouth piece comes out, he gets a breather to wash it off. The two take the center of the ring, bouncing around. Tito is landing some good leg kciks, Rashad lands a couple of punches that don't seem to phase Tito. Ortiz drives him to the fence, Rashad takes a hard knee to the gut, he actually grimaces. Tito repositions, drives Rashad to the fence, but Tito is cut.

Tito lands a knee, they exchange punches, Tito looked to get the worst. Tito trying to secure the takedown but the round ends.

Replays show Rashad thumbed Tito, that's what caused the cut. It's under Tito's right eye.

 

[White Shogun]

Tito is winning the stand up throughout the first half of round two. He is landing some crisp shots. Rashad has eaten a couple of hard knees, kinda shuffle stepped after one of Tito's punches. Rashad tried to shoot for a takedown, Tito stuffed him.

Rashad is waving his arms around, bobbing and weaving but doing nothing. He threw a wide overhand right and went for a takedown that Tito stuffed. Tito has him against the fence, secures a double leg and takes him down. Rashad ges back to his feet, manages to take Tito down. Big John takes a point from Tito for grabbing the fence. Tito has a quillotine! The round ends, Rashad is saved by the bell!

Should be a 9-9 round anyway. Edited by: White Shogun

 

[White Shogun]

Rashad is bouncing around, waving his arms, and Tito looks a little gassed. One minute in, nothing much is happening. Quick exchange, Tito throws a kick, takes Rashad down, they're against the fence. There is little happening, they're back to their feet. Tito drops to a knee and goes for a single-leg takedown. Rashad is defending it well. Tito is hanging on to the leg, Rashad landing some punches to Tito's torso. They're both standing chest to chest against the fence. Big John separates the two, they're in the middle of the round. Rashad lands a few punches, Tito looks gassed - then throws a head kick. 1:30 left.

Rashad has way more gas in the tank right now. It looks like it should be a draw, but we'll see.

All three judges score the fight 28-28, it's a draw.

Tito would have won the fight if he hadn't held the fence. Big John warned him a few times before taking the point.

Interesting that this fight received the most hype of all the fights on the card, and it was the worst of the three fights so far. They didn't even keep the pace set by the heavyweights, and Heath Herring showed more technique than either of these guys.

And both Tito and Rashad are screaming for a rematch. Puh-lease.

Edited by: White Shogun

 

[White Shogun]

I lost Internet service again, but there isn't much to report. Silva wins by TKO with :02 left in the round.

I am trying not to be biased. Honestly. But there was a questionable stand up when Marquardt was in Silva's guard. I predicted to the crowd of people watching the fight at my house that they were going to stand them up early - and they did.

Silva dominated the stand up, landed some crisp, sharp punches that appeared to stun Marquardt. But Nate still managed to secure a takedown, work for position - only to be stood up. Big John was constantly telling Marquardt to improve his position.

The stoppage came with Nate on his back trying to pull guard, with Silva leaning over and punching him. Silva rocked Nate with a hard shot, Nate curled up and Big John stopped the fight.

Considering the number of times that Franca was in the turtle, and how badly Nog was hurt, it was a questionable stoppage in my opinion. But I believe that Silva would have gone on to win the fight, nevertheless.

 

[White Shogun]

The Florian - Robinson fight is pretty interesting, although there has already been a questionable stand up in this fight, too, particularly considering how adept Florian is with his BJJ. Florian was on Robinson and almost immediately they stood them up.

Florian has thrown Robinson a few times, while Robinson rocked Florian with an uppercut. Florian finally got mount and rained punches down on Robinson's head. Robinson had no answer, but he actually had to tap out before the ref would stop the fight.

Replay shows Florian actually hit Robinson a few times in the back of the head during the ground n' pound. I don't know what to think about these last two fights. A second replay showed some of Florian's blows actually hit the back of the neck, dangerous stunning blows. They're prohibited for a reason.

Florian telling the crowd that he 'finishes fights,' taking a stab at Sherk. Well, you know what Kenny? Last time I saw you fight Sherk, you didn't finish sh*t. You ought to just shut the hell up.

 

[Poacher]

Yes that was a questionable stand up by big John. Nate was working just fine. Thought he was doing alright.

Rashad was not impressive at all. What was with all of the bouncing around and hand waving, give it a rest. And what was up with Tito's fabled conditioning? He was gassed in the third.

Herring should have won the fight with Nog. Why on earth Herring chose to make Nog stand instead of just pound out the win I don't know. How nuch did Dana give him to pull that?

Sherk = BEAST! God almighty. Hermes never had time to breathe. Sherk just never let up. And how about Sherk's chin. That knee he took in the second round would have finished anyone else but he just kept coming. HA HA, feed big mouth Mayweather to Sherk.

All in all a decent night of fights.

 

[jared]

Very accurate synopsis of the evening's action. Tito-Rashad was a snoozefest. Once again the crowd's uncalled for booing got on my nerves, particularly during the Sherk-Franca fight. Sherk is simply in a whole 'nother class strengh-wise. Nog and Herring was surprisingly competitive. Marquardt didn't look very impressive to me.Edited by: jared

 

[dkr77]

Sherk was very impressive, as was Florian. Robinson appeared to me to be much bigger than Florian but apparently the size difference didn't matter. I simply don't like Rashad Evans, his standup skills involved nothing more than moving his hands up and down, his submission skill stunk and all he did was defend the takedown and try and outlast Ortiz, who wasn't impressive either. Herring / Noguiera turned out to be very entertaining and Marquart was a huge disappointment.

 

[Poacher]

Well now it looks like Dana is trotting out BJ Penn for Sherk in November. Man do I get tired of everyone blathering on about Penn. Penn this, Penn that, "if BJ had been in shape," etc, etc.... His fans have more excuses than Bill Clinton. BJ is a great fighter but many MMA fans have grossly exaggerated his abilities.

As far as Dana White is concerned; can't you let Sherk enjoy this victory for a few days before you throw Penn at him? I mean this was announced after the friggin' fight for God sakes.

 

[DixieDestroyer]

Sherk is a superstar physical specimen. I hope he takes BJ out as well. Sean put on a wrestling/BJJ/cardio clinic last night.

If Herring would have immediately jumped on Nog and rained down elbows, I think he definitely would have gotten the TKO. Herring showed alotta grit.

Marquardt did get short-changed indeed. I think Franklin will give Silva a good rematch. Either way, I think Dan Henderson will/would whoop Anderson's @$$!

 

[dkr77]

I think Matt Lindland would also give Silva major problems. I wouldn't mind watching Horn fight the Spider again either.

 

[White Shogun]

I think it's ironic that a guy who is known for gassing is up next for the Perpetual Motion Machine that is Sean Sherk. I don't see a fight against Penn turning out any differently than his fight against Florian or Franca.

I'm tired of hearing about how great BJ Penn is, too, but I'm even more tired of people complaining that Sherk is a boring fighter. If Dana thinks Sherk is costing the UFC PPV dollars, he will keep throwing fights at Sherk til he loses, without a breather.

I think Dana has taken a liking to Anderson Silva. He is an exciting fighter to watch, and now with the UFC's 'urban' outreach program, the fact he doesn't speak English isn't as much of an issue as it might have been. But the truth is there isn't really anybody at middleweight who can threaten Silva right now. I believe Franklin will get beaten down again, the same with Okami, Swick, etc. They will have to bring in some more imports from Pride if they want a more evenly matched opponent for Silva.

 

[aussieaussie31]

I must admit that BJ Penn is a very good fighter. However Sean "the muscle" Sherk is simply an animal. His stregnth and conditioning are superhuman. Did anyone see the knee that Sean Sherk was caught flush with? That knee was bone crushing and yet within a split second Sean Sherk recovered and was completely aware of what was going on. That is actually what impressed me the most about Sean Sherk. I knew he would be ridiculously strong at lightweight considering he was able to hold his own for the most part with both Matt Hughes, as well as George St. Pierre. (Both of whom are just bigger men naturally). I knew his stamina was second to none as well from the high output of his previous fights. Now,I see that his chin is made out of Granite. I don't care who hits you, to shoot in on a guy and get caught (while coming in and essentially walking into it) flush on the jaw with a knee and then recover like nothing even happened. That is just simply bad-ass. You can't learn that in the gym, you can't practice that while sparring. The bringing back of the lightweight division was the best thing that the UFC could have done. Sean Sherk is a perfect example of a world class athlete who was in a League that did not showcase his weightclass. He was forced to fight other world class athletes such as Matt Hughes, and George St. Pierre who like I stated before were just simply too big. I think we are gonna see Sean Sherk around until HE decides he is bored with the UFC.

 

[guest301]

Great job Shogun. You are so good at this play by play description of these fights. The writers on the UFC website HONESTLY could learn a lesson from you.

Edited by: guest301

 

[White Shogun]

Aw, stop it, you're making me blush!

Thanks, 301!

 

[Guest]

UFC 73 was really pretty bad as far as production goes. I'm getting tired of UFC production and especially UFC greed. I know they want to make money while the sport is hot, and I know they lost millions for a few years while building the sport and they deserve to make a return on their investment, but they are going overboard now. They are killing the US MMA market, a market they created, in almost exactly the same way Atari went overboard in 1983 and killed the US video game market that they created.

The commercialism, minor league production, minor league sponsors, and poor announcing are starting to grate on me. The shows should be significantly better at this point, but they're still stuck in 2002. The desire to squeeze out every last advertising dollar and to show as few fights as possible are seriously frustrating. I'm glad the HBO deal fell apart because I would rather HBO have nothing to do with MMA, but HBO production would have been so much better it's not even funny.

There's only so much even the new fans can take, and once the novelty wears off, they might realize UFC is flooding the market with bad shows, trying to make as much money as possible while interest is high. High volume, low quality control seems to be the plan now.

I don't like most of the new rules, I don't like having this many weight classes, but I'll gladly take them if UFC can produce fewer shows with higher quality. UFC 72 should never have even happened.

 

[Colonel Callan]

Wish I'd have posted earlier. Yeah nevada, the UFC needs to slow down
and work on presentation/production. But the average fan isn't too
aware of this, yet. If Showtime, the IFL and Bodog make improvements
and inroads the UFC could find itself having problems real quick.
Sherk is awesome but needs to work a bit on covering up from strikes.
Instead of trying to block the knees, he turned his head sideways almost
every time and let his jaw take the full brunt. The other time he took it
full in the face. Other fighters will take note of this. The flip side is that
he does have a great chin (he was actually out for a fraction of a sec, I
thought) and incredible conditioning. His conditioning helped him recover
from the kicks and dominate the Hell out of Franca. Franca was stunned
by the strength and endurance.

Silva is good but I think a top flight grappler will take him out. From a
boxing stand point, he's wide open for uppercuts from someone who
really knows how to get in their and throw them. I don't think he's
anywhere near as awesome as the 'promotion' indicates, but I don't think
the UFC will be in a hurry to bring in guys who might actually threaten to
knock his head into the third row either. Rich might indeed take him out
as he's a smart fighter who learns and adapts well. I have no doubt he'd
ruin Silva's evening in a ground and pound match. However, if Rich hasn't
learned how to handle knees/how to fight in the clinch, he'll get drilled
again.

Tito was disappointing in one way, not so in another. He exposed Rashad
Evans as the fraud he is. In fact Evans should be called out for
deliberately trying to jam a pointed thumbnail into Tito's eye. Typical
crap from a frustrated '*****. Tito has been on a downward slide (he
refuses to do enough cardio) but for two of the three rounds he easily
showed Evans is nothing, absolutely nothing, but hype. Part of the "urban
outreach" program mentioned earlier.

Gee, why wasn't there major coverage on ESPN over this? In LA, the local
CBS affiliate couldn't stop running highlights of Rampage whipping Lidell.
They even invited him to visit with the local, friendly, negro sports
anchor.