Tag: classic fight

Classic Fight Videos: Donald Cerrone’s Comeback KO of Melvin Guillard, Hunt and Bigfoot’s ‘Draw of the Century’ + More

(Props: YouTube.com/UFC)

With some of the promotion’s most crowd-pleasing stars returning to action in the near future, the UFC has released a bunch of classic fights to hype up their appearances.

First up: Donald Cerrone‘s comeback knockout of Melvin Guillard at UFC 150 in August 2012, in which Cowboy gets battered around the cage for a minute before stunning Guillard with a head-kick and finishing the job with a right cross. The 76-second performance earned Cerrone an extra $120,000 in Fight of the Night/Knockout of the Night bonuses. He returns to the cage this Wednesday against Jim Miller at UFC Fight Night 45 in Atlantic City. Set your DVRs, folks.

Next we have the insane five-round battle between Mark Hunt and Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva from their December meeting in Brisbane, Australia — arguably the greatest heavyweight UFC fight of all time, despite the unfortunate testosterone suspension that came afterwards. If you’ve got a half-hour free this morning, give it a look. Bigfoot returns from his suspension on September 13th against Andrei Arlovski at UFC Fight Night 51 in Brazil, and Mark Hunt faces Roy Nelson a week later at UFC Fight Night 52 in Japan.

A couple more gems await you after the jump…


(Props: YouTube.com/UFC)

With some of the promotion’s most crowd-pleasing stars returning to action in the near future, the UFC has released a bunch of classic fights to hype up their appearances.

First up: Donald Cerrone‘s comeback knockout of Melvin Guillard at UFC 150 in August 2012, in which Cowboy gets battered around the cage for a minute before stunning Guillard with a head-kick and finishing the job with a right cross. The 76-second performance earned Cerrone an extra $120,000 in Fight of the Night/Knockout of the Night bonuses. He returns to the cage this Wednesday against Jim Miller at UFC Fight Night 45 in Atlantic City. Set your DVRs, folks.

Next we have the insane five-round battle between Mark Hunt and Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva from their December meeting in Brisbane, Australia — arguably the greatest heavyweight UFC fight of all time, despite the unfortunate testosterone suspension that came afterwards. If you’ve got a half-hour free this morning, give it a look. Bigfoot returns from his suspension on September 13th against Andrei Arlovski at UFC Fight Night 51 in Brazil, and Mark Hunt faces Roy Nelson a week later at UFC Fight Night 52 in Japan.

A couple more gems await you after the jump…

In honor of Conor McGregor‘s long-awaited return to the Octagon this Saturday in Dublin against Diego Brandao, here’s his UFC debut last April, in which he smoked Marcus Brimage in just over a minute.

And finally, Michelle “The Karate Hottie” Waterson‘s Fight of the Night war against Lacey Schuckman at Invicta FC 3 in October 2012, which the UFC has posted to hype up its new partnership with the all-female MMA league. Now Invicta FC’s atomweight champion, Waterson returns at Invicta FC 8 on September 6th, where she’ll take on Yasuko Tamada.

There. That’ll keep you busy for a while.

Classic Fight: Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson Put On a Fight of the Year at UFC 165

Ahead of what could very well be his seventh title defense against Glover Teixeira at UFC 172 this weekend, we still can’t seem to stop talking about Jon Jones‘ sixth title defense against Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 165. It’s not without merit; the fight was an all-out war that earned Fight of the Year honors in 2013 and is sure to be listed among the greatest light heavyweight fights (not to mention title fights) of all time when the robots inevitably enslave humanity. While Jones’ grittiness and determination lead him to victory that night in September, it was Gustafsson’s dynamic performance that surprised and captivated most of us, especially considering how we had all but written him off in the weeks prior.

The fight remains the toughest test of Jones’ almost untouchable MMA career, and now, a Rocky montage-version of the fight has been made available on the UFC’s Youtube channel. Not only that, the promotion has introduced the fight as part of its Flashback! series, which includes “never-before-seen footage from state-of-the-art, specialty cameras, and exclusive new sound captured from all corners.”

Relive the epic fight above, then let us know how much you enjoyed watching “The Mauler” put them hot hands all over Jones’ forehead in the comments section.

–J. Jones

Ahead of what could very well be his seventh title defense against Glover Teixeira at UFC 172 this weekend, we still can’t seem to stop talking about Jon Jones‘ sixth title defense against Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 165. It’s not without merit; the fight was an all-out war that earned Fight of the Year honors in 2013 and is sure to be listed among the greatest light heavyweight fights (not to mention title fights) of all time when the robots inevitably enslave humanity. While Jones’ grittiness and determination lead him to victory that night in September, it was Gustafsson’s dynamic performance that surprised and captivated most of us, especially considering how we had all but written him off in the weeks prior.

The fight remains the toughest test of Jones’ almost untouchable MMA career, and now, a Rocky montage-version of the fight has been made available on the UFC’s Youtube channel. Not only that, the promotion has introduced the fight as part of its Flashback! series, which includes “never-before-seen footage from state-of-the-art, specialty cameras, and exclusive new sound captured from all corners.”

Relive the epic fight above, then let us know how much you enjoyed watching “The Mauler” put them hot hands all over Jones’ forehead in the comments section.

–J. Jones

Classic Fight: Dan Henderson vs. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 139 [VIDEO]


(Video is after the jump.)

This Sunday at UFC Fight Night 38 in Brazil, Dan Henderson and Mauricio Rua will meet in a rematch of one of the greatest fights in UFC history. Their first bout went down back in November 2011 at UFC 139, and featured five rounds of mutual abuse that was more like a two-man demolition derby than a professional MMA fight. In the end, Hendo earned a unanimous decision with 48-47 scores from all three judges — although it would have been a different story if the fight was scored under Stockton Rules.

It might be overly optimistic to think that these two living legends could produce a sequel that rivals their first meeting, especially when you consider that Hendo is now 43 years old, has gone winless since the first Shogun fight, and may already be considering the end of his career. The only thing Sunday’s fight will determine is which guy gets to keep plugging away a little longer. To call it “the most anticipated rematch in UFC history” is laughably inaccurate.

Still, if you’ve been a fan of Henderson and Shogun’s long, decorated careers — and if you consider yourself an MMA fan, it’s pretty likely that you idolized at least one of these guys at some point — it’s not a bad free fight for a Sunday evening. Check out their epic first match below and shoot us your predictions for Shogun vs. Henderson 2 in the comments section.


(Video is after the jump.)

This Sunday at UFC Fight Night 38 in Brazil, Dan Henderson and Mauricio Rua will meet in a rematch of one of the greatest fights in UFC history. Their first bout went down back in November 2011 at UFC 139, and featured five rounds of mutual abuse that was more like a two-man demolition derby than a professional MMA fight. In the end, Hendo earned a unanimous decision with 48-47 scores from all three judges — although it would have been a different story if the fight was scored under Stockton Rules.

It might be overly optimistic to think that these two living legends could produce a sequel that rivals their first meeting, especially when you consider that Hendo is now 43 years old, has gone winless since the first Shogun fight, and may already be considering the end of his career. The only thing Sunday’s fight will determine is which guy gets to keep plugging away a little longer. To call it “the most anticipated rematch in UFC history” is laughably inaccurate.

Still, if you’ve been a fan of Henderson and Shogun’s long, decorated careers — and if you consider yourself an MMA fan, it’s pretty likely that you idolized at least one of these guys at some point — it’s not a bad free fight for a Sunday evening. Check out their epic first match below and shoot us your predictions for Shogun vs. Henderson 2 in the comments section.


(Henderson vs. Shogun full fight video. Props: UFC.com via MMAWeekly)

Classic UFC Fight: Cain Velasquez Beats Bejesus Out of Brock Lesnar, Wins Heavyweight Title

(Fight starts at the 3:03 mark. Props: YouTube.com/UFC)

With UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez set to make his Octagon return next month at UFC 166, the UFC has released the video of his first-ever title fight, which took place at UFC 121 on October 23rd, 2010. His opponent that night was Brock Lesnar, the reigning champ who had proven his toughness the previous July with a classic comeback win against Shane Carwin. Lesnar was gigantic, athletic, and had legit talent as a wrestler. To stand a chance at winning, Velasquez would need to be faster, more efficient with his striking, and more willing to take abuse before giving it back. And that’s exactly what happened.

After some rather hoarse-voiced introductions from The Buff, Lesnar bull-rushes the smaller challenger right away, hoping to establish himself as alpha-male. And it actually works, at first. Brock stuffs some knees into Velasquez’s midsection (including a flying knee), and Cain has to retreat momentarily. He storms back with some punches but Lesnar responds by nailing a takedown and landing on top — a position that had spelled doom for the majority of his past opponents. But Cain gets to his feet immediately.

Brock struggles to put Velasquez’s back on the mat once again, and momentarily succeeds, but Velasquez is up even quicker the second time, and deftly escapes Lesnar’s grasp. It’s here that the momentum shifts. Velasquez begins popping Lesnar with punches, showing off his significant advantage in striking technique, before single-legging Lesnar to the mat and firing down some punches from above as Lesnar is turtled. Eventually he escapes to his feet, but he looks much worse for the wear, hunched over, dazed, swatting at Velasquez in panic.


(Fight starts at the 3:03 mark. Props: YouTube.com/UFC)

With UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez set to make his Octagon return next month at UFC 166, the UFC has released the video of his first-ever title fight, which took place at UFC 121 on October 23rd, 2010. His opponent that night was Brock Lesnar, the reigning champ who had proven his toughness the previous July with a classic comeback win against Shane Carwin. Lesnar was gigantic, athletic, and had legit talent as a wrestler. To stand a chance at winning, Velasquez would need to be faster, more efficient with his striking, and more willing to take abuse before giving it back. And that’s exactly what happened.

After some rather hoarse-voiced introductions from The Buff, Lesnar bull-rushes the smaller challenger right away, hoping to establish himself as alpha-male. And it actually works, at first. Brock stuffs some knees into Velasquez’s midsection (including a flying knee), and Cain has to retreat momentarily. He storms back with some punches but Lesnar responds by nailing a takedown and landing on top — a position that had spelled doom for the majority of his past opponents. But Cain gets to his feet immediately.

Brock struggles to put Velasquez’s back on the mat once again, and momentarily succeeds, but Velasquez is up even quicker the second time, and deftly escapes Lesnar’s grasp. It’s here that the momentum shifts. Velasquez begins popping Lesnar with punches, showing off his significant advantage in striking technique, before single-legging Lesnar to the mat and firing down some punches from above as Lesnar is turtled. Eventually he escapes to his feet, but he looks much worse for the wear, hunched over, dazed, swatting at Velasquez in panic.

Lesnar stumbles across the cage after botching a takedown attempt, and Velasquez moves in for the kill, landing a vicious knee to the body, and following Lesnar down to the mat with punches and elbows. The fight is close to being stopped right then, but Lesnar stays active in defending himself against the onslaught, and manages to make it to his feet for two or three seconds, before Velasquez scores another knockdown and swarms him for the TKO finish.

“Complete, total domination!” Joe Rogan says. “That was a matter of technique vs. horsepower, and technique just won in a big way.”

Since that night, Velasquez lost his title to Junior Dos Santos, beat up Antonio Silva, won his belt back from Junior Dos Santos, beat up Antonio Silva again, and will be fighting Junior Dos Santos for the third time next month just for the hell of it. Hopefully Velasquez vs. Dos Santos 3 will put their rivalry to bed — at least temporarily — and Velasquez can throw down against some new opponents next year.

Classic Fight: Frank Mir vs. Brock Lesnar at UFC 81 [VIDEO]

(Match starts at the 10:48 mark. Props: YouTube.com/UFC)

To hype up Frank Mir‘s return to the Octagon at UFC 164 this coming Saturday, the UFC has released one of Frank’s career highlights — his first-round submission victory against pro-wrestling star Brock Lesnar at UFC 81, back in February 2008. Lesnar had first dipped his toes into the MMA pool the previous June, when he swallowed up Min Soo Kim at Dynamite!! USA in Los Angeles. That was enough to earn him an invitation to the UFC, but his debut fight would not be an easy one.

Lesnar wasted absolutely no time in dumping Mir on his back and firing some nasty shots from above. Then, referee Steve Mazzagatti makes a rather controversial choice, halting the action after Lesnar lands some punches to the back of Mir’s head. Theoretically, it’s the right call to make; Lesnar clearly lands at least four rabbit-punches at the video’s 11:08-11:12 mark. But how many times have you actually seen a UFC referee enforce that rule so quickly, without previous warnings? The Mazz deducts a point from Lesnar and re-starts the action with the fighters in a standing position. It’s a lucky break for Mir, who gets a moment to clear the cobwebs.


(Match starts at the 10:48 mark. Props: YouTube.com/UFC)

To hype up Frank Mir‘s return to the Octagon at UFC 164 this coming Saturday, the UFC has released one of Frank’s career highlights — his first-round submission victory against pro-wrestling star Brock Lesnar at UFC 81, back in February 2008. Lesnar had first dipped his toes into the MMA pool the previous June, when he swallowed up Min Soo Kim at Dynamite!! USA in Los Angeles. That was enough to earn him an invitation to the UFC, but his debut fight would not be an easy one.

Lesnar wasted absolutely no time in dumping Mir on his back and firing some nasty shots from above. Then, referee Steve Mazzagatti makes a rather controversial choice, halting the action after Lesnar lands some punches to the back of Mir’s head. Theoretically, it’s the right call to make; Lesnar clearly lands at least four rabbit-punches at the video’s 11:08-11:12 mark. But how many times have you actually seen a UFC referee enforce that rule so quickly, without previous warnings? The Mazz deducts a point from Lesnar and re-starts the action with the fighters in a standing position. It’s a lucky break for Mir, who gets a moment to clear the cobwebs.

That is, until Lesnar punches Mir to the mat — or did Mir fall down on purpose, to bait him? — and gets back on top. As Brock fires down punches, Mir establishes guard, then wraps up Lesnar’s leg when Lesnar makes the mistake of standing up. Mir grabs a kneebar, and Brock taps.

For those MMA fans who felt that a pro-wrestler could never be competitive in “real fighting,” it was a satisfying moment to see the big man toppled. But Lesnar was far from finished: He dominated Heath Herring in his next UFC fight, TKO’d Randy Couture to become the UFC heavyweight champion (!), wrecked Frank Mir in a rematch at UFC 100 that took in 1.6 million pay-per-view buys, and defended his belt for the second time in a classic comeback-fight against Shane Carwin at UFC 116.

Eventually, diverticulitis and an inability to hang with dangerous strikers sent Brock packing back to the WWE. But from 2008-2010, Lesnar really was the “Next Big Thing” in MMA, and Frank Mir deserves much of the credit for putting him over.

Classic Fight: Big Nog Submits (Go Figure) Some Poor Bastard in His Second Professional Fight

(Fight starts at the 1:27 mark. Major props to MMAFighting for the find.) 

And now, it’s time for your daily dose of “Minotauro.”

With Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira set to face off against opposing TUF: Brazil 2 coach Fabricio Werdum (how neither of them went down with an injury over the course of the season is simply remarkable) in a rematch of their 2006 Pride: Critical Countdown Absolute showdown this weekend, the classic Big Nog footage continues to roll out.

Today’s history lesson comes courtesy of the official Team Nogueira Youtube page and depicts Nogueira’s second professional fight, which took place all the way back in October of 1999. He was a younger Minotauro, a faster Minotauro, a Minotauro who had no idea of the horrors that awaited him in his life’s pursuit. Despite holding a 13 pound weight advantage (or as Tim Sylvia would call it “no weight advantage”), Nog’s opponent, Nate Schroeder, similarly had no idea that he would be stepping into the cage against a future legend of the sport and human boa constrictor. The result was as you’d expect: Nogueira by armbar in under two minutes. Sorry, I forgot to mention the obligatory **SPOILER ALERT**.

Nogueira would win his next four fights (before bumping into Dan Henderson at the 1999 King of Kings Tournament Semifinal), eventually sign with Pride, and yadda yadda yadda LEGEND. To his credit, Schroeder would go on to compile an 11-10 record in MMA, including a notable victory over Paul Buentello and a lone UFC appearance at UFC 26: Ultimate Field of Dreams. He would end up tapping to the strikes of Ian Freeman in the second round of said octagon appearance, but hey, what the hell have any of YOU done with YOUR lives?

–J. Jones


(Fight starts at the 1:27 mark. Major props to MMAFighting for the find.) 

And now, it’s time for your daily dose of “Minotauro.”

With Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira set to face off against opposing TUF: Brazil 2 coach Fabricio Werdum (how neither of them went down with an injury over the course of the season is simply remarkable) in a rematch of their 2006 Pride: Critical Countdown Absolute showdown this weekend, the classic Big Nog footage continues to roll out.

Today’s history lesson comes courtesy of the official Team Nogueira Youtube page and depicts Nogueira’s second professional fight, which took place all the way back in October of 1999. He was a younger Minotauro, a faster Minotauro, a Minotauro who had no idea of the horrors that awaited him in his life’s pursuit. Despite holding a 13 pound weight advantage (or as Tim Sylvia would call it “no weight advantage”), Nog’s opponent, Nate Schroeder, similarly had no idea that he would be stepping into the cage against a future legend of the sport and human boa constrictor. The result was as you’d expect: Nogueira by armbar in under two minutes. Sorry, I forgot to mention the obligatory **SPOILER ALERT**.

Nogueira would win his next four fights (before bumping into Dan Henderson at the 1999 King of Kings Tournament Semifinal), eventually sign with Pride, and yadda yadda yadda LEGEND. To his credit, Schroeder would go on to compile an 11-10 record in MMA, including a notable victory over Paul Buentello and a lone UFC appearance at UFC 26: Ultimate Field of Dreams. He would end up tapping to the strikes of Ian Freeman in the second round of said octagon appearance, but hey, what the hell have any of YOU done with YOUR lives?

–J. Jones