Joint Contrast

By – Dank Lucas

Fuckerys, disappointments, and goddamn cameramen in my way, were all prevalent at my first live Ultimate Fighting Championship event. But the overall theme of the night was everybody’s favorite two letter acronym – the KO. Seven of the 10 fights ended in either KO or TKO fashion, most notably the hometown boy, Matt “The Hammer” Hamill, putting a vicious head kick KO of overmatched Vallejo, CA native Mark Munoz.

Hamill entered the arena to an eruption of cheers and support while sporting Buckeye scarlet and gray. He proceeded to put on a striking clinic for the crowd. At the 3:53 mark in round 1 Hamill let loose a head kick destined for the highlight reels, knocking Munoz completely unconscious. After hearing another of Hamill’s spirited post fight interviews I realized that Munoz still had not recovered as he lay there, feet stiff on the mat. As the medics entered the octagon with a stretcher, there was that recurring thought again in my head, “dammit, he ruined the sport.” As Americans, we are accustomed to seeing medics and stretchers at our sporting events but believe that with the sport of MMA in its infancy, when the inevitable worst-case scenario happens, there will be a gang of “I told you so’s” along with broke boxing promoters lined up around the block to dismiss some of the best athletes in the world as barbarians. Thankfully, after a long pause Munoz managed to leave the arena on his own two feet and I even saw him signing autographs and taking pictures on his way out.

This brings me to the only thing I dislike about MMA, its casual fan base. Now I dig that you spent your hard-earned duckets on good seats just like me (well not really, I’d like to thank all the participants in my fantasy football league for buying my tickets after my miraculous championship season!…bows to the crowd) but is it really necessary to boo after every five-to-10 second lapse without action as the athletes feel each other out and regain their wits? These guys (and women, just not in the UFC) are putting their bodies on the line, participating in a brutal chess game as excruciating mentally as it is physically and you “BOO” them? Imagine booing Peyton Manning every time he changes a play at the line of scrimmage because he’s slowing down the action or jeering Muhammad Ali for his patented rope-a-dope routine. All I’m saying is unless you are willing to put in the type of lifetime dedication these athletes are then show some respect for the sport and lets not de-evolve to Spartans or blood-thirsty Romans. 

The entire event was an exciting spectacle to behold for any sports fan though, and I had a hell of a time. The biggest disappointment of the night, and for a lot of those in attendance, considering the massive amount of cheers he received during his introduction, was my hometown representative (even though they introduced him as hailing from Cuyahoga Falls and not Orrville!)… was Ryan Madigan’s first-round TKO loss to the undoubtedly skilled Tamdan “The Barncat” McCrory. McCrory obviously wanted no part of Madigan’s striking game and immediately shot for a leg, got the takedown, and put Ryan on his back where he just wasn’t able to escape from the smothering ground game of “The Barncat”. While on his back, Madigan showed glimpses of the Jui Jitzu skills that won him his last two fights while looking for a possible triangle choke or maybe an armbar from high guard, but it wasn’t enough to stop a fighter with the ground experience of McCrory. I’m not sure whether Madigan tapped out from the strikes he was enduring while fully mounted by McCrory or the referee stopped the fight, but either way, he has his first loss in the sport. With three fights left on his contract and with the powerhouse promotion hr receives, lets hope Ryan gets a chance to show off some of the exciting kickboxing that got him there. It’s obviously well respected by the other fighters. 

I mentioned referee fuckerys and there were a couple big ones. The opening fight of the night, Aaron Riley vs. Shane Nelson, was stopped for very little reason by the referee. It was so early that the crowd let him know it with classic chants of “bullshit”. Riley and Nelson were upset about the quick stoppage and both seemed to agree a rematch is inevitable. To me, an early stoppage is one thing, because there can always be a rematch, but when the fight is allowed to go on too long, things can turn for the worst fast. As was the case in Matt Browns TKO victory over Pete Sell. The referee seemed oblivious to the shape of Sell after Brown looked his best yet inside the octagon he absolutely dominated Sell from the bell on. After the referee literally stopped the fight at the appropriate time, then changed his mind, (something mind bogglingly inappropriate), Brown resumed punishing Sell while motioning to the ref that Sell was hurt. It got so bad that Brown had to literally push Sell over and throw his arms up at the ref like “seriously the guys done!” A feather in the cap of Brown is due for his sportsmanship, actually apologizing to Sell after the fight for the late stoppage.

The night ended with the main event where Quentin “Rampage” Jackson defeated Keith “The Dean of Mean” Jardine in a decision victory which garnered the UFC’s patented  “fight of the night” honor. Both fighters let it all hang out in a three round brawl scored close on two of the three judges scorecards (the third had Rampage 30-27, a score I agreed with myself.) The fight was everything it was billed to be and had me on the edge of my seat, knowing that with any one punch either fighter could turn the lights out. The victory earned Rampage Jackson a shot at regaining the Light Heavyweight title he lost in 2008. Current champ “Sugar” Rashad Evans entered the ring for a stare down with Jackson that produced a lot of trash talking from both sides, as well as anticipation for their fight. As far as what was said, well, peep the clip below, I’ll let you hear it for yourself.

You better believe I’ll be watching.