Man, what a night of fights. I was over at Hooters of York with ace videographer/editor/producer Tom Joyce and had a great time. The place was packed, people were stoked for the event and rockin' their favorite fightwear T-shirts, and the Hooter girls were lookin' good.
Tom and I interviewed BJJ black belt Daniel Beleza, who trains and teaches at MACE in Red Lion. Daniel's a great guy and a very accomplished BJJ fighter. I think it's amazing that a guy of his caliber is here in little ol' York County, so take advantage.
On to the fights: I respect Chieck Kongo for his fighting skills; his ball-kneeing skills, not at all. Kongo developed a reputation for repeated pill-shots in his fight against Cro Cop several events ago. Last night he took on Cage Rage veteran Mustapha Al-Turk and true to form, got several warnings from the ref about his low knees.
Al-Turk returned a knee that was low, maybe as if to say, (don't f--- with me, Kongo, I know your game), and Kongo got a taste of his own medicine. Kongo took the five minutes to recover, came back, and delivered a low knee on Al-Turk. Al-Turk took a few minutes to get straight, but then lost to Kongo by TKO.
Bottom line, we need to stop all the nut-shots. It hurts like hell, and I don't think the ladies will like it either, as I'm sure it damages performance in another arena, if you know what I mean. As for Kongo, somebody needs to take him off his feet, as Herring did, and put his questionable ground skills to the test.
-- What a shocker in the Mir-Nogueira fight. Mir's striking and cardio were vastly improved. He knocked Nogueira down repeatedly, but was careful to avoid any submissions, possibly thinking that his BJJ, although very good, might not be quite up to par with Big Nog's.
In the end, Mir finished Big Nog with strikes on the ground. It was the first time Big Nog had ever been finished, either by KO, TKO, or submission. His two losses to the great Fedor Emelianenko were both decisions.
-- Wanderlei Silva had a great start in his fight against longtime nemesis Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. Silva used leg kicks, as Forrest Griffin did in his win over Jackson, and even delivered a hard knee. But in one wild exchange, Jackson hit Silva with a left hook right on the chin and Silva was out before he hit the mat. Jackson followed up with several more unnecessary strikes to an unconscious Silva.
Ok, so it looks like Jackson's back on track, but will probably have to have at least one more fight before he gets another title shot. Don't know where this leaves Silva, as he's been knocked several times in his last few fights. People will undoutedly say he's too small and should move down to middleweight, but I see the UFC trying him out in some type of gatekeeper role, maybe putting him up against someone like Matt Hamill, or someone on that level. If he can string together several wins, he might be able to get back in contention. Or maybe it's time to start looking at Japan. Who knows, I just hope this isn't the end of his career, although he does have his long-term health to be concerned with.
-- In the Griffin-Evans fight, Forrest started great, using high kicks, jabs and inside-outside low kicks. I thought his plan - if I have it right - was good: keep chopping away at Rashad's legs, get that spring out of his step, in an effort to slow him down, wear him out. The problem was that the fight went to the ground and Forrest couldn't work a submission from the back, and Evans finished him with strikes from the guard, just as Keith Jardine - coincidentally, Rashad's teammate - did in his fight with Forrest.
A great night of fights, and what a great way to say good-bye to 2008 and ring in the new year. It was definitely a night of stunning, shocking fights - and that's why I love this sport so much. So here's to 2009, may it be as shocking and stunning as 2008.
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