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UFC 70: Nations Collide - Mallory's Ongoing Coverage of Tonight's Free-Per-View

By Mallory Mahling
Apr 22, 2007, 00:09


...

Welcome to tonight's ongoing coverage of "UFC 70: Nations Collide" from the M.E.N. Arena in Manchester, England, which is airing on Spike TV. You may need to hit "refresh" from time to time for the most recent update.

Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan welcomed viewers to the sold-out venue. Rogan mentioned the enthusiasm of the MMA fans in the U.K. They also talked about not underestimating the underdog. Joe Lauzon and Matt Serra had shown that anything can happen in the Octagon.

(1) Assuerio Silva vs. Cheick Kongo. This was a heavyweight bout, and the referee was Mario Yamasaki. Kongo ignored Silva as he walked around the ring prior to the fight and they'd been in each other's faces at the weigh-in, we were told. Nothing like a good feud to make things interesting. Kongo is 6'4" and has a five-inch reach advantage. Silva, who is only 5'10", took the fight to the ground in about a minute and a half and had the advantage once it went to the mat. Back up on their feet, then down again and Silva had side control. By the end of round one, Kongo had taken control.

Round two began and Kongo started swinging, but Silva got back to his comfort zone on the ground--only it wasn't so comfortable this time. The referee finally stood them up and the fight resumed. Nice take-down by Silva and Rogan commented that someone needed to take Kongo to a wrestling camp. The round, which had been pretty much a snooze fest, finally ended.

Round three started with Kongo's leg kicks. Take down by Silva again, and Rogan observed that Kongo really needed to add wrestling to his MMA repertoire, as there was a gaping hole in it. Nonetheless, Kongo was the more dominant in this round.

Eddie Bravo joined Goldberg and Rogan for scoring comments.

Bruce Buffer announced that Kongo was the winner by unanimous decision.

(2) Matt Grice vs. Terry Etim. Both of these fighters are 9 and 0. That's likely to change for one of them in a few minutes. Grice is from Oklahoma and was a collegiate wrestling stand-out. Etim is from Liverpool. He's also had a fight refereed by Mike Tyson (who apparently wasn't well-versed in the art of refereeing an MMA contest).

The referee for this match was Steve Mazzagatti. This match had good action right from the beginning, with Grice dominating. Then Etim got to his feet and had Grice up against the fence. Grice in trouble as Etim had him in a standing guillotine. Etim submitted Grice, literally putting him to sleep.

Bruce Buffer announced that Terry Etim, the hometown favorite, was the winner via submission. Etim is now 10-0.

Rogan asked Etim how it felt to win in front of the home crowd and he said it felt wonderful. The crowd was very vocal and very excited for him.

Joe Rogan was sitting with Dana White in the audience, where Dana had a special announcement. Season six of The Ultimate Fighter will feature the Welterweight Division, with Matt Serra coaching one team, and Matt Hughes coaching the other, and the two would fight at the end of the season. Serra, the current Welterweight Champ, was right there and said he was looking forward to the show and the fight. He called Matt Hughes "a dick, but a talented dick." Dana was chuckling.

(3) Michael Bisping vs. Elvis Sinosic. Even the promos prior to this match were entertaining. These two have charming accents and are good talkers. Not much of a response from the crowd for Australian Sinosic as he made his entrance. They were saving it for Bisping, the hometown favorite, who got a tremendous crowd pop.

The referee for this light heavyweight match was Steve Mazzagatti. The crowd reaction and the chants had to have energized Bisping--they were loud and constant. The first round was all Bisping's on the ground, with one punch after another to Elvis. He busted Elvis open and he was a bloody mess.

Elvis managed to survive round one. Bisping started throwing kicks to start the second round , but Elvis caught Bisping with a knee. Elvis had Bisping close to a submission, but Bisping reversed it and got the win via ref stoppage. Needless to say, the crowd went wild.

Bruce Buffer announced that the referee had called a stop to the contest and Michael "The Count" Bisping had won by TKO. Bisping's son joined him in the Octagon for the post-fight interview.

(4) Andrei Arlovski vs. Fabricio Werdum. Werdum is Cro Cop's jiu jitsu teacher and training partner. Arlovski is a former UFC Heavyweight Champ, and if he wins this match, he could be back in line for a Heavyweight title shot.

The referee for this heavyweight match was Herb Dean. Werdum ended up on his back, but Arlovski kicked at him, not wanting to go to the ground. By the end of the round, they were on their feet and Arlovski was picking Werdum apart.

Round two was mostly sparring. On to round three and the ref said he would take a point away from the first one who retreated. Rogan and Goldberg said they had never heard that said by a referee before, but neither fighter had done much but dance around in the previous round. Round three was much like round two. Suddenly, Werdum charged Arlovski, but there were only 12 seconds left in the match and it would go to a decision.

Bruce Buffer announced that Andrei "The Pit Bull" Arlovski was the winner via unanimous decision. Arlovski was booed heavily during his interview with Joe Rogan, apparently for the boring nature of the fight. He apologized and the crowd cheered him. Go figure.

(5) Title Contender Match: Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic vs. Gabriel Gonzaga. Randy Couture joined Goldberg and Rogan on commentary for this match, since the winner will win a shot at Couture's title. Couture said he'd prefer to fight Cro Cop.

Rogan quipped that Cro Cop was the most intimidating man to ever come out to Duran Duran music. Cro Cop is a member of Parliament in his home country and will return to the special police once his political duties are over.

The referee for this match was Herb Dean. They stood for a while, then Cro Cop threw a kick, which Gonzaga caught and he took Cro Cop down, then maneuvered him to the side of the cage. Cro Cop had not trained in a cage, preferring ropes. The ref stood them up, and almost immediately, Gonzaga hit Cro Cop on the button with a kick and knocked him out. Cro Cop's knee and ankle were twisted under him as he fell and medics came out to treat him.

Bruce Buffer declared Gonzaga the winner by knockout. It was another "holy sh*t moment" as yet another underdog prevailed.

Randy Couture told Gonzaga he looked forwarding to fighting him in the not distant future.

Cro Cop told Rogan he was disappointed. The crowd cheered him, but he looked dejected.

What an ending to a "sure thing" match. But that's why they call it "as real as it gets."


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