Live notes and random musings from UFC 89

[FieldingMellish]

Beware, spoilers (obviously).....

Just got back home from UFC 89 in Birmingham. Had a great seat, something like 10 feet away from the Octagon. Made some notes and thought I'd share them. Enjoy.....

Or get bored reading this tl,dr epic and give up.......

PART 1:

Building was very full. Looked to be between 8000 and 9000 people. National Indoor Arena looks to have very few shitty seats - good views all round. Its also smack in the middle of Birmingham so I got to spend some time browsing the bookshops and checking out a sadly disappointing exhibition on the changing map of Beijing at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery before the show.

Samy Schiavo vs. Per Eklund
As seems usual for Eklund these days, he looked flat early. Schiavo dropped him with a nice left to the body, overhand right to the fasce combo. Schiavo's round. Eklund seemed to wake up for the second and came close to an armbar. Eklund's round. Eklund finished with an RNC in the third after taking a tired Schiavo down, mounting him, taking his back and layinmg ion some nasty elbows that seemed to break schiavo and the RNC was easily put on.

Jim Miller vs. David Baron
By this point my hearing may have been irreperably damaged by a PA system that could easily have worked for a crowd ten times this size, damnit. Or maybe I'm just getting old. This fight SUCKED. At times it was like watching a still photograph. Miller is a very, very good wrestler who totally dominated and ended it with an RNC in the third but this was awful. The crowd were shockingly tolerant of this and even gave him a nice cheer at the end. But really, the ONLY good thing about this was his entrance music - 'Bad Moon Rising'. Miller didn't even get to do an interview. Perhaps Rogan just fell asleep.

Terry Etim vs. Sam Stout
In the pre-fight videos Terry Etim was described as a "local hero". Liverpool is NOT considered 'local' to Birmingham, Goldie. Then again, he got a GREAT reception from the crowd so I suppose if half of Liverpool descended on Birmingham he's local for a few minutes. Now, I'm from the same city as Ross Pointon. A city where our local accent is often likened somewhat to that of Liverpool. I did not understand A SINGLE FUCKING WORD of Etim's video interview.

Also, as much as I appreciate UFC converting the fighter's weights into stones and pounds (unlike Cage Rage who announce kilos which NOBODY in the UK understands), Terry Etim is NOT 11.1 stone. He's 11 stone, 1 pound. And since there's 14 pounds to a stonme they are NOT the same thing. AAARRGGHHHHHH.

Anyway, early in the first round Etim looked superb. Very sharp and fast and probably as good as I've ever seen him. He was really picking Stout apart and making him miss too. Stout briefly floored him but Etim clearly took the first. Etim seemed to drop the pace a bit in the second, despite being taller, hurting Stout with leg kicks and still making him miss. Another 10-9 to Etim but a much closer round. Stout picked up the pace in the third and I had him sneaking it, but as much due to Etim allowing him into the fight more. Etim got the deserved unanimous decision.

Rogan came out to interview him and luckily I could understand Etim this time. Though I noticed that with Rogan's beard he looks like he should be escorting hobbits to Mordor.

[FieldingMellish]

PART 2:

David Bielkheden vs. Jess Liaudin
Somebody told me Jess, cutting to 155 for the first time looked skeletal a day or two ago. Bielkheden looked very solid and strong. Highlight of the first round was Liaudin going for an omaplata and Bielkheden just punching him in the face in retaliation. He also bashed Liaudin with some knees to the face. Bielkheden took every round, 10-9. He landed some nasty punches on the ground in the third and just ground out a win.

Shane Carwin vs. Neil Wain
A thoroughly predictable massacre aside from Wain actually landing and stunning Carwin with a couple of shots. Double leg by Carwin, mount and DEATH-KILLING by TKO in 91 seconds. Lots of booing for some reason. Did they want Carwin to literally kill him? After four long prelims they seemed to be in a rush with this one and neither of them even made a proper entrance. Bruce Buffer was even talking faster during the intros.

Dan Hardy vs. Akihiro Gono
Quite honestly, this fight was a major part of the reason I went to the show. I've watched plenty of Hardy's fights live and am a big fan. Seeing his UFC debut was a big deal for me. Gono's entrance was great. Him and two others in white catsuits, afro wigs, sunglasses, ludicrous dancing. Gono's English is great by the way. Hardy came out to a good reception and 'England Belongs to Me' but Gono's antics made sure he got good cheers as well.

Hardy took the first, being more aggressive and taking whatever shots Gono gave him with ease. Best part was very late in the first when Hardy hurt Gono with a spinning back kick, Gono replied with one of his own that missed and Hardy countered by smacking him in the face. Second and third rounds were both close. Gono is very difficult to fight and look good against. Some controversy in the third when Hardy accidentally hoofed him in the nuts and I feared another Yoshiyuki Yoshida fiasco. But Gono recovered. Then a little later he kneed Hardy in the face, despite Dan being on one knee. Good ending too as both threw some good shots but the absolute highlight was Gono trying a flying knee just as the buzzer went and Dan Mirgliotta intercepting him and just shoving him to the mat.

Good, close fight and Dan deserved the decision but maybe I was just expecting too much, or I was a little sad Dan didn't win it more convincingly. Though I did get to see Kazuo Misaki in person and his suntan is FUCKING EPIC.

[FieldingMellish]

PART 3:

Going through all the fights on the live show is pointless as I imagine everyone reading this has seen them so I'll just post a few thoughts.

Right before they went on the air they aired their fantastic highlight video (music is the same as CSI: Somewhere or other) on the big screens.

When the UFC intro music hit Bruce Buffer was fairly restrained - a little head-bobbing, the odd shoulder move.... certainly nothing as awesome as him totally wigging out like he did in Manchester last year. Say what you like about Buffer but he's incredibly enthusiastic.

Marcus Davis vs. Paul Kelly
Sat next to an Irishman, I realised just how fucking offensive Davis' 'Plastic Paddy' act can be. Kelly really did very little. And it struck me he fights at the same weight as GSP. That's completely ludicrous. He looked thoroughly disconsolate as he left the arena too.

Paul Taylor vs. Chris Lytle
Some great, wild exchanges of shots. I thought Lytle won, plenty of people around me went for Taylor. Can't imagine them not picking up the Fight of the Night bonuses.

They aired an advert for the UK UFC website. In the part about there being exclusive footage (pre-fight and fighters outside the Octagon) I swear they had an in-car clip of Quinton Jackson driving and talking to the camera. Of ALL the fighters they could use for that, they chose Quinton 'Road Safety' Jackson????

Brandon Vera vs. Keith Jardine
Fight sucked. I hit a point where I really didn't care who won. That Jackson camp nipple twiddling thing MUST be stopped. Vera's ribs creeped me out - those weird rib-balls he has, eugghhhh. It looks like if you punched one it'd just move somewhere else on his body. Somewhere in the second round Jardine looked to have magically aged about 50 years. By the third we were just sat there coming up with better nicknames for him:
'Seabreem' Keith Jardine
'Sardine' Keith Jardine
'The Dean of Dean' Dean Jardine (small matter of a name change there)
'Vent Your Spleen' Keith Jardine
'Dean of Beans' Keith Jardine
Keith 'Tangerine Dream' Jardine (he needs to wear orange shorts and dye his beard orange)
'Time Machine' Keith Jardine (for stealing part of my life AND ageing 50 years in a fight)

Joe Rogan blamed the booing on drunkards. Joe must have been high.

Michael Bisping vs. Chris Leben
Bisping got a tremendous reaction. Not just the noise but people standing up, clapping, shouting. Great atmosphere. With Joe Rogan's Gimli beard and Leben's corn rows it was like a weird Evan Tanner tribute show. Shame Clay Guida couldn't have shown up. The way Buffer introduced Bisping was hilarious. He sort of crouched down and rose upwards as he bawled his name at the top of his voice.

Whoever chose Leben's entrance music is a genius. 'God Save the Queen' by the Sex Pistols. If you choose to believe English fans will respond to an English song and like him, that's fine. But looked at on a deeper level, the fact the song has lines about 'Englands dreaming' and there being 'no future' made this a brilliantly subtle choice.

By the way, best heckle of the night - "old people fight better than you!" - during the Gono-Hardy fight. Unfair, but funny.

[machsaku]

nothing on soku v cane?

good notes none the less:)

[FieldingMellish]

nothing on soku v cane?

good notes none the less:)

Sokodjou vs. Luiz Cane
Sokodjou has enormous thighs. And his body kicks made a hell of a noise.

[miscmisc]

Sat next to an Irishman, I realised just how fucking offensive Davis' 'Plastic Paddy' act can be.

The whole American "Irish" thing must be incredibly offensive to the Irish.

[Grant Ellis]

The whole American "Irish" thing must be incredibly offensive to the Irish.

But it isn't to the Irish Americans, which make up some 35,000,000+ people of our population.

They are just paying homage to their roots and keeping with their culture, which was part of the development of our country.

[miscmisc]

But it isn't to the Irish Americans, which make up some 35,000,000+ people of our population.

They are just paying homage to their roots and keeping with their culture, which was part of the development of our country.

Yeah, I know. It was just a random general comment, not meant to offend Irish-Americans. Like you say, the people who live in Eire are now such a minority in the grand scheme of the global Irishness that their opinion probably doesn't matter much...

Still, I was always under the impression that the Irish from Eire or even Britain generally hated the whole Irish-American culture, pretty passionately. So maybe they should play it down a wee bit when they are outside the US, you know.

[( o Y o )]

Still, I was always under the impression that the Irish from Eire or even Britain generally hated the whole Irish-American culture, pretty passionately. So maybe they should play it down a wee bit when they are outside the US, you know.


I got the same feeling.

I mean, I was born a bred in Australia but have 80% Scot blood....but if I went there I wouldn't be calling myself scotish too soon.

[Paul T]

Though I noticed that with Rogan's beard he looks like he should be escorting hobbits to Mordor.

NICE, i could not put my finger on it, and you summed it up in one sentance.

Thanks for the live notes and random musing. It really helps to flesh out the event.

[FieldingMellish]

But it isn't to the Irish Americans, which make up some 35,000,000+ people of our population.

They are just paying homage to their roots and keeping with their culture, which was part of the development of our country.

Marcus Davis wearing a kilt and coming out to House of Pain and calling himself the 'Irish Hand Grenade' (a nickname I personally find offensive) is a piss-poor way of paying homage to his cultural roots.

[Grant Ellis]

Marcus Davis wearing a kilt and coming out to House of Pain and calling himself the 'Irish Hand Grenade' (a nickname I personally find offensive) is a piss-poor way of paying homage to his cultural roots.

I agree. (on all points!)

But I wouldn't categorize all Irish Americans' behavior like that of Davis... nor would anyone else on this board I think.

I didn't like the comment "the whole American "Irish" thing being offensive" part miscmisc made, but I don't think he meant it to be offensive. I think he was alluding to people who behave like Davis.

A lot of it has to do with the family or neighborhood you live in.

America being a melting-pot, you might be involved in a certain cultural community (Irish, Greek, Italian, Mexican, Japanese, Filipino) based on your heritage.

It is just part of our country.

We're all immigrants for the most part.

[heckyl]

We're all immigrants for the most part.


except for the Chief Andre Roberts, who is native american to the bizzone yo.

[FieldingMellish]

except for the Chief Andre Roberts, who is native american to the bizzone yo.

And Rueben 'Warpath' Villareal. Native American as FUCK.

[miscmisc]

We're all immigrants for the most part.

I know what you are saying. But you should keep in mind that maybe there is not much in common between what you perceive as your heritage and the actual place and people who live in or around that place today. Knowing that wouldn't hurt, especially if you are outside your realm and actually somewhere close to the very mother land (=England, in this case).

What the Irish immigrants have gone through since the beginning of the 20th century in America and what the Irish in Eire (and Britain and Australia for that matter) have are entirely different. The ways they look at the Catholic Church are very different now, too, for one.

But I guess this kind of grandiose arguments aren't very appropriate here, as in this case it's probably just that Davis is not a very smart guy, and that that's probably the end of this story. "Irish Hand Grenade" sounds so incredibly offensive especially in England.

I kind of spoke on behalf of my Irish friend, who hates everything Irish-American, actually. :) They seem to feel threatened by the Irish-Americans, as they are massively outnumbered to the point where they can't represent their own culture anymore. But you gotta understand how stressful it is for them to see people like Bill O'Reilly and Joe Biden try to claim Irishness across the ocean.

[tinobar]

all i cared was about gono hardy

wanted to see hardy wreck him sounds like it was kinda a close fight though

its hard to follow the ufc with all their events plus i never watch tuf so i dont know none of those guys

[Grant Ellis]

except for the Chief Andre Roberts, who is native american to the bizzone yo.

He actually sprang to mind.

HAYUHHOYUHHAYUHHOYUH

[heckyl]

He actually sprang to mind.

HAYUHHOYUHHAYUHHOYUH

Hey Ya'll
Come over here, check this out
And gimme a minute of your time, but don't doubt
Anything that I tell ya'll, listen up closely
It's something ghostly, my ancestors told me
Way back before we walked the earth
It was so much cleaner cause it wasn't disturbed
But there was still hatred and strugglin' for our color
Cause if you had nothing you were bound to smother
And I don't know why, cause helping hands should be a must
It was written on the manuscript, in the book you trust
Unless it's all just a way to get us arguin'
Believe what you want, even if it's a life of sin

HAYUHHOYUHHAYUHHOYUH!!!!!

abk - hey yall.mp3
the chorus is all about the HAYUHHOYUHHAYUHHOYUH since abk is an indian. woot.

[Titan]

Though I noticed that with Rogan's beard he looks like he should be escorting hobbits to Mordor.

NICE, i could not put my finger on it, and you summed it up in one sentance.

Thanks for the live notes and random musing. It really helps to flesh out the event.

A bunch of guys at the UG started growing Evan Tanner tribute beards after his death. Rogan was in on it, and that was his.

[Newman]

My live notes, for those that give a shit...

-My seats this time were literally the back row. But even so we were closer and had a better view than like, halfway up in the MEN. The NIA is TINY, dude. The one con was the muppet bunch of blokes sitting next to me and my buddy. Sooo ignorant about the ground game, the clinch, and well, everything that didn't involve wild trading in the center of the cage. One of them fell asleep during Baron-Miller even. Shameful. Though he provided us with serious comedy by somehow heading to the bar alone and bringing back TEN bottles of beer. Yeah, ten.

-Eklund-Schiavo was a fun little fight for what it was. Schiavo came out busier in the first round but then Eklund took over with his ground work in the second, including a ridiculous armbar that Schiavo somehow wriggled out of without tearing his arm to shreds. Third round was more of the same before Eklund landed a huge elbow from back mount and then locked in the rear naked choke.

-I've seen people slating Miller-Baron as a carbon copy of Sherk-Franca from UFC 73, but then I never found that boring and I was well into this. Miller is mad slick on the ground with his guard passing and what-not and I did not expect him to dominate the veteran in that way, especially as Baron choked out Mach last time around.

-Etim-Stout was a hell of a fun stand-up battle. Both guys took some heavy whacks and both gave it out, but Etim basically used his reach to avoid the heavier shots from Stout and land the cleaner punches and kicks. Etim is so frustrating in that he beat a very good Thai boxer standing here, and on the ground he's got some good BJJ, but his wrestling game is non-existent so against the guys with the strong takedowns and good top control (see, Gleison Tibau, Tyson Griffin, or Joe Stevenson) he'll always be fucked. As I've said before, he needs to move to an American camp known for their wrestling, like AKA or Team Quest ASAP.

-I can't remember much about Liaudin-Bielkheden outside of it being a bit dull, and thinking Jess got tired quick (probably from the weight cut).

-Wain vs. Carwin was hilarity throughout. First they didn't have time for proper entrances so they just rushed both dudes into the Octagon. Carwin is something like 6'5", 260lbs, with a six-pack. Wain was the same weight...but 5'11". You do the math. The poor guy looked like some random football thug they'd picked up from outside the arena during the queuing to get in. Quick takedown, GNP, and it was over. Carwin still hasn't seen four minutes in his MMA career.

-I'm a new convert to the Dan Hardy bandwagon and thought his fight with Akihiro Gono was the best of the night. First off Gono deserves a fucking medal for his entrance. Got the crowd going as much as anything non-Bisping all night, and even caused the afore-mentioned Ten Bottles Dude to cheer for him. Hardy's entrance was almost as cool with the bandana covering his face. Gono is an awkward dude to fight and Hardy aquitted himself very well here, showing poise and calmness in his UFC debut. Highlight was the spinning back kick at the end of the first, and also the very end of the fight where Gono attempted a flying, well, something, but got shoved away by the ref in mid-air. Hilarious. Hardy took the split decision (I had it 29-28 for him) and picks up an impressive victory.

-Davis-Kelly went pretty much how I expected. Davis was just too experienced and wily for Kelly, who was thrown in at the deep end way too early in his career. He's young enough to recover though.

-Live I actually scored Lytle-Taylor 29-28 for Taylor, based on Lytle not doing that much in the clinch while Taylor appeared to be landing cleaner in the exchanges. Watching properly might change my mind though. Fun little brawl and Taylor is always worth keeping around even if he doesn't win every fight.

-I was obviously gutted as hell about Sokoudjou. Ruined the night for me almost! He looked exhausted very early on for some reason and it just went downhill from there, after he landed some nasty kicks early on. Cane looked decent I guess, but I'm just disappointed in Soko more than anything here.

-Jardine-Vera was not a great fight by any means. I thought Vera landed the better shots and should've picked up the decision, but again that might change when I watch it taped. The kick that appeared to buckle Jardine's knee looked particularly nasty. Where both guys go from here I honestly don't know.

-Bisping fought the smart fight if not the most entertaining one. Excellent win for him and not much else to say there. We were cracking up at Leben's entrance theme and his hair, which is cool in a completely bizarro way. Leben appeared to have regressed back to the "old" Leben, that is if the "new" Leben was ever different anyway.

Fun night of fights that was missing one highlight reel KO or something. I had a great time though.

[Titan]

Being more interested in the Swedes, I kept up with some of the details. Eklund said he came out too relaxed in the first round, and that he twisted his ankle in the same round. Looks from the replay like it could've happened when he ate that punch that sent him halfway down. He couldn't move as much as he wanted to on the feet after that, and decided to take it to the ground.

Bielkheden made a blog entry about his trip. Wednesday he woke up from his stomach screaming. Thursday he woke up thinking he's dying. Friday he wakes up in the middle of the night and can barely breathe. Wakes everyone else up, gargles some water (can't put fluids into the body due to the weight cut) and goes back to sleep. 74.8 kg in the morning and spends the longest time of all fighters in the sauna. Was disappointed the sauna was 80C degrees instead of 100C. Made the 70.9 kg weight (156 lbs), and was then taken by ambulance to the hospital where they put him on IV and checked his health. They ran several tests on him, and it was a close call that he got to fight, but in the end, the doctors left it up to him to decide. When he left for the arena on fight day, he weighed 79 kg (174 lbs) (and shared the bus with Gono and his team.)

[Jarzi]

Bielkheden made a blog entry about his trip. Wednesday he woke up from his stomach screaming. Thursday he woke up thinking he's dying. Friday he wakes up in the middle of the night and can barely breathe. Wakes everyone else up, gargles some water (can't put fluids into the body due to the weight cut) and goes back to sleep. 74.8 kg in the morning and spends the longest time of all fighters in the sauna. Was disappointed the sauna was 80C degrees instead of 100C. Made the 70.9 kg weight (156 lbs), and was then taken by ambulance to the hospital where they put him on IV and checked his health. They ran several tests on him, and it was a close call that he got to fight, but in the end, the doctors left it up to him to decide. When he left for the arena on fight day, he weighed 79 kg (174 lbs) (and shared the bus with Gono and his team.)

That's just insane.

[( o Y o )]

VEra is overrated beyond belief. His stand up is what he has, but 99% of max fighters would pick him apart like he was a woman with her period.

[Achbar]

Thanks for the write up. This was almost the best thing about the event.

[Grant Ellis]

I still haven't seen it/won't watch it.

[EckY]

Taylor/Lytle was an excellent fight and Sokoudjou/Cane was also good, do yourself a favour and at least check those two out.

[( o Y o )]

I've yet to see a live event that I didn't enjoy, but this was just terrible overall for the home viewer. Worst event I can recall. Dynamite USA was far more entertaining.

[Soulrise]

I've yet to see a live event that I didn't enjoy, but this was just terrible overall for the home viewer. Worst event I can recall. Dynamite USA was far more entertaining.

LOL!!!! Wow. Well I'll have to take your word for it. I missed both this card and the Hopkins/Pavlik fight that was on the same night. Having read the reports I immediately dl'd the B-Hop/Pavlik fight but from what everyone's said I think I'll pass on this.

[heckyl]

i didnt remember it being that bad for a free show. was it the best show? hell na. have i seen worse? hell ya.

[( o Y o )]

i didnt remember it being that bad for a free show. was it the best show? hell na. have i seen worse? hell ya.

ignoring the match ups......have you seen a wrose show in recent years from the big 2 or 3?

Sure, on paper it had my attention enough to watch it (I haven't seem much mma recently), but frankly, I honestly feel I wasted my time. If this show is the direction of MMA, then come the fuck down MAX!!!!

[heckyl]

shit happens. cards are going to turn out like that sometimes. do i expect them all to be that way? of course not. because they wont.

[Titan]

That's just insane.

And Bielkheden likes food and weighs 85 kg (187 lbs) now, according to the blog. :-)

[ilostmydog]

ignoring the match ups......have you seen a wrose show in recent years from the big 2 or 3?

Sure, on paper it had my attention enough to watch it (I haven't seem much mma recently), but frankly, I honestly feel I wasted my time. If this show is the direction of MMA, then come the fuck down MAX!!!!

Meh. Like heckyl said, shit happens. On paper, TE 2005 should have been the greatest show in the history of the world. Instead, I fell asleep.

I think saying it's the worst show you've seen in years is pretty harsh.

[( o Y o )]

Meh. Like heckyl said, shit happens. On paper, TE 2005 should have been the greatest show in the history of the world. Instead, I fell asleep.

I think saying it's the worst show you've seen in years is pretty harsh.

That is my point though,,...the show itself sucked. I don't care if it was a freak, or how excitig the next will be. I can't remember a show I felt I wasted mnore time on in recentl years.

[miscmisc]

It doesn't have to be the "worst" show on its own merit to make you feel like you just saw the worst show. There is this thing called a gradual effect. When you get punched in the face three times in a row, even though the first one was the hardest, the third one can put you in the real world of pain.

The bullshit like Leben vs. Bisping is extremely tiring, and like I said, the cage makes it even worse. Unpleasant experience, period. I know it's impossible to get rid of that kind of fights from MMA, but that was yet another confirmation that there is something that is potentially worse than LnP fests in MMA.

[seese]

Another random note - Bielkheden wrote on his blog yesterday that he weighs 88.6 kg which I guess is close to 200 pounds. I understand why he was the last to leave the sauna.