Fight Report

UFC 70 was a solid show with yet another upset in the main event. But this upset was more in how the fight ended than who pulled off the upset. There were many folks, including UFC Heavyweight Champ Randy Couture, who felt Gabriel Gonzaga would be able to submit Mirko Cro Cop. But practically no one believed the Brazilian Grappler would end the fight with highlight reel kick to the head.

Fight #1 – Assuerios Silva vs Cheick Kongo

Rd 1
After a brief feeling out process on the feet, Silva took Kongo down with relative ease. Kongo was able to neutralized Silva, eventually reverse him and escape to his feet. He then punished Silva with punches, until Assuerio took him down again. Again, there was very little action on the ground until the very end of the round when Kongo reversed Silva.

Rd 2
In the opening of the second, Kongo carved Silva’s face up with frightening accuracy. Silva showed a great chin and valiently tried to fire back but he was slightly out of range. Silva then took Kongo down and beat on his ribs until referee Mario Yamasaki stood them up due to non-activity. Silva took Kongo down again and did not do much for the remainder of the round.

Rd 3
Heading into the third I had it a round a piece and Kongo came out firing the hardest kicks and punches of the fight. He battered Silva to the fence and unloaded blows that Silva shook off. Silva then scored a take down and did nothing so the ref stood them up again. Kongo resumed his brutal striking assault. Silva forced a standing clinch then pulled Kongo down on top of him. For the last two minutes Kongo dished out enough punishment to prevent another standup.

Winner: Cheick Kongo via Majority Decision (3) (29-28, 29-28 and 28-28)

Fight #2 – Terry Etim vs Matt Grice

Both guys came into this fight at 9-0 so as expected neither guy wanted that first blemish on their record. Etim struck first with a nice punch that stunned Grice. Despite being wobbled, Grice secured a take down and then went to work on his ground and pound. Etim’s long and lanky frame appeared to give him opportunities for a triangle choke but Grice was relentless in his activity. With about two minutes left in the round, blood began to trickle out of Etim’s nose from the beating he was taking.

With a minute left in the round, Etim escaped to his feet and began to pay Grice back with strikes. Grice forced a clinch and Etim locked in a VERY tight standing Guillotine. Grice almost went out but managed to escape and get a single leg. Etim slapped on another Guillotine and this time choked Grice to complete unconsciousness.

Winner: Terry Etim by Guillotine Choke at 4:48 of rd 1

Fight #3 – Elvis Sinosic vs Michael Bisping

The crowd was nuts for this fight, loudly throwing their support behind hometown favorite Bisping. And Bisping lived up to their expecations by unleashing some incredibly brutal ground and pound. Elvis was taken down within seconds and his guard served as nothing more than a support harness for Bisping. Bisping spent the rest of the round beating Elvis’ face into a hideous, bloody pulp. Elvis had no defense and ate bomb after bomb. Finally the horn sounded ending the carnage.

Props to Elvis for coming back out for round two, no one would have questioned his heart if he opted to throw in the towel. Bisping resumed Elvis’ beating at the start of round two and wobbled the tough Aussie with a nice kick to the face. As Bisping moved in for the kill, Elvis clipped him with a knee to the chin face that sent him sprawling. Elvis followed him down and went for a Kimura to try and end the fight. But Bisping had already beaten the last of Elvis’ strength out of him and was able to escape the hold. Moments later, The Count found himself in Elvis’ guard and pounded his way to a TKO stoppage.

Winner: Michael Bisping by TKO (Strikes) at 1:20 of rd 2

Fight #4 – Andrei Arlovski vs Fabricio Werdum

Most of this fight took place on the feet but both guys fought very cautiously. Aside from some good leg kicking by Arlovski in round one, neither guy did much of anything. The second round was so bad that referee Herb Dean warned both fighters that he’d take a point away from the first fighter who retreated in the third. Both guys retreated plenty during the round but were not penalized. At the end of the fight the crowd booed loudly but later cheered Andrei when he apologized for his performance during the post-fight interview.

Winner: – Andrei Arlovski by Unanimous Decision (3)

Fight #5 – Mirko ‘Cro Cop’ Filipovic vs Gabriel Gonzaga

Gonzaga came out with busy standup forcing Cro Cop to focus on defense, and when he saw his opportunity to take Mirko down he seized it. From within Mirko’s guard, Gabriel threw a ton of elbows, something Cro Cop is not used to, and eventually opened a cut on the hairline. With the 30 seconds left referee Herb Dean stood both guys back up for inactivity and then the impossible happened. Gonzaga knocked out Cro Cop with one of the most vicious head kicks in the history of MMA.

The kick landed above Cro Cop’s left ear and he was instantly unconscious. As he fell, his body collapsed on his right foot, trapping it under his butt. The problem was, his foot was facing backwards. His toes were facing his ass and his heel was facing out. Fortunately referee Herb Dean kindly straightened out his leg while he slept. Even more fortunate was Cro Cop’s ability to walk on the limb after the fight.

Winner: Gabriel Gonzaga by KO at 4:51 of rd 1

Sherdog has the full results here.

This entry was posted on Saturday, April 21st, 2007 at 6:26 pm and is filed under MMA. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.