UFC 56 Thoughts

Wow. A night of major announcements and a few lackluster fights. But overall, an enjoyable night of action. The major happenings were the announcement of Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock as coaches for the upcoming third season of The Ultimate Fighter. That should make for some interesting television as the two men who can't stand each other will be forced to interact on a regular basis. Tito has signed a three fight deal with the UFC, and is rumored to be fighting Shamrock, TUF I winner Forrest Griffin, then a shot at the title if those two fights are won.

Also, Frank Mir is back, and will be fighting heavyweight champ Andre Arvlovksi. I wonder if it's wise for Mir to jump straight back into a championship fight without some sort of tune up. I love Mir's abilities but the Pitbull is just on another level from any other heavyweight in the UFC right now. I'm looking forward to it, but if they push Mir straight into the title fight in his first fight back, I don't see things going his way.

Another major announcement was the return of BJ Penn to the UFC. Penn has been gone for quite a while and many new fans may not be familiar with him. Penn is a superior grappler who defeated Matt Hughes for the welterweight title in early 2004 before being stripped of the title because of a contract dispute. Penn adds even more spice to an already loaded welterweight division. With St. Pierre's dismantling of Sean Sherk, he is obviously next in line for a rematch with Hughes. But Penn can't be far down the list.

Aside from all the announcements, there were actually fights on the PPV. Middleweight champion Rich Franklin quickly dispatched of TUF contestant Nate Quarry with an impressive knockout. Many argued that Quarry was pushed into this match too quickly. I think he was a worthy contender, but Franklin is just a monster at 185lbs. It looks like David Loiseau may be next in line for a shot at Franklin. That would be an interesting fight because Franklin has been the superior striker in his last several fights and would most likely have to switch strategies against Loiseau and take the Canadian down to the mat.

The other title fight had to be changed to a non-title match because Joe Riggs didn't make weight. Matt Hughes dispatched of Riggs with a Kimura from the half-guard and now moves on to some major challenges from Georges St. Pierre and BJ Penn.

As I mentioned earlier Georges St. Pierre defeated Sean Sherk by TKO. St. Pierre is at the top of his game right now and is a huge welterweight. He seemed to be the much larger man in the ring with Sherk. While Sherk was defeated by St. Pierre, I still think he is a player in this division. He has many good possible matchups with up and comers like Diego Sanchez, Drew Fickett, Spencer Fisher, and even Frank Trigg if the UFC brings him back.

Jeremy Horn defeated Trevor Prangley by a controversial decision. Prangley was able to take Horn down but wasn't able to do much once on the ground. He did land a few good elbow shots but the judges obviously gave more weight to Horn's active guard and his submission attempts, a couple of which came fairly close. Horn came back into the UFC with much fanfare, but he will need to score an impressive win to build a strong fan following.

Thiago Alves scored an impressive victory over Ansar Chalangov with a TKO from the mount. Chalangov came into this fight with a strong reputation, but you have to wonder if he gets another shot at the UFC after this one. Alves rebounds from a triangle choke loss to Spencer Fisher and will look to climb the ladder in a crowded welterweight division.

TUF I verteran Sam Hoger scored a victory over "The Karate Kid", Jeff Newton. It was interesting for a while with Newton's unorthodox striking style, but eventually Hoger mounted Newton and took his back for a rear naked choke victory. Afterwards Hoger called out Forrest Griffin for a rematch of their fight on The Ultimate Fighter, which Hoger has always claimed was an early stoppage for Griffin.

In a fight that was repeatedly boo'ed for lack of action, Gabriel Gonzaga defeated Kevin Jordan by TKO in the last minute of the third round. After mixing it up early, both fighters seemed to have a serious lack of conditioning that caused the majority of this fight to be a snoozefest. But in the last minute Gonzaga connected on a jumping right hand that send Jordan down to the mat and won the fight for Gonzaga. I would be surprized if we see Jordan again. Gonzaga needs some serious conditioning work, but has potential as a big, strong grappler.

In a fight not shown on the PPV broadcast, Nick Thompson scored a decision victory over Keith Wisniewski. Thompson took Wisniewksi down and pounded him out for the unanimous decision.

Overall, an entertaining night of fights, and a night that set the stage for the coming year in the UFC.

Until next time,
Jason