Event Title: UFC 42: Sudden Impact
Event Date: 25 April 2003
Event Venue: American Airlines Arena
Event Location: Miami
Date submitted: 13 January 2009
Submitted by: Fernando Avila
The most exciting fight of UFC 42: Sudden Impact in Miami was undoubtedly the lightweight match up between performance artist Genki Sudo and "Little Rutten" Duane "Bang" Ludwig. It is important to note that Genki moved to California after finishing high school in Japan, to join Bas Rutten's Beverly Hills Jiu-jitsu Club. As a matter of fact he was Bas Rutten's first disciple who made a mark in the international MMA scene. Unfortunately, the real outcome of this fight was altered due to a "doctor's check" called by referee "Big" John McCarthy. This was with two minutes left in the final round. It was as if the hand of "GOD" himself had reached down to Bang, who was bleeding profusely on his back, wiped his nose and stood him up. This left Ludwig to his devices for the final two minutes of the fight, raining elbows on Genki's eyes,and body shots. Ludwig caused a big enough raucous to convince the judges in his favor. I felt like the Florida Supreme Court was involved in the judging decision. We had George, Jeb, and a Seeing Eye dog judge this one. This was actually a split decision, and it wasn't George or Jeb that gave it to Sudo.
Although Bang was superior in the stand up, he was controlled for a good eighty percent of the fight, on the ground. He received a lot of punishment from Sudo and seemed to lack technique as far as ground skills. If "Big" John didn't stand them up, Ludwig would have been pounded further and didn't seem capable of escaping or a reversal. Both Ludwig and Sudo lost in K-1 rules to champion Masato, both fights going to the judge's cards. Genki seemed to have a better fight against Masato than Bang in K-1 rules, although he lacks the aerobic stamina of a stand up fighter.
Sudo took a lot of risks standing with Bang from the beginning, doing his "performance art." Genki was able to take Bang down to the mat at will, getting a series of takedowns throughout.
Perhaps the UFC needs to re-evaluate their rules regarding this type of situation. In Jiu-jitsu and Pride they start the fighters from the same position, the "Stop, Don't Move Rule!" Genki was working away on Bang's face and body; he was "BUSY!" Why the referee chose that moment to check the fighter's nose,"God only knows!" Yes, we are concerned with safety, but there are only a couple of minutes left, and the fighter is "defending intelligently." Here is a situation were the fighter on the bottom should have been started from the guard position after the medical check, while the other fighter is on top. Instead we have created the ideal situation for Ludwig, a well-versed Muay Thai kick boxer and disciple of Bas Rutten, an expert on elbows and "the finish."
This is not the only time that "Divine Intervention" has occurred in the UFC. "Big" John almost turned around the situation in the second Lindland - Baroni bout when he stood the fighters up in the final couple minutes of the final round. Lindland was staying busy from the top position punishing Baroni with elbows to the face, but they were stood up despite, seemingly on a whim. Baroni gave his final rapid-fire burst and almost caught the rubbery Lindland while standing, but Lindland held on to an unfinished take down receiving body shots till the bell. The fighter on top was busy and had to give up position. He was a wrestler gassing out towards the end of a fight after maintaining control throughout.
The Ludwig - Sudo fight was a very similar situation, but unfortunately the outcome was changed. Genki was perhaps feeling the effects of taking Ludwig down various times and riding from the top. He indeed took some serious elbows to the eyes, but this was only in the final two minutes of a 15-minute match. How the two judges gave it to Ludwig is a bit questionable and leaves me feeling very skeptical about this particular result, as well as other cage rules. This rule of standing both fighters up when one clearly has a controlling position is unfair and controversial. For a grappler it is a great disadvantage to be forced into the stand up game, it is very risky and can prove to be lethal. In this case the aggressor who was controlling the fight was penalized for the bloody effects of his efforts.
This rule of standing both fighters to their feet reminds me a bit of the Electoral College, it can affect the results and leave us wondering, "Who was the real winner?"
This title bout of UFC 42: Sudden Impact seemed a bit anti climatic after the huge spectacle, which the last UFC offered. Only those of us who had seen Sean Sherk fight live before were familiar with his unspectacular yet efficient game. This was his first time on Pay Per View and he turned it on like a true challenger, but fell short of the title. Although he took control of round three and seemed to have Matt in trouble, he never seemed to pose any real danger to the larger more massive Hughes.
Hughes took Sherk to the mat early on and controlled the first round from the mount. He was able to cut Sherk above his right eye perhaps from an elbow. Once again in the second round, Hughes took Sherk down twice and controlled him. Matt Hughes took some risks by trying arm bars and other submission moves, which exposed him to danger, but this seemed to be more in an effort to spice up the show. Although Sean Sherk did seem to have Hughes in trouble during the third round, Hughes seemed the more powerful of the two fighters. Maybe Sherk lacks the frame or weight to compete with Hughes, he is powerful yet one dimensional in his approach. Sherk trained like an Olympian for this bout, but he wasn't able to shatter the steely Hughes. Although this might be rated as Hughes most difficult title defense so far, it is in no way one of his more interesting fights. The judge's decision was obvious as Mat Hughes retains his UFC title.
"If I wouldn't have lost my head I wouldn't have lost my hair," this is what Evan Tanner must have been reciting after his only second defeat in the Octagon. Although it seemed Evan was back on the rise after a slamming loss to Tito Ortiz a while ago, he chose the wrong strategy against an experienced and well-rounded Rich Franklin from Cincinnati, Ohio. If Evan was the gatekeeper, he left the door wide open, and the key to his plan should have been wrestling. This tactical error cost him the fight in the first couple minutes of the first round. He got nailed by a right, which seemed to stun him, but he kept coming on with the stand up. Tanner was efficient with the clinch and knees to the face, but it wasn't enough. He fell victim to that same right hook and the referee stopped the fight. It should be noted that this referee Jorge Alonso, did a great job throughout the fight and did not interfere with its outcome.
He was also excellent in the Romie Aram versus Dave Strasser fight. That fight could have been called prematurely due to a stunning early right to Strasser's face, which put him on the canvas. Years ago a similar starting situation tainted the Kevin Randleman versus Chuck Liddell fight, which was stopped very prematurely when Randleman hit the ground while immediately going for an ankle. Kevin never returned to the Octagon because he was very displeased with that particular referee's decision. It was his first fight as a light heavyweight, his true weight class, after being a UFC heavyweight champion.
It's too bad that Tanner lost this bout, he is a humble, quiet and likable character. Perhaps Evan is a bit small for the light heavyweight division, I would like to see him go down to 185 lbs. and spice up that weight class. Now that Bustamante has left for Pride, the UFC needs to add some flavor to this particular category. If Matt Hughes moves up, it will be even more interesting.
It was no surprise that Wesley "Cabbage" Correira won this particular bout against New York Jiu-jitsu man Sean Alvarez. Alvarez seemed a bit outsized and lost stamina while unsuccessfully trying to take down the Cabbage. This inabilityto take the rounder Carrera down proved to be his doom. Cabbage delivered some devastating smacking blows to the inefficient and ineffective Alvarez.
This Hawaiian sensation has thus far been a pleasure to watch with his super aggressive stand up and loud amplified punching. Carrera walked all over Alvarez with his fists and knees while never seeming to be in danger at any point in the fight. Although it did go into the second round, it was only so that Alvarez could get beaten up by a rough Hawaiian surf that favored slapping his face with punches and knees. Cabbage finished the fight with some repeated devastating knees to the face, which made Alvarez's body, go limp, at which point the fight was stopped.
Romie Aram versus Dave Strasser was a very difficult fight to call. If Miami was Tokyo, it might have been a draw. There was no truly convincing victor in this scrap. Dave Strasser, tough and experienced, was able to regain his composure after an early spill due to a devastating right to the jaw. He was able to pull a good reversal and control the last minute and a half of round one. He seemed to take over during the second round, but seemed to have taken some of the harder shots in the round. He wasn't effective against Aram's full guard, although he did try to strike from the mount. The third round was a stand up fight in which it seemed that Aram was being more aggressive. Strasser might have landed more strikes, but he didn't seem to hurt Aram. Overall the veteran Dave Strasser was very tough, but did not win convincingly. The judge's cards seemed a bit to spread out for such a close fight. Referee Jorge Alonso was always well positioned and in close proximity of the action. I look forward to seeing both these fighters in the future, they are both tough and exciting to watch. Strasser impressed me very much with his ability to recover after a rough start.
In a much-anticipated battle, bad boy Robbie Lawler versus Pete Spratt turned out to be a case of boy meets man, and we're not talking Plato's Symposium here. Lawler got the early take down after both fighters threw simultaneous leg kicks. Lawler passed the guard early and Spratt seemed to be in trouble, but with a good neck bridge was able to get out of danger. Spratt escaped again by exposing his back and doing a powerful stand up. He immediately faced Lawler, who was off balance and landed a powerful right leg kick to his head. The fight was paused when Lawler got his nut sack rattled, but he continued despite. They then locked up and Spratt pulled off a nice souplex taking Lawler down to the mat till the end of the round. Early in the second round Lawler signaled with an arm that he couldn't go on. He seemed to be having problems leaning on one of his legs which had been rattled in the first round.
Lawler suffered a painful dislocation of the hip perhaps due to a massive leg kick delivered by airmail. Although Lawler took control early in the fight against the older, harder and more experienced Muay Thai Kick Boxer, he got himself into trouble and seemed to lack stamina. Lawler got himself reversed and taken to school by the more solid and dangerous looking striker. Lawler's striking game did not measure up in this particular encounter. He should have taken it to the ground immediately and kept it there. Perhaps Lawler lost his stamina too early on in this match.
One of the openers, Richard Crunkilton versus Hermes Franca was a real free for all, and perhaps more satisfying than some of the headliners. Crunkilton seemed to edge his way past the first round favorably, but he seemed to lose a lot of stamina early. Franca was a tough striking Brazilian Jiu-jitsu fighter who seemed comfortable in any position, on the ground or trading punches while standing. He caught Crunkilton with some very hard strikes to the face and almost submitted the Miami native in about four occasions with various arm bar attempts. Twice Crunkilton was able to step over Franca's body and avoid having to tap, but his left elbow seemed quite swollen after taking some severe twisting. In the end the judges gave it to the Brazilian who landed some very hard punches and kept attempting submissions throughout the fight. Overall, this was a very exciting warm up bout because of Franca's various, technically graceful submission attempts. He was crafty, and it was great to watch him work it.
Unfortunately, this championship left a lot to be desired. How can Hughes look good if we don't give him more hardcore competition. Not to take anything away from Sherk, but this was like Matt wrestling with his shadow. Two fighters with similar styles, backgrounds and builds. Maybe Baroni should lighten up a little and challenge Hughes.
All and all, this UFC seemed to lack all the names necessary to put on a major successful MMA spectacle. Perhaps the UFC needs to open up its gates and let the best fighters through the threshold. The UFC has a phenomenal amount of talent in the 155 lbs. division, why isn't it being displayed more. This is something that Pride does not have. Let's have a tournament! There are enough of these guys for every UFC, let's not be skimpy now!
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