The Smark Rant: UFC 37.5

– Your hosts are Mike Goldberg & Jeff Osborne, with special guest Joe Rogan.

– Big one for the UFC, as they debut on Fox Sports Net and get some big exposure. Well, bigger than they had at the time, although it would take the Tito-Shamrock war to really blow it wide open.

Lightweights: Joao Pierini v. Yves Edwards

Cecil Peoples is the REFEREE?! Hope no one uses any leg kicks. They do some boxing, and then Edwards absolutely levels Pierini out of nowhere with a high kick and dives in for the kill. Pierini asks for time because his shoulder is injured, so they stop the fight at 1:19 and award it to Edwards. Kind of a disappointing ending to their first fight on network TV, but that kick was highlight reel material.

Middleweights: Tony Fryklund v. Rodrigo Ruas

I didn’t even know that Marco Ruas had a younger brother, but there you go. Fryklund is from the dark dying days of SEG, but now he’s part of Team Miletich. They engage in some fisticuffs and Ruas shows good hand speed, but Fryklund knocks him down with a right. Surprisingly, Ruas chooses to throw punches from his back rather than go into the guard, and Fryklund shows no hurry to pass guard either. Fryklund just goes with brute force, throwing combinations and totally ignoring position. The beating continues until the round expires. 10-8 Fryklund, as Ruas was beaten to within an inch of his life.

Second round and Ruas continues his attempt to stand with Fryklund, and he gets beaten down again. He’s not even defending himself, as Fryklund unloads at will and tries for a wacky choke. I think punching Ruas in the face was a more effective strategy. Ruas makes a half-assed attempt at a kneebar, but Fryklund gets full mount and the ref stops it at 3:37. That would have been a 10-7 round had Ruas survived. Just a total mauling by Fryklund.

Welterweights: Robbie Lawler v. Steve Berger

This is highlights of the fight, as it was shown on The Best Damn Sports Show Period, the first MMA fight ever shown on basic cable. Lawler dominates round one and then finishes with a knockout early in round 2.

Welterweights: Pete Spratt v. Zach Light

Light is another Tito Ortiz trainee who went nowhere. Light gets the takedown and Spratt wraps him up in the guard, then waits for an opening and finishes with an armbar from the bottom at 2:25. And that’s how you do it when a wrestler gets too cocky from the top.

Welterweights: Nick Serra v. Benji Radach

Nick tries to get it to the ground, but Radach won’t bite, so he forces the issue with a single-leg. Radach still won’t go down, so Serra pulls guard and works for a triangle from the bottom. He can’t really sink it, allowing Radach to break free and pound away from the top. He controls from there until the end of the round. 10-9 Radach, as he evaded the submission attempt and dominated on top.

Round two and Serra wants it on the ground again, so Radach ends up on top for the second time. Serra really wants the triangle, but Radach easily fights him off, and Big John stands it up. Serra shoots and gets a solid takedown, then passes into side mount. He controls there until the end of the round. Serra had enough for a 10-9 win that round.

Third round and they go to the ground again (which the crowd boos), and they get stood up again. Radach then knocks Serra on his ass with a right, but doesn’t finish. Instead, it’s back into Serra’s guard, as he’s really just a one-dimensional submission guy. Big John stands them up again, trying to get Serra to do something offensive. Waiting out the other guy and trying for triangles was passé all way back in the single-digit UFCs. Round 3 ends with nothing going on. 10-9 Radach, and the judges say 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 for Radach.

Light Heavyweights: Chuck Liddell v. Vitor Belfort

Belfort actually hasn’t been in the UFC since 1998, and he returns to a totally different beast. Belfort shoots in and gets a takedown right away, but Chuck walks the wall to escape. Belfort takes him down again, but Chuck fights up again and they trade body shots against the fence. Belfort backs off and gets a couple of good leg kicks as the round ends. 10-9 Belfort, good aggression there.

Round two sees Chuck taking over, bullying Vitor against the fence and then throwing a spinning back kick! He tries it again and nearly gets caught as a result, but no harm done. Chuck keeps pressing as the round expires, winning it 10-9.

Round three and Chuck keeps pressing, hitting leg kicks and mixing in punches. Belfort wisely fights back, trying for the knockout, but Chuck won’t let him get close enough to explode. Chuck, however, gets lazy and falls victim to Belfort’s left…and that wakes him up. He knocks Belfort down with a right, finally getting pissed off, and then goes into Belfort’s guard until the end of the round. 10-9 Liddell for what should be a unanimous decision. That was exactly the kind of hot fight they needed to win over a TV crowd. Judges’ decision: 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 for Liddell. Really? Two judges had it that dominant for Liddell? So this sets up the next challenger for Tito Ortiz: Chuck Liddell! And yeah, obviously that didn’t turn out quite as they wanted.

Still, this is a hell of a show and well worth tracking down. Lots of quick fights and good finishes.