UFC 83 Results & Recap
by Robert Sargent
The UFC's first venture into Canada was largely a success, with Rich "Ace" Franklin defeating "The Serial Killer" Travis Lutter and Georges "Rush" St. Pierre stopping Matt "The Terror" Serra for the UFC Welterweight Championship.
The lone blemish on the main card of the event was the "fight" between Kalib Starnes and Nate "Rock" Quarry, which was simply Quarry chasing Starnes around the cage.
UFC Welterweight Championship
Georges "Rush" St. Pierre vs Matt "The Terror" Serra
St. Pierre avenged the second loss of his career in overwhelmingly dominant fashion, battering an overmatched Serra for nearly two rounds before the referee mercifully put a stop to the fight.St. Pierre immediately scored a takedown in the first round and worked from Serra's half-guard. The next two minutes of the fight saw St. Pierre land elbows and punches from Serra's guard and half-guard. St. Pierre rose up and landed two hard punches that rocked Serra and immediately caused his right eye to swell. Serra could do little more than try to regain guard, which he did. St. Pierre, however, moved to side-control and then took Serra's back. After taking a number of punches, Serra managed to get back to his feet, but St. Pierre landed a Superman Punch and secured a beautiful double-leg takedown just before the bell. Easy round for St. Pierre.
The second round was more of the same, with St. Pierre taking Serra to the mat early on. St. Pierre landed punches and knees to the body before Serra got back to his feet. Serra landed a head kick and St. Pierre went for a spinning back kick. St. Pierre began to tee off with jabs and crosses as Serra began to tire. St. Pierre scored another takedown and landed more elbows and knees to the body. Serra regained guard, but absorbed dozens of strikes in the process. Late in the round, Serra rolled to his stomach, but St. Pierre landed four straight brutal knee strikes to the ribs of Serra, forcing the referee to stop the fight as Serra turtled.
Winner: Georges St. Pierre by TKO (Knees To The Body) at 4:44 of round two. He improves to 16-2-0 and becomes the new UFC Welterweight Champion.
Rich "Ace" Franklin vs "The Serial Killer" Travis Lutter
Franklin survived a scare in round one and pummelled a badly fatigued Lutter in round two to get back on the winning track.Not surprisingly, Lutter went for a takedown right away and got Franklin to the ground after a clinch against the cage. Lutter took Franklin's back and tried to work for a rear naked choke. Franklin defended, but Lutter moved to side-control. With two minutes left in the round, Lutter moved to full mount, but he was already beginning to tire. He landed strikes to the head of Franklin and locked on an armbar, but Franklin somehow managed to roll and escape in a highly impressive display. Lutter tried for another takedown, but was fatiguing badly and Franklin sprawled. Franklin landed a pair of knees before the bell, but round one goes to Lutter.
Lutter could barely stand for round two, as his typically awful cardio struck again, and Franklin began to pick him apart with punches and knees. Franklin staggered Lutter with a head kick and unleashed a barrage of punches on the ground. Lutter locked onto Franklin's ankle and looked for a heel hook, but Franklin managed to escape. Lutter slowly got back to his feet and went for a sloppy takedown attempt. The crowd screamed for knees as Franklin got Lutter in a Thai clinch, and it was academic after that. Franklin dropped Lutter with a series of punches and the referee moved in to save Lutter from further damage.
Winner: Rich Franklin by TKO (Punches) at 3:00 of round two. He improves to 23-3-0, 1 NC.
Nate "Rock" Quarry vs Kalib Starnes
In one of the worst bouts in mixed martial arts history, Quarry was forced to chase Starnes around the cage for 15 minutes, as Starnes literally did almost nothing in the entire fight and surely ended his UFC career with his extremely poor performance.All three rounds were nearly identical, but the key trend throughout the "fight" were the brutal leg kicks and follow-up combinations from Quarry. Starnes landed a couple of punches in the early stages of all three rounds, then seemed content to backpedal and do nothing for the remainder.
In an absolutely priceless display, Quarry, obviously frustrated with having to chase Starnes around, started mocking Starnes by jogging around the cage in the final seconds of the third round. In an even funnier display, Quarry used his left hand to cover his eye and started walking forward with his right arm flailing wildly, and Starnes still continued to move backwards, even though the mockery was clear as day.
After the fight, Starnes had choice words for the cornermen of Quarry, but Starnes really had no business saying anything, as he'd just single-handedly ended his own tenure in the UFC. In a UFC first, one judge scored all three rounds as 10-8 for Quarry, for a 30-24 total. That summed up just how awful this was to watch. The Canadian fans loudly booed Surrey, B.C.'s Starnes, and cheered the American, Quarry, after the fight.
Winner: Nate Quarry by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-24). He improves to 10-2-0.
Michael "The Count" Bisping vs "Chainsaw" Charles McCarthy
As he was expected to do, Bisping overran McCarthy with dozens of varied strikes, but he did have to survive a solid submission attempt along the way.McCarthy tried for a few haymaker punches in the early stages of round one, but the opening minutes were dominated by Bisping, whose technical striking began to pick McCarthy apart. McCarthy began taunting after Bisping landed a series of knees, but Bisping continued to press forward. Bisping landed strikes at will for the next minute, but McCarthy scored a takedown just before the halfway mark in the round. After a scramble, McCarthy locked onto Bisping's arm and looked for an armbar, which he partially secured. Bisping remained calm and defended well, then eventually escaped.
In the final minute of round one, Bisping put McCarthy on the defensive with knees and punches, landing dozens of knees to the arms of McCarthy as McCarthy covered his face. A knee slipped through to McCarthy's head with 15 seconds left, dropping him to the canvas. Bisping continued to punch until McCarthy was saved by the bell. However, an arm injury from the knee strikes meant that McCarthy could not continue.
Winner: Michael Bisping by TKO (Arm Injury) at 5:00 of round one. He improves to 15-1-0.
Mac Danzig vs Mark Bocek
Danzig started slow, but turned it on in round two before finishing Bocek off late in the third round.Both fighters landed solid punches in the opening minute, with Bocek scoring a takedown just over 90 seconds in. Bocek began to land punches from the top as Danzig looked for submissions. Danzig locked in an omoplata, but Bocek escaped and rained down punches from the top. Danzig managed to get back to his feet, but Bocek took him down once again. Danzig again got back to his feet and got Bocek to the ground, landing punches from top position. Danzig rebounded late in the round, but round one went to Bocek.
The second round was all Danzig, as he landed a hard jab early on and then dropped Bocek with a knee to the face 30 seconds in. Danzig immediately pounced and tried to finish the fight, but Bocek survived. Danzig landed elbows on the ground and then a jumping knee to the face of Bocek as both fighters stood up. Back on the ground, Danzig took top position and began to land strikes at will. Danzig took Bocek's back and looked for a choke, but Bocek defended and Danzig stood up. On the feet, Bocek began to land some good punching combinations, but failed to take Danzig down and ate punches on the ground from Danzig until the bell.
Danzig landed a hard right early in round three, with Bocek replying with a combination of his own. Bocek took Danzig down, but Danzig transitioned into the rare gogoplata choke submission. However, Bocek did manage to escape and landed punches from Danzig's guard. Danzig got back to his feet and landed a pair of knees in the clinch. Bocek began bleeding badly from his previously swollen left eye. Danzig landed a combination, then time was called to check Bocek's cut.
After receiving the go-ahead from the doctor, the fight was restarted and Danzig landed a series of jabs. Danzig used a sweep to take Bocek to the ground and moved to mount, then took Bocek's back. Danzig sunk in both hooks and locked on a rear naked choke that forced Bocek to submit.
Winner: Mac Danzig by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 3:46 of round three. He improves to 18-4-1.
Jonathan "The Road Warrior" Goulet vs Kuniyoshi Hironaka
In this battle of glass (Goulet) vs granite (Hironaka) chins, it was glass that prevailed, as Goulet rebounded from a knockdown in round one and a stun in round two by knocking Hironaka out with a series of punches.The first round was largely dominated by Goulet, whose superior striking skills kept Hironaka on the defensive for much of the round. Goulet drilled Hironaka with a series of knees early on, then landed a pair of one-two combinations after a clinch against the cage. Goulet landed another combination and a right hook. Hironaka countered with a stiff jab, but Goulet started to open up with a variety of kicks. Goulet reversed a takedown attempt and landed a hard knee to the face of Hironaka, then a Superman Punch. However, with one minute left, Hironaka dropped Goulet with a fairly weak left cross, then landed strikes from top position until the bell saved Goulet, barely. Hironaka steals round one.
In the second round, Goulet started things with a variety of kicks and a flying elbow strike. Hironaka staggered Goulet with another weak left cross, and it seemed as if Goulet's suspect chin might prove to be his downfall. However, Goulet came back with punches and kicks, then another Superman Punch. Just as the announcers made mention of Hironaka's ability to absorb a lot of punishment, Goulet dropped Hironaka with a right cross, then followed up with more punches and a knee. Hironaka got back to his feet, but a combination, punctuated by a right straight to the jaw, put Hironaka down and ended the fight.
Winner: Jonathan Goulet by TKO (Punches) at 2:02 of round two. He improves to 22-9-0, 1 NC.
Undercard Fights:
In a Canadian grudge match, Edmonton's Jason "The Athlete" MacDonald made it 2-0 against Winnipeg's Joe "El Dirte" Doerksen, albeit in somewhat controversial fashion. MacDonald nearly submitted Doerksen with a guillotine choke in the first round, but Doerksen countered with a Kimura later on, and members of the media stated after that they believed that MacDonald tapped out to the hold. Regardless, the fight continued and MacDonald escaped, then knocked out Doerksen with a barrage of punches in round two. The referee failed to stop the fight quickly enough, and MacDonald landed two hard punches to an unconscious Doerksen.Winner: Jason MacDonald by KO (Punches) at 0:54 of round two. He improves to 20-9-0.
Lethbridge, Alberta's Jason "Dooms" Day made the most of his debut in the UFC, however undeserved it may have been after the travesty of his nonsense Split Decision victory over David "The Crow" Loiseau in February, as he made short work of Alan "The Talent" Belcher. Belcher scored a takedown and Day landed elbows while trapping Belcher in his rubber guard. After both fighters stood up, Day landed a vicious elbow and a series of follow-up punches that forced a stoppage and put an end to Belcher's night.
Winner: Jason Day by TKO (Punches) at 3:58 of round one. He improves to 17-5-0.
Demian Maia remained undefeated, as he took advantage of a mistake from Ed "Short Fuse" Herman and locked on a triangle choke. Maia used a variety of submissions, including an omoplata, in an extremely close first round, then capitalised when Herman made the mistake of testing Maia's butterfly guard in round two. Maia caught Herman in a triangle choke, then turned Herman over onto his back. Herman could not escape the choke and was rendered unconscious. Another highly impressive submission from Maia.
Winner: Demian Maia by Technical Submission (Triangle Choke From Mount) at 2:27 of round two. He improves to 7-0-0.
Rich "No Love" Clementi scored a close Split Decision victory over Ontario's Sam "Hands of Stone" Stout, in a highly competitive bout. Clementi used takedowns and submission attempts to control Stout for much of the fight, but Stout held a decided advantage in the striking exchanges and did well to avoid many of Clementi's takedown attempts. In the end, Stout lost the close decision, but remains as the reigning TKO Lightweight Champion and will be back in Montreal to defend his title soon enough.
Winner: Rich Clementi by Split Decision (29-27, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. He improves to 31-12-1.
Highly-touted Cain Velasquez emerged victorious in his heavyweight battle with Australia's Brad Morris, knocking Morris down with a punch early in the fight, which Morris later stated that he woke up from a minute later as Velasquez landed strikes on the ground. Morris gave up his back to avoid strikes from the mount, but Velasquez continued the punishment and knocked Morris back down with a knee and an uppercut seconds later. A follow-up series of strikes forced a stoppage.
Winner: Cain Velasquez by TKO (Strikes) at 2:10 of round one. He improves to 3-0-0.
With the exception of the Starnes vs Quarry fight, which everyone would like to forget as soon as possible, UFC 83 was a highly successful debut for the Ultimate Fighting Championship in Canada, and the passionate crowd in Montreal will surely bring the UFC back north in the near future.
