For the past several years, UFC has always stacked their Superbowl weekend card to make it one of the biggest events of the year. This year, UFC 81 is the third UFC event within the span of 2 weeks, following an unexpectedly fun UFC 80 and a mind-numbingly boring Ultimate Fight Night. The two featured matchups were heavyweight showdowns: Tim Sylvia faced Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira for the interim UFC HW title; and NCAA champion turned WWE superstar turned MMA fighter Brock Lesnar made his UFC debut against the former HW champion Frank Mir.
Tyson Griffin vs Gleason Tibau
The fight starts out with a long feeling-out period. Griffin lets his fists fly towards the end of the first round, and Tibau responds with an impressive takedown. The rest of the fight is more of the same, with Griffin winning the standup exchanges and Tibau getting an occasional takedown but unable to hold Tyson down for long. In the third round, Griffin really finds his range and is hurting Tibau with head and body shots. Tyson wins the bout, 30-27 on all judges’ scorecards. The crowd does not agree with the judges and Griffin is boo’ed ruthlessly during the post-fight interview.
The aftermath: Tyson Griffin was tentative and cautious, very unlike the high-paced style that the fans have come to expect from him. He is a solid 155’er but still has ways to go in this ultra-competitive division. Tibau looks shockingly huge at 155, and will likely be back soon in another undercard bout.
Fight grade: 2.5/5
Ricardo Almeida vs Rob Yundt
The grappling expert Almeida makes his return to MMA after a long layoff. He faces UFC newcomer Yundt, who stepped in at the last minute to substitute for an ill Alan Belcher. Almeida wasted no time getting a takedown and locking in a guillotine. Yundt attempts a slam to get out of the submission, but Almeida ends up in top position and holds on to the choke, forcing a tap from Yundt.
The aftermath: An impressive return to action from Almeida makes him a welcome addition to UFC’s struggling 185 division. Yundt did not fare well in his Octagon debut, but is certain to get another chance for stepping up on such short notice.
Fight grade: 4/5
Nathan Marquardt vs Jeremy Horn
Horn is completely outclassed from the beginning. Marquardt dominates both standup and grappling, as Horn looks for submissions from his guard through the first round. In the second, Marquardt locks in a guillotine from a standing position, and finishes it on the ground to force a tap.
The aftermath: Good comeback from Marquardt after his previous loss to Anderson Silva. Perhaps he can now face Almeida, in a rematch of their Pancrase fight from 2003. Horn, sadly, no longer seems to have what it takes to hang with the top middleweights in the UFC.
Fight grade: 3/5
Tim Boetsch vs David Heath
Unheralded Boetsch is yet another late replacement on this card, stepping in for an injured Tomasz Drwal. Boetsch quickly takes control of the fight, overpowering Heath with punches and knees. Heath is rocked as Boetsch throws him face-first into the canvas, and finishes with a barrage of strikes. Boetsch wins by TKO in the first round.
The aftermath: A great debut for Boetsch. I would like to see him face Houston Alexander somewhere down the road. Heath needs to either move down in weight, or perhaps down to the WEC.
Fight grade: 4/5
Frank Mir vs Brock Lesnar
Lesnar immediately takes Mir down and is raining down rabbit punches. Two strikes land to the back of Mir’s head; the referee Steve Mazzagatti steps in and stands the fighters up. Mazzagatti takes a point away from Lesnar. Mir attempts a leg kick as the action resumes and is taken down once again. Mir throws his legs up to attempt an armbar, but Brock escapes. In a scramble, Mir gets a hold of Brock’s leg and locks in a kneebar. The hold does not look tight, but Lesnar is unable to escape and quickly taps.
The aftermath: Brock looked good in his loss for someone in his second MMA match. For his next fight, he obviously needs an opponent with less submission skill – someone like Eddie Sanchez, or the loser or Herring – Kongo. As for Frank Mir, it looks like the old Mir is back with back-to-back first round submission wins. It yet remains to be seen if he can hang with the top echelon heavyweights. A rematch with Sylvia might be interesting.
Fight grade: 4.5/5
Tim Sylvia vs Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Sylvia comes out aggressive, taking advantage of his reach and landing punches. Sylvia knocks Nogueira down with a left-right combo, and jumps into his guard looking to finish. Nogueira is able to regain composure and Sylvia backs out and stands up. Nogueira pulls guard but Sylvia stands up again. Nogueira is finally able to secure a takedown with no time left in the round.
In Round 2, Sylvia is getting the best of standup again but Nogueira seems to be adjusting to his timing. Nogueira is persistent in looking for a takedown, but not able to secure one. Sylvia is slowing down and landing less as the round progresses.
In the third round, Nogueira pulls guard early and gets a sweep to end up on top. Nogueira attempts an armbar; Sylvia sweeps and gets caught in a guillotine. Sylvia taps quickly.
The aftermath: Nogueira becomes the first man to win both UFC & Pride HW titles. He calls out Randy Couture – the fight we’d all love to see that has very little chance of actually happening. There is no clear cut #1 contender in the HW division at the moment; I believe a rematch with Werdum would be the best option for Nogueira. Sylvia once again shows that jiu-jitsu is his weakness (he even admits this much in the post-fight interview) however he is still only a punch away from defeating anyone in his weight class. A rematch with Frank Mir, or the winner of Kongo-Herring would be good matchups for Big Tim.
Fight grade: 5/5
Chris Lytle vs Kyle Bradley
Prior to the fight, Lytle promised to go for the finish instead of employing his normally conservative fighting style. Lytle delivers on his promise, rocking Bradley early on and finishing him off with strikes before Kyle has a chance to recover.
The aftermath: It’s good to see Lytle to finally utilize his boxing skill to finish an opponent. Matching him up with another welterweight with serious KO power – such as Marcus Davis – would make for some fireworks. Bradley was overwhelmed and never got a chance to recover in his UFC debut.
Fight grade: 3.5/5
Rob Emerson vs Keita Nakamura
This bout looks like a kickboxing match, with Emerson landing most of the strikes. Nakamura knocks Emerson down with a knee late in the first round, and scores several takedowns throughout the fight, but is unable to hold Emerson down long enough to inflict any damage. Emerson wins a split decision in a rather boring match.
The aftermath: A mostly inconsequential fight between two bottom-tier fighters in a stacked division.
Fight grade: 2/5
All in all, UFC 81 delivered beyond all expectations. Both featured fights were great. The undercard mixed up a few lackluster bouts between the more exciting ones, but a couple of boring fights are nothing to complain about when 8 out of 9 fights were shown.