UFC 97 took place in Montreal, Canada. Several milestones were on the line in the main event: the middleweight champion Anderson Silva was looking to defend his title for the fifth time, and add an unprecedented ninth consecutive UFC win to his career record. In the second featured matchup, the former lightheavyweight champion Chuck Liddell faced off with Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua in a bout where the winner would be propelled into title contention, while the loser would likely be looking at the end of his UFC career. The historic event broke the North American MMA attendance record. Here’s how it all went down:
Steve Cantwell vs. Luis Arthur Cane (205 lbs)
Round 1: Both fighters are aggressive on the feet, trading combinations. Cane is more accurate while Cantwell is having a hard time finding his range. Cantwell throws several high kick but Cane blocks every attempt. A good mix of offense and defense from both fighters, with neither doing significant damage but Cane clearly the more powerful striker of the two and more of his shots are finding their target. Round 10-9 Cane
Round 2: Cantwell appears much more comfortable in this round. Cane is still winning most exchanges, until Cantwell lands a punch combination punctuated by a head kick that stuns Cane. Though Cane recovers, Cantwell finishes the round strong, scoring with combinations. Round 10-9 Cantwell
Round 3: With the fight seemingly even so far, Cane turns up the pace in the final round, punishing Cantwell with flurries of punches. Cantwell fires back but is outgunned for most of the round. Cane shrugs off a single takedown attempt and continues his assault. Round 10-9 Cane
Cane wins a unanimous decision, with scores of 30-27, 30-27, 29-28
Fight Grade: 4/5
Aftermath: Good showing from both fighters. Cane is moving closer to title contention and should fight one of the bigger names at 205 in his next bout. I’d like to see Cantwell against a grappler next – Eric Schafer would be a good matchup.
Cheick Kongo vs. Antoni Hardonk (HW)
Round 1: Hardonk starts out with his patented leg kicks, a few of which connect solidly. Kongo is a bit wary at first but eventually figures out Hardonk’s timing and catches a kick, throwing Antoni to the ground. Hardonk stands back up; Kongo finds his range and makes Hardonk back up with punch combinations. They clinch and Kongo takes Hardonk down, finishing the round with elbows and punches from guard. Round 10-9 Kongo
Round 2: Kongo catches Hardonk off-balance with a combination then pushes him to the ground. Kongo works from Hardonk’s guard, opening up a cut with elbows. Hardonk is unable to do anything but try to stall. Kongo postures up and blasts Hardonk with punches; Hardonk goes fetal and the fight is stopped.
Fight Grade: 4/5
Aftermath: Strangely, Kongo does not get a post-fight interview. If he did, he surely would have asked for his ‘teetle’ shot. At this point, Kongo along with Shane Carwin and Cain Velasquez are the top contenders for the winner of Brock Lesnar – Frank Mir title unification bout. With Velasquez scheduled to fight Heath Herring, Kongo should face off with Carwin in a contender bout.
Hardonk doesn’t offer much of a threat to top competition at this point, and will be relegated to a gate-keeper role.
Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Brian Stann (205 lbs)
Round 1: Stann is the aggressor with strikes and backs Soszynski up against the fence. They clinch and Stann scores with dirty boxing. Soszynski responds with knees then a takedown. Stann escapes but Soszynski takes him right back down and gains side control. Soszynski goes for a kimura and Stann taps out on the second attempt.
Fight Grade: 3/5
Aftermath: Soszynski is now 2-0 in the UFC and wants to test his kimura against elite competition; however I believe someone like Cantwell would be closer to his current level. Ryan Bader and Elliot Marshall are also good possibilities of matchups that could have happened on ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ but didn’t. Stann showed a complete lack of ground game and needs a lot of development to be able to hang in the UFC. I’d like to see him fight Tim Boetsch or Houston Alexander.
Chuck Liddell vs. Mauricio Rua (205 lbs)
Round 1: ‘Shogun’ leads with leg kicks, which have shown to be an effective strategy against Liddell in the past. It works at first but eventually Liddell starts to return strikes and forces Rua to back up. Rua lands a punch and quickly shoots for a successful takedown. Rua attempts a heelhook but Liddell stands right back up and blasts Rua with an elbow. Liddell scores a takedown of his own but lets Rua up. Rua lands a wide hook to the chin, dropping Liddell. Rua pounces with hammerfists and while Liddell is not out cold, he is not able to offer any defense, causing the referee to stop the bout.
Fight Grade: 4/5
Aftermath: This looks to be the end of the road for Chuck Liddell. Though he was hesitant to announce his retirement, UFC President Dana White was very unequivocal about this being Liddell’s final bout in the Octagon. Rua pursues his quest to rise to former glory, and is one of the top contenders in the division, after Lyoto Machida and Quinton Jackson. I’d like to see him take on Luis Cane in the meanwhile; a rematch with Jackson somewhere down the road is also an exciting possibility.
Matt Wiman vs. Sam Stout (155 lbs)
Round 1: Wiman comes out swinging and Stout fires back. Stout is connecting; Wiman shoots for a takedown and eventually gets Stout down. Stout gets back up and and they trade strikes for a while; Wiman gets another takedown and Stout stands up again. Very hard round to score with Stout having an advantage on the feet, but Wiman more aggressive and scoring with takedowns. Round 10-10 Draw
Round 2: Stout attacks Wiman’s legs and body with kicks. Wiman attempts a takedown and ends up taking Stout’s back standing, but is eventually thrown off. Stout lands a combination and finishes with a body kick that knocks Wiman down. Stout rushes in to finish but Wiman recovers and attempts an armbar. Stout pulls out and punishes Wiman with body punches for the remainder of the round. Round 10-9 Stout
Round 3: Wiman flurries then goes for a takedown and ends up on Stout’s back. Stout reverses and ends up on top, pounding Wiman from guard. Stout stands up and is taken down again. Wiman works elbows from guard, opening up cuts on Stout’s forehead. Stout struggles but gets back to his feet, only to be taken down again. Round 10-9 Wiman
Stout wins a unanimous decision, 29-28 on all scorecards
Fight Grade: 4/5
Aftermath: This matchup had no significant relevance in the division, and both fighters will surely return soon after winning the Fight of the Night award.
Champion Anderson Silva vs. Thales Leites (185 lbs title bout)
Round 1: The fight starts out very tentatively, and absolutely nothing happens for the first two minutes. Eventually there are a few strikes exchanged, with Silva landing the more significant ones. Leites moves away from Silva, not willing to engage. Leites pulls guard but Silva stands right back up. So far very reminiscent of Silva’s previous bout with Patrick Cote. Round 10-9 Silva
Round 2: Leites pursues a takedown and completes one. He briefly passes into half guard but Silva regains guard and locks in a body triangle. No offense from Leites on the ground; Silva throws elbows off his back and eventually escapes. The round finishes up with very sporadic action on the feet. Round 10-9 Leites
Round 3: Silva comes out more aggressive, and Leites has no answer for Anderson’s striking,. Silva appears to inadvertently poke Leites in the eye; Leites falls to his back and gestures to the referee, who takes no notice. Silva lets Leites back up, and for the remainder of the round each time Silva attempts to clinch or throw a strike, Leites flops to his back again. Silva is very frustrated, walking away from Leites. Leites should have been penalized for completely refusing to engage. Round 10-8 Silva
Round 4: Silva attacks Thales’ leg and knee with kicks. Leites attempts a takedown but Silva sprawls easily. Very little action, with sporadic strikes from Silva and nothing from Leites. Leites falls to his back again. Round 10-9 Silva
Round 5: Leites goes for a takedown but Silva ends up on top, and does the most significant damage of this fight so far with punches to his turtled-up opponent. Leites escapes; Silva pursues him on the feet. Silva catches a leg kick and throws Leites to the ground. Leites stands back up, then falls to his back again. The fight ends the same way as it began. Round 10-9 Silva
Silva wins a unanimous decision with the scores of 50-46, 49-46, and 48-47 to retain his title.
Fight Grade: 1/5
Aftermath: Leites’ refusal to engage and Silva’s passive approach made for one of the most boring five-round fights of all time. Silva defends his title for the fifth time, joining the ranks of Matt Hughes and Tito Ortiz, and sets the record for consecutive wins, 9-0 since his UFC debut. Silva’s last two title defenses were barely watchable, and there are no real challenges remaining for him in the division. Anderson needs to move up to 205 lbs to further his legacy.
Leites completely blew it in his first title shot and main event, and will almost certainly be punished by being relegated to untelevised matches for a while, if not worse.
What was a great undercard, ended up being dragged down by the lethargic five rounder of a main event.