Tonight at UFC 77 in Cincinatti, the crowd was let down when two home-town heroes, George Gurgel and ex-middleweight champ Rich Franklin lost their bouts.

Forget Gurgel, I’ve never been interested in his fights anyway, but Franklin… dude got his ass WHOOPED. I’m a Franklin fan. He’s a good fighter and good guy who works hard and has an incredible work ethic. But Anderson “The Spider” Silva was wwaaaayyyyyy too much for him. It was Rich’s second loss to Anderson and both were devastating losses. Tonight Rich was saved by the bell at the end of the first when he got brutalized with a flurry of crisp muay-thai strikes. He just got finished in the second round. Silva simply outclassed him.

Anderson Silva kicking a downed Travis Lutter:

Franklin’s nose after his first fight with Silva (yikes!):

Anderson SIlva, in my opinion, is definitely to be considered when talking about who is the best pound for pound fighter in the world. His muay-thai striking is crisp, precise and powerful and his Jiu-Jitsu is top notch. It’s an insane combo. Watching him control Rich Franklin’s body by having just one hand behind Rich’s neck was enough to prove to me that The Spider knows how to fight.

The talk on the fight forums is who’s going to fight Silva next? The only realistic challenge is Dan Henderson who could very possibly out-wrestle him and ground and pound out a decision. However, Henderson just lost to Rampage at Light Heavyweight, so he’ll probably have to put in at least one fight at 185 before he gets a shot at the title. I don’t think we’ll see another Anderson Silva fight for at least 5 or 6 months.

Brandon Vera’s loss to Big Tim Sylvia was a disappointment, but definitely not a surprise. I’ve been a huge Vera fan since he came in to the UFC; I met the guy and he was super cool.

Me with Brandon Vera about a year and a half ago (dig my hair):

He was undefeated before tonight, and I think he’ll come back strong. I wasn’t sure what kind of game plan he was going to come with. The only way I could see him winning this fight was by dancing around Muhammad Ali style and chopping away at him with kicks and punches. When he actually did that he got the better of some of the exchanges, but a lot of the fight was spent with Vera trying to muscle Tim around and just getting pushed up against the fence. You can’t muscle Tim around (unless you’re Randy Couture of course, then you can basically do anything). Vera will be back, though. He’ll be a very tough contender against anyone in the world at HW.

A-ite! more next time from the streetwear front.

Tags: mma ufc pride brandon vera rich franklin anderson silva tim sylvia

I know this isn’t really an MMA/UFC blog, but this is some big news for fight fans.

According to www.thefightnetwork.com, Randy Couture, former UFC Light Heavyweight and multiple time Heavyweight champion, is walking away from the fight game due to the UFC’s inability to contract Fedor Emelianenko, PRIDE’s heavyweight champ and arguably he best pound for pound fighter in the world.

“I appreciate this opportunity the sport of MMA and the UFC has given me. However, I’m tired of swimming upstream at this stage with the management of the UFC. It only makes sense at this point in my career to fight Fedor Emelianenko, and since he’s now signed with another organization, I feel like it’s time to resign and focus on my other endeavors,” said Randy.

A sad day for fight fans. Randy Couture was a true inspiration to all fighters and many other athletes and fans. His return to The Octagon when he defeated Tim Sylvia for the heavyweight title might be the greatest moment in fight history. His departure now is one of the saddest.

We’ll miss you Randy! Thanks for years of great fights. You are truly a legend.

Tags: ufc mma randy couture fedor