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Cert: 15
Length: 154 mins
UFC 56: Full Force was held Saturday, November 19th at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and featured a mere 7 bouts on the card.
Fight Card
- Jeremy Horn vs Trevor Prangley
- Georges St. Pierre vs Sean Sherk
- Matt Hughes vs Joe Riggs
- Gabriel Gonzaga vs Kevin Jordan
- Rich Franklin vs Nate Quarry
- Ansar Chalangov vs Thiego Alves
- Sam Hoger vs Jeff Newton
The Fights
First into the Octagon we saw Ansar Chalangov face Thiago Alves in a welterweight division fight. This was apparently Alves’ second UFC match, but I’ll be damned if I can remember seeing him before! Not that it mattered anyway as Alves showed some talent in this brief fight. Quickly he managed to pass the guard of Chalangov and land some pretty crisp and clean strikes to the face and head of his downed foe to gain the win via stoppage. ***
Up next we get Sam Hoger take on Jeff Newton. Newton showed nothing at all in terms of takedown defence, which resulted on Hoger taking the fight to ground at will. Newton somehow managed to avoid taking any serious strikes while on the ground whilst keeping Sam in a risky-looking open guard while attempting to finish the fight from underneath using an armbar and a heel hook, both of which were easily avoided by Hoger. Round two quickly went down to the ground again, but Newton made the basic mistake of giving Hoger his back, which allowed the dislikeable Hoger to lock in a rear-naked choke for the tappout victory. This was a pretty decent fight, although it was obvious from the start that Hoger is much more well-rounded as a fighter, and Newton had nothing that could really threaten him. *** 1/2
The next fight may class as the worst grappling fight I have ever seen, Jeremy Horn beat Trevor Prangley via the judge’s scorecards. This was an unpopular decision, but I feel a fair one. Horn fought from below for most of the fight and seemed to be more aggressive in his approach. Lacklustre at best. *
My favourite Welterweight in any MMA company has to be the amazing Georges St Pierre! This man can fight with the best of them and should be holding gold, but for some reason the guy never gets a title shot! And to be perfectly honest putting him against Sean Sherk felt like a demotion (despite Sherks excellent abilities, heck he took Matt Hughes to the distance a few years back). But St Pierre showed what he could do with what could be used in any dojo as a step-by-step guide in taking someone apart! The referee had to stop the fight in the second round due to the ridiculous amount of offence St Pierre was handing over to Sherk. Afterwards Sean Sherks face was a mess. ****
Matt Hughes vs Joe Riggs was supposed to be a Welterweight championship match, however Riggs was unable to make weight and so this fight went on as a non-title bout. Not that it mattered as the bigger man was swiftly taken down and taken apart in a submissions clinic from the champion that culminated in a key lock for the VERY popular win. ****
The next match made me want to cry…Kevin Jordan vs Gabriel Gonzaga in a heavyweight contest that was so dull I couldnt watch. I honestly just couldnt watch it! I have NEVER before had to turn off a DVD I was reviewing to swap it for another! I ended up watching a WWE Divas DVD which had more action than this fight! The ‘fighters’ were both booed solidly throughout the second and third rounds, in the end Gonzaga won. Not that anyone really cared. Worst. Fight. Ever. Not even negative stars could sum this one up.
The main event of the evening pitted Middleweight champion Rich Franklin in a total mismatch against Nate Quarry. Franklin barely even broke a sweat in this fight, despite landing several brutal strikes (one of which broke Nate ‘the Rock’ Quarrys nose). A HUGE overhand right actually managed to knock Quarry into the air in one of the greatest-looking knockouts I have ever seen in UFC. ****
Bonus DVD Features
Nothing to write home about, just the standard fighter gallery and interviews.
Overview
A decent enough card, but considering this is the UFC I was disappointed. Maybe the heavyweight division is just too low on fighters, maybe St Pierre is just too good. Maybe the score of *** is too high, who cares? I’m the reviewer and I say *** it is.
Paul Kelly