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Cert: 15
Length: 288 mins
UFC 11: The Proving Ground
Filmed before a 4,500 strong crowd in the Civic Centre in Augusta, Georgia
Fight Card
- Mark Coleman Vs Julian Sanchez
- Reza Nasri Vs Brian Johnston
- Tank Abbott Vs Sam Adkins
- Fabio Gurgel Vs Jerry Bohlander
- Mark Coleman Vs Brian Johnston
- Tank Abbott Vs Scott Ferrozzo
- Mark Coleman Vs Scott Ferrozzo
The Fights
The opening bout featured former US Olympic wrestler and defender UFC Champion Mark Coleman against bare-knuckle fighter Julian Sanchez. The younger Sanchez looked out of shape even walking to the ring, and it was even more evident as the match started. Immediately ‘The Hammer’ connected with a punch to the jaw of Sanchez, and as the Texas native staggered backwards Coleman took him down and locked in a variation of a unicorn crank for the tapout victory in 44 seconds of the first round. ***
Next up Reza Nasri against Brian Johnston in what promised to be a real clash of styles. Nasri was a Greco Roman wrestling champion while Johnston specialised in kickboxing. Quickly Nasri attempted a single leg takedown before Johnston threw Nasri to his back and pounded the Iranian with head buts and heavy punches to get the win via stoppage in the 30th second of the first round. When ‘Big’ John McCarthy separated the fighters he burst the nose of the kickboxer, possibly making the first instance of a fighter being injured by a referee! ****
The next quarter final fight featured the returning David ‘Tank’ Abbott against Sam Adkins. Oddly the first thing done by streetfigher Tank Abbott was a takedown on Adkins. In one of the strangest moments in Tanks fighting career the Huntington Beach fighter choked out Adkins. What the hell is going on when Abbott gets a tapout win in a fight. Ugly fight with no skill shown, even with the choke. *½
The last quarter-final fight featured Fabio Gurgel facing off against the Ken Shamrock trained Jerry Bohlander. In a great start to the fight both men fought for position with the Brazilian fighter making most of the aggressive movements. Surprisingly Bohlander managed to get into the guard of the Ju Jitsu specialist, but the American broke away from a dominant position in order to attack with strikes. Stupidly Bohlander kicked Gurgel, which as he was wearing boots was an illegal action and so was warned and fined. Gurgel recovered his feet and cut open the forehead of his opponent with a nasty-looking punch. Again both men took it to the floor with Bohlander almost able to sink in a guillotine, but Gurgel managed to escape. What followed was a perfect example of living chess with both men exchanging shots and holds, Bohlander even adding a few head buts to the fight. Towards the end of the fight Fabio Gurgel attempted a triangle choke, but gave his back in the attempt and was only saved by a natural speed from Bohlander applying a choke of his own. The fight went to the scorecards with Bohlander looking far and away the stronger man, and the judges all agreed with Bohlander being the winner. This is one of the greatest fights I have seen in UFC. ****
In the first semi-final Coleman faced Johnston, both men having won quick victories in the previous round and so were both fresh. Johnston aimed kick after kick to the calf of Mark Coleman, but the Hammer quickly took down the kick boxer and aimed strike after strike into the face and head of Johnston causing the bout to be stopped as Johnston appeared to be unable to defend himself. ***
The final semi-final should have featured Jerry Bohlander against David ‘Tank’ Abbott, however Bohlander was too injured to continue and was replaced by Scott Ferrozzo. How often in MMA do you see the combatants disciplines listed as ‘Streetfighting’ and ‘pit fighting’? This fight was…ugly as hell, resembling more a drunken barroom brawl than a mixed martial arts fight. Two fat men throwing wild punches doesn’t appeal to my sense of aesthetics…..yeah, I like to look at the beauty of two well-trained grapplers at the peak of their art.
Ferrozzo was quickly burst open by ‘Tank’, but the power of his giant beer belly kept the pit fighter on his feet. The fight continued to the 15-minute time limit, by which point the two men were resting on each others shoulders while still trying to throw punches. For some ungodly reason the fight was allowed to continue for another three minutes, Tank Abbott feeling the distance much more than Ferrozzo. The fight went to the judges scorecard and Abbott was on the losing end of that call. *
Well…. the final of Mark ‘The Hammer’ Coleman against Scott Ferrozzo had to be changed as the mighty beer belly was forced to pull out due to the cuts on his face. Replacing Ferrozzo was supposed to be one of the alternate fighters, however he was also unable to take part and Coleman was declared the winner….
Overall
This is a pretty decent event, but the lack of a fighter for the final was a HUGELY disappointing moment. Overall this deserves a ***
UFC 12: Judgement Day
UFC 12 was held on 7th February 1997 in the Dothan Civic Centre, Alabama.
Fight Card
- Jerry Bohlander Vs Rainy Martinez
- Wallid Ismail Vs Yoshiki Takahashi
- Scott Ferrozzo Vs Jim Mullen
- Vitor Belfort Vs Tra Telligman
- Jerry Bohlander Vs Nick Sanzo
- Scott Ferrozzo Vs Vitor Belfort
- Mark Coleman Vs Dan Severn
The Fights
The opening match on the card featured Lions Den trainee Jerry Bohlander against UFC newcomer Rainy Martinez in a semi-final fight for the UFC Heavyweight Championship. Bohlander shoots for the leg immediately and takes Martinez to the floor. Both men perform a fantastic exchange on the floor before Bohlander gets the back of Martinez and locks in a choke, complete with both hooks fully in. A great little fight. ***
The second bout was also part of the lightweight tournament featuring Wallid Ismail against Yoshiki Takahashi. Takahashi seemed unable to obey the rule on not holding to the fence, the official having to warn time and time again for the offence. The Pancrase star seemed unfamiliar with even the basics of UFC, he even seemed to expect Wallid to be counted down when he fell after a punch. When they finally get to the ground (around the nine minute mark) Takahashi lands several punches and head buts on the Brazilian, causing a slight cut to his nose. The fight goes into the overtime of three minutes, in the slight break ‘Big’ John warns both men about holding the fence, more to Takahashi than Ismail. The overtime is….odd. Ismail seems unwilling to fight and Takahashi just taunts the Brazilian into wild charges which enable the Pancrase star to land punch after punch. At the end of the bout everyone is sure Takahashi has won, and the judges agree with the crowd. **
Moving over to the Heavyweight tournament the show starts with Scott ‘The Pitbull’ Ferrozzo against Jim Mullen. Mullen gives away over 100 pounds to The Pitbull, but has a height advantage over the pit fighter. Pit fighter…Ferrozzo needs to learn how to fight calories first and foremost. The Pitbull forces Mullen into the fence and rains down huge strikes on the smaller man, no way could Jim Mullen even start to defend himself and this one was decided from the start. If you like to watch a slugger then this is a great match, if like me you want to see some expert grappling then forget it…but even with that in mind the uber violence here earns a ***
The second match in the tournament has Vitor Belfort facing Tra Telligman. Belfort opens with a HUGE and speedy flurry from the Gracie trained fighter. Tra was destroyed in one of the most brutal examples of striking I have EVER seen. Tra was forced to tapout under the unbelievable speed of Belforts hands. ****
Takahashi broke his hand in the fight against Ismail and is replaced in the final by Nick Sanzo. Bohlander quickly finishes the fight with a crucifix choke, a move he had only learned three weeks earlier! Winner and first-ever UFC Lightweight Champion, Jerry Bohlander. ***
Next up comes the final of the Heavyweight Championship tournament. Vitor Belfort against ‘The Pitbull’ Scott Ferrozzo. Again Ferrozzo outweighed his opponent by over 100 pounds! Amazingly Belfort defeated the powerhouse puncher with a few well-placed strikes in a mere 44 seconds. Ferrozzo was so stunned he didn’t even realise the fight was over and had to be restrained by two referees. **
In a unification bout for the heavyweight championship, and the final bout of the show, featured Mark ‘The Hammer’ Coleman against Dan ‘The Beast’ Severn. Coleman shows dominance here with strikes and grappling skills that even ‘The Beast’ struggled to defend against. Coleman eventually got the win after Severn was choked out in a headlock/crank variant. **
Overall: ****
Paul Kelly