Post by fossil on Aug 3, 2021 0:34:43 GMT 1
Rickson Gracie Is the New Ultimate Fighter
At UFC: The New Warriors, Rickson Gracie became the personification
of an ironman having defeated three opponents over the course of an hour
and twenty minutes to become The Ultimate Fighter!
In his first fight of the night, Rickson Gracie met with Minoru Suzuki
in the final quarter final of the night. Despite the notoriety
surrounding the name of Rickson Gracie, Minoru Suzuki showed no signs of
being mentally rattled and was calm and composed during the opening
frames of the fight. Thirteen minutes into the fight, Rickson was able
to close in on Suzuki, pinning him against the cage. Suzuki threw short
uppercuts and short punches to the ribcage of Rickson that were
designed to frustrate the Gracie Jiu Jitsu progeny. Despite Suzuki’s
offense, Rickson dug in and took Suzuki to the ground. This is where
Minoru Suzuki’s inexperience really stuck out. Suzuki had no idea what
to do off his back and began to throw punches and kicks up toward
Rickson. Suzuki then tried to combat roll back to his feet but during
the action, Rickson saw an opportunity and seized the back of Suzuki.
Seconds later, Suzuki fell victim to a choke and was left with no choice
but to forfeit.
In his second fight of the night, Rickson Gracie was taken to his limit
in a thirty minute battle with Murilo Bustamante that the fans really
enjoyed. Many expected the two to take things to the ground as soon as
the bell sounded, but instead the Denver, Colorado audience was treated
to a boxing match in the opening frames where Rickson and Murilo swung
wildly at one another, tagging each other with some pretty big punches.
Eventually, Murilo and Rickson transitioned to a grappling based
exhibition and while Rickson did control the initial stages of the
exchange, Murilo was able to fake an ankle pick to take control of
Rickson. This created a moment no one would expect as to date, Murilo
Bustamante has been the only fighter to put Rickson Gracie on his back
in a submission fighting/full contact fighting environment.
Bustamante tried to use his Jiu Jitsu Gi to choke Rickson, but Rickson
kept hold of Bustamante’s wrist to prevent Murilo from getting a good
grip. The two continued to fight it out on the ground, blood adorning
the gis of both Bustamante and Rickson. A brief scramble eventually led
to the two returning to their feet and almost immediately they were
right back to throwing heavy handed punches at each other.
The fight eventually met its time limit and referee Kenneth Newton
wasted no time in stepping in between both fighters to put an end to the
action. The crowd applauded the efforts of both Brazilian martial
artists while the two competitors hugged in the center of the octagon.
Judges Joel Bennett, Clinton Leon, and Bryan Borgomeo moved into the
octagon to declare that they ruled the contest in favor of Rickson.
In The Ultimate Fighter finals, Rickson met his toughest opponent of the
night, Oleg Taktarov. In his prior two fights, Taktarov had displayed a
cold, calculated, viciousness having defeated Patrick Smith by way of
TKO and then absolutely dominating Fabio Gurgel in a poorly received
thirty minute bout. When Rickson Gracie and Oleg Taktarov met in the
center of the octagon, the tension was thick. Would Rickson have the
stamina to fight such an aggressive fighter like Oleg? Would Oleg
engage Rickson in a grapple?
The aforementioned questions would be answered the second the bell
sounded to commence the match. Gracie wasted no time in shooting in for
an ankle, but Taktarov was able to sprawl and force Gracie into a
turtled position. With Gracie seemingly compromised, Oleg got back on
his feet and began to throw kicks to the body of Rickson. Rickson
weathered the punishment, however, and sprung back to his feet as well,
pushing Oleg into the cage.
In essence, that’s pretty much how the rest of the fight played out:
Rickson and Oleg would push each other into the cage and around the
octagon in a Greco Roman clinch. Then they would break away and Oleg
would try to tackle Rickson to the canvas. Rickson would level himself
to it, causing Taktarov to instead push Rickson against the cage.
Rickson would attempt to initiate takedowns of his own and Taktarov
displayed his strength by keeping Rickson clinched up.
While not the most electric fight to happen in the UFC’s two event
history, the fight wasn’t as poorly received as the Ultimate Fighter
Final bout between Royce Gracie and Masakatsu Funaki from the first
show. Rickson and Oleg had battle scars to show that they weren’t
stalling to run the clock down. Instead, Rickson and Oleg were just too
evenly matched to deliver a finish that would stun the crowd. With the
bell sounding to signify the end of the fight. Rickson helped Oleg
back to his feet as they awaited to hear the judges’ official decision.
Joel Bennett, Clinton Leon, and Bryan Borgomeo moved into the octagon
once more for the night and declared that Rickson Gracie was The
Ultimate Fighter of the UFC’s second tournament.
Other highlights included Fabio Gurgel choking out Jason Delucia in
three minutes and thirty-three seconds. Oleg Taktarov also set a record
for fastest finish in the UFC, when he was able to earn a stoppage win
in a minute and twelve seconds over Patrick Smith. Patrick Smith came
into the octagon with the Denver crowd on his side. He proudly waved
the American flag and got the Denver, Colorado audience to happily
participate in a USA chant over the Russian Taktarov. After Taktarov
was able to get Smith on his back with minimal issue, though, crowd
support began to swing in the way of Taktarov who devastated Smith with a
barrage of elbows.
Murilo Bustamante vs. Wallid Ismail will be remembered for what happened
between the two teams more so than what transpired in the cage. There
seems to be some bad blood between the Ruas Vale Tudo and Carlson Gracie
Jiu Jitsu teams. Neither Bustamante nor Ismail wanted to touch gloves
before the bout. Then when the fight wrapped up, Carlson Gracie and
Marco Ruas could be heard throwing insults at each other in their native
Portuguese. This animosity seems to have existed long before the
Ultimate Fighting Championships and can reportedly be traced back to the
Brazilian fight circuit.
At UFC: The New Warriors, Rickson Gracie became the personification
of an ironman having defeated three opponents over the course of an hour
and twenty minutes to become The Ultimate Fighter!
In his first fight of the night, Rickson Gracie met with Minoru Suzuki
in the final quarter final of the night. Despite the notoriety
surrounding the name of Rickson Gracie, Minoru Suzuki showed no signs of
being mentally rattled and was calm and composed during the opening
frames of the fight. Thirteen minutes into the fight, Rickson was able
to close in on Suzuki, pinning him against the cage. Suzuki threw short
uppercuts and short punches to the ribcage of Rickson that were
designed to frustrate the Gracie Jiu Jitsu progeny. Despite Suzuki’s
offense, Rickson dug in and took Suzuki to the ground. This is where
Minoru Suzuki’s inexperience really stuck out. Suzuki had no idea what
to do off his back and began to throw punches and kicks up toward
Rickson. Suzuki then tried to combat roll back to his feet but during
the action, Rickson saw an opportunity and seized the back of Suzuki.
Seconds later, Suzuki fell victim to a choke and was left with no choice
but to forfeit.
In his second fight of the night, Rickson Gracie was taken to his limit
in a thirty minute battle with Murilo Bustamante that the fans really
enjoyed. Many expected the two to take things to the ground as soon as
the bell sounded, but instead the Denver, Colorado audience was treated
to a boxing match in the opening frames where Rickson and Murilo swung
wildly at one another, tagging each other with some pretty big punches.
Eventually, Murilo and Rickson transitioned to a grappling based
exhibition and while Rickson did control the initial stages of the
exchange, Murilo was able to fake an ankle pick to take control of
Rickson. This created a moment no one would expect as to date, Murilo
Bustamante has been the only fighter to put Rickson Gracie on his back
in a submission fighting/full contact fighting environment.
Bustamante tried to use his Jiu Jitsu Gi to choke Rickson, but Rickson
kept hold of Bustamante’s wrist to prevent Murilo from getting a good
grip. The two continued to fight it out on the ground, blood adorning
the gis of both Bustamante and Rickson. A brief scramble eventually led
to the two returning to their feet and almost immediately they were
right back to throwing heavy handed punches at each other.
The fight eventually met its time limit and referee Kenneth Newton
wasted no time in stepping in between both fighters to put an end to the
action. The crowd applauded the efforts of both Brazilian martial
artists while the two competitors hugged in the center of the octagon.
Judges Joel Bennett, Clinton Leon, and Bryan Borgomeo moved into the
octagon to declare that they ruled the contest in favor of Rickson.
In The Ultimate Fighter finals, Rickson met his toughest opponent of the
night, Oleg Taktarov. In his prior two fights, Taktarov had displayed a
cold, calculated, viciousness having defeated Patrick Smith by way of
TKO and then absolutely dominating Fabio Gurgel in a poorly received
thirty minute bout. When Rickson Gracie and Oleg Taktarov met in the
center of the octagon, the tension was thick. Would Rickson have the
stamina to fight such an aggressive fighter like Oleg? Would Oleg
engage Rickson in a grapple?
The aforementioned questions would be answered the second the bell
sounded to commence the match. Gracie wasted no time in shooting in for
an ankle, but Taktarov was able to sprawl and force Gracie into a
turtled position. With Gracie seemingly compromised, Oleg got back on
his feet and began to throw kicks to the body of Rickson. Rickson
weathered the punishment, however, and sprung back to his feet as well,
pushing Oleg into the cage.
In essence, that’s pretty much how the rest of the fight played out:
Rickson and Oleg would push each other into the cage and around the
octagon in a Greco Roman clinch. Then they would break away and Oleg
would try to tackle Rickson to the canvas. Rickson would level himself
to it, causing Taktarov to instead push Rickson against the cage.
Rickson would attempt to initiate takedowns of his own and Taktarov
displayed his strength by keeping Rickson clinched up.
While not the most electric fight to happen in the UFC’s two event
history, the fight wasn’t as poorly received as the Ultimate Fighter
Final bout between Royce Gracie and Masakatsu Funaki from the first
show. Rickson and Oleg had battle scars to show that they weren’t
stalling to run the clock down. Instead, Rickson and Oleg were just too
evenly matched to deliver a finish that would stun the crowd. With the
bell sounding to signify the end of the fight. Rickson helped Oleg
back to his feet as they awaited to hear the judges’ official decision.
Joel Bennett, Clinton Leon, and Bryan Borgomeo moved into the octagon
once more for the night and declared that Rickson Gracie was The
Ultimate Fighter of the UFC’s second tournament.
Other highlights included Fabio Gurgel choking out Jason Delucia in
three minutes and thirty-three seconds. Oleg Taktarov also set a record
for fastest finish in the UFC, when he was able to earn a stoppage win
in a minute and twelve seconds over Patrick Smith. Patrick Smith came
into the octagon with the Denver crowd on his side. He proudly waved
the American flag and got the Denver, Colorado audience to happily
participate in a USA chant over the Russian Taktarov. After Taktarov
was able to get Smith on his back with minimal issue, though, crowd
support began to swing in the way of Taktarov who devastated Smith with a
barrage of elbows.
Murilo Bustamante vs. Wallid Ismail will be remembered for what happened
between the two teams more so than what transpired in the cage. There
seems to be some bad blood between the Ruas Vale Tudo and Carlson Gracie
Jiu Jitsu teams. Neither Bustamante nor Ismail wanted to touch gloves
before the bout. Then when the fight wrapped up, Carlson Gracie and
Marco Ruas could be heard throwing insults at each other in their native
Portuguese. This animosity seems to have existed long before the
Ultimate Fighting Championships and can reportedly be traced back to the
Brazilian fight circuit.