Sunday, March 04, 2007

Wow

Last night I saw why mixed martial arts is the fastest growing sport in America. Let me set up the scene for the Heavyweight Title Fight.

Credentials: 2 time Lightweight Champion of the World, 2 time Heavyweight Champion of the World, UFC Hall of Famer.
However, Couture is 43 years old, he retired over a year ago after being knocked out in 2 of his last 3 fights. In his past he’s had trouble fighting large heavyweights and great strikers (boxers/kick boxers).

Now meet Heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia:

30 years old. 6 feet 9 inches tall, 265 pounds, so he’s a very large heavyweight. Also he’s one of the best strikers in the heavyweight division, largely because of his 86’ inch reach (11.5' inches longer than Couture's reach). He’s got a professional record of 25 wins and 2 losses. He's so tough that he broke his arm in a fight a couple of years ago and lied to a referee, denying it was broken, just so he could try to get his fight continued.

Here's a picture that should help you understand the size difference
All totaled, you can’t discount Couture, but it looked like it would be a tough return to the sport for him. Well, it didn’t work out that way. Couture dominated Sylvia in every way possible for all 5 rounds to become 3 time Heavyweigh Champion. It was truly one of the most amazing performances I’ve seen in sports in quite some time. It felt like I was watching a real life version of Rocky 6. If you get the chance I highly recommend you watch a replay or pick up the DVD of this when it comes out.

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