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Bow-Tie Reviews: UFC 43: Meltdown
By Matt D. | August 18, 2008
Welcome to Volume 2 of The Bow-Tie Aficionado Reviews DVDs of Events That Happened Years Ago. Today I am going to look at UFC 43: Meltdown. UFC 43 took place on June 6, 2003 at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Grades:
Pedro Rizzo vs. Tra Telligman B
Matt Lindland vs. Falaniko Vitale B
Yves Edwards vs. Eddie Ruiz C+
Frank Mir vs. Wes Sims F
Ian Freeman vs. Vernon White C
Vitor Belfort vs. Marvin Eastman C+
Tank Abbott vs. Kimo D
Chuck Liddell vs. Randy Couture A
Overall: B-
This was a better than average event. Even the "bad" fights were somewhat entertaining. There weren’t any boring 15 or 25 minute fights, and that’s always a good thing. There is one must see fight on this event and that is the Lidell vs. Couture fight. Other than that there really wasn’t any UFC history being made on this card.
I know this event happened years ago, but I don’t want to give spoilers to people who don’t want them. If you want a more in depth breakdown keep reading below…
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Pedro Rizzo vs. Tra Telligman
Result: Rizzo by TKO Cut at 4:24 of Round 2
Grade: B
Good fight to start the event. I’ve seen Telligman fight on a couple of different occasions, but I had never heard the announcer talk about the elephant in the room. Telligman has only one pec. His right pectoral is completely missing. There is just a cavity. Before this fight Joe Rogan mentioned that it’s from a car accident that occurred when he was a child. I understand not wanting to make a big deal out of it, but if you’re an announcer you can’t just ignore it. Round one of this fight was a slugfest. Telligman definitely got the better of the exchanges, but Rizzo’s well timed leg kicks worked to even things out. The round ends with Rizzo suffering from a decent sized cut above his eye, and Tellingman with a discolored leg. Round two starts much the same way as round one, with both fighters exchanging blows. One of Rizzo’s punches manages to cut Tra’s cheek and Rizzo is able to secure a takedown early in the second round. From Tra’s closed guard Rizzo is able to do a considerable amount of damage to Tra’s face opening up multiple cuts. Telligman is able to get up near the middle of the round and exchanges with Rizzo until the doctor is forced to stop the fight because of a cut above Telligman’s eye near the end of the round. If it wasn’t for the blood in Telligman’s eye he was physically still in fine shape to continue.
Matt Lindland vs. Falaniko Vitale
Vitale By TKO at 1:56
Grade: B
I’d never seen this fight before, so I thought this was just great. The first 1:45 or so of this fight consisted of both competitors struggling against the side of the cage for control looking for takedown opportunities. With about 3:10 left in the first round, Lindland goes for a throw, slips and knocks himself unconscious. Awesome! Here is the video for your enjoyment:
Yves Edwards vs. Eddie Ruiz
Edwards by Unanimous Decision
Grade: C+
This wasn’t a great fight. Edwards dominated the whole time. This fight only earned a C+ because of the heart of Eddie Ruiz. Ruiz took a beating for three rounds and just kept coming. He had nothing to offer that could hurt Edwards, but he refused to give up. Also, Ruiz came from nowhere. He has a career record of 1-1, and this was his only UFC fight. His other fight was a win at Ultimate Pankration 1. Whatever the hell that is.
On a side note, is Yves Edwards the most accomplished fighter never to take on a nickname? I can’t think of anyone with half the UFC fights Yves has who doesn’t have a nickname. Am I missing someone? I guess he makes up for it by claiming his fighting style is "thug-jitsu."
Frank Mir vs. Wes Sims
Mir by DQ at 2:55 of Round 1
Grade: F
Wes Sims is an idiot. After getting dominated the first 2:30 of this fight, Sims is able to break an armbar attempt from Mir by slamming him down upon his head and what does he do? He proceeds to hold onto the side of the cage and brutally stomp Mir’s head 3-4 times. Mir is visibly dazed, and has a huge welt under his left eye. To Sims’ amazement he is disqualified. Why he thought what he did was legal is beyond me. I briefly looked for the video online and couldn’t find it. It’s actually pretty funny to watch. After this fight Sims would go on to lose twice more in the UFC before being banished to the smaller promotions.
Ian Freeman vs. Vernon White
Decision Draw
Grade: C
This was an entertaining fight overall. I only gave it a C, because both fighters were so tired after the second round that the third was void of a much action. This match marked the debut of Vernon "Tiger" White in the UFC, and was Ian Freeman’s only match to date in the UFC. Freeman was supposed to take on Ken Shamrock, but Shamrock had to withdraw three weeks before the fight due to injury. Both fighters seemed evenly matched, and put on a good show. White seemed to be better technically, while Freeman had the heavier hands. I wish the UFC would have let these two have a rematch, but what can you do?
Fun Fact: Vernon White’s career record stands at 26-32-2. I had no idea that on paper his record was so terrible. He started his career in the Pancrase organization going 1-7 in his first 8 fights. Ouch.
Vitor Belfort vs. Marvin Eastman
Belfort by TKO (Strikes) at 1:07 of Round 1
Grade: B-
About as entertaining as a one minute fight can be. Belfort caught Eastman with a knee to the head at the minute mark and followed up with strikes until the fight was stopped. Eastman seemed to think the fight was stopped early, and I agreed until I saw the size of the gash above Eastman’s eye. Just look at this thing:
Tank Abbott vs. Kimo
Kimo by Submission (Choke) at 1:59 of Round 1
Grade D
The fight starts with Kimo quickly taking Tank down and mounting him. He immediately began working a triangle choke which eventually led to Abbott tapping early in the first round. Kimo actually looked pretty good in this fight, and any fight that makes Kimo look good is a bad fight.
Chuck Liddell vs. Randy Couture For the UFC Interim Light Heavyweight Championship
Couture by TKO at 2:39 of Round 3
Grade A
Excellent fight. Randy Couture absolutely dominated a Chuck Liddell who was entering his prime. Couture was able to outstrike Liddell on his feet which was absolutely amazing. Liddell had nothing to offer save for a couple of random shots throughout the three rounds. This event is worth it just for the main event itself. Although I still think he’s crazy for thinking he should get paid 5-6 million to fight Fedor, a fight like this reminds you that it’s just possible that he’ll get that kind of money.
Topics: DVD Reviews, UFC |
August 18th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
There is a guy with the exact same number of UFC fights as Yves, who is a more accomplished fighter than Yves (as he captured a belt while in the UFC) that also has no nickname.
August 18th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
You really made me rack my brain with that one Steven…. But I think I figured out who you’re thinking of, and I can’t believe I forgot about him because he’s really turned into one of my favorite fighters to root for. Is it Evan Tanner?
August 18th, 2008 at 12:56 pm
…Or it could be that I’m just an idiot because the current UFC light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin doesn’t have a nickname does he? I probably should have thought of that one.
August 18th, 2008 at 1:45 pm
Forrest Griffin was my answer.
Evan Tanner would work, too, wouldn’t he?
Actually with 17 fights and holding the belt momentarily Tanner has them both beat (unless Forrest gets a title defense, which Tanner didn’t manage to my recollection).
August 19th, 2008 at 8:52 am
Never seen this card but enjoyed the self knockout video. I had to look for some others. Here is one I found, if you don’t want to watch the fight go to around 2:18 and get ready for a Jake “The Snake” Roberts self DDT (I had to throw in a nickname for you guys). Poor guy didn’t even see it coming!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpqS5bj1quA
On a side note did you read about Alves being 30 lbs overweight for his UFC 90 bout! That seems like a lot of weight to cut in just under 2 months.
August 19th, 2008 at 10:57 am
That was a pretty good knockout. I can’t seem to find the video, but Mark “Smashing Machine” Kerr had a pretty good self knockout at PRIDE 27 against some total scrub.
I did not hear that Alves was 30 lbs overweight. That does seem like a lot. I don’t think there are a lot of 170 pounders that walk around naturally at 200 pounds. Plus, he has had weight problems in the past, so I hope he is able to get his weight under control well before the fight.
August 21st, 2008 at 5:34 pm
I’m not thinking that 30 is that much to cut in 2 months. Figure some of it’s just lazy fat he can probably cut a legit 15 to 20 pounds, and then he just sweats out the rest the night before the weigh-in.
30 isn’t a huge deal. If he was at 140 or 155 and was 30 over I’d be way more worried.