The Ultimate Fighting Championship VIII: David v. Goliath!
- Live from San Juan, Puerto Rico.
- Your hosts are Bruce Beck, Don Wilson and Jeff Blatnick.
- Thankfully, time limits have been reduced to 10 minutes for the tournament and 15 for the Superfight this time. And now we have judges in case it goes to the time limit, although thankfully not Cecil Peoples. They hype up Brazilian Joe Moreira as the big thing for this tournament, but the real breakout star is of course someone else entirely…
Open Weight tournament quarterfinals
Don Frye (Judo/Wrestling) v. Tomas Ramirez (Pakua-Chan)
This probably gives away the winner of the tournament right here, but Frye was the guy who really merged the boxing, wrestling and martial arts styles into the modern UFC fighting style. Ramirez is a big fat fuck, which ties into the David & Goliath theme of the show. I'm betting on David here. And yeah, Frye knocks him the fuck out with ONE PUNCH, nearly putting him through the fence in the process. Oh yeah, DON FRYE, baby.
Joe Moreira (Jiu-Jitsu) v. Paul Varelans (Trapfighting)
Is Joe the next Royce Gracie? Um, no. Varelans actually declares himself a "thinker" now, apparently. They do the standup to start and Varelans fights for the takedown, then trades with Moreira instead. Moreira keeps backing off and picking his strikes, probably because Varelans tags him every time he gets within two feet. Moreia tries to shoot in and gets clubbed, not really sure what to do with Varelans. So they keep circling, because Varelans doesn't know how to kick and Moreira can't take him down. Seriously, Varelans has a foot of height on Moreira, why not throw leg kicks to set up the punches? More circling and Moreira won't commit to a takedown attempt, as they ride out the 10:00 time limit and leave it up to the judges. Good luck there. Neither guy did much, but Varelans did less nothing so I'm thinking he gets the decision. And indeed, it's a unanimous decision for him.
Jerry Bohlander (Submission Fighting) v. Scott Ferrozo (Pitfighting)
They really put over Ferrozo in the commentary for some reason. Ferrozo shoots in and takes Bohlander into the fence, then throws him around with nasty suplexes and hooks in a guillotine attempt. Ferrozo leaves his neck exposed on the fence, however, and Bohlander gets his own choke in, but can't sink it. To be fair, Ferrozo has no neck, so it's gotta be tough. Back to the mat as Ferrozo takes him down and into the guard. Ferrozo is bleeding, so Big John stops the fight and gets the doctor to clean up the cut, and we're back on again. Back to the fence, but John breaks them up again. Ferrozo keeps going to the fence but he's got no follow-up. Bohlander gets a nice takedown out of there and hooks the choke, tapping Ferrozo at 9:05. Good fight, although Ferrozo ran out of gas quickly.
Gary Goodridge (Kuk Sool Won) v. Paul Herrera (Wrestling)
Herrera shoots in and gets trapped in a crucifix, and Goodridge DESTROYS him with elbows to win. HOLY SHIT. The doctors swarm in, to make sure Herrera still has a face left. Luckily, he does.
Open Weight tournament semi-finals:
Don Frye v. Sam Atkins (Boxing)
How could Varelans have been injured in that snoozer? Atkins looks like Jesse Ventura, complete with ugly spandex tights. Frye's moustache could take this guy by itself. Atkins wants to box, so Frye takes him down and beats the shit out of him, prompting a fast stoppage. Atkins is unhappy about it, but when you're bleeding all over the mat you've got little cause for complaint.
Jerry Bohlander v. Gary Goodridge
Bohlander shoots in and immediately gets choked, but survives and escapes. Goodridge takes him down with a suplex and gets side control, but it's a stalemate, so Goodridge goes to top mount and that allows Bohlander to elevate him over and get to the top. Bohlander throws from the top, but Goodridge powers him over again to get control. They're on the fence, and Goodridge finishes with strikes from the top. Vicious.
Superfight: Ken Shamrock v. Kimo
Kimo goes for it right away, but Shamrock takes it to the mat and gets top mount. Kimo gives up the neck, but then manages to get top position when Shamrock goes for the choke. He tries to throw bombs, but Shamrock squirms around and grabs the ankle. Kimo taps quickly, of course. Much more entertaining that the last few Shamrock Superfights.
Open Weight tournament finals:
Don Frye v. Gary Goodridge
Goodridge has ditched the gi, and he's ripped like a pro wrestler. Frye comes in with strikes to start, but Goodridge takes him down. Back to the standup and Frye pounds on him against the fence with some good shots, but Goodridge pulls him off the fence in a crazy spot. Frye ends up on top and beats on him until Big John stops it, giving the tournament to Frye. Frye was just awesome in this tournament, as was Goodridge, and they'd both have many years ahead of them.
A great show from the early days, as Don Frye gets unleashed on the world of MMA.
Don Frye vs Takayama is the greatest fight ever!
Just sayin….
I really enjoyed Ferrozo’s future fights. The one with Tank wasn’t the greatest but he beat on him pretty good.
Great UFC with lots of memorable moments. I’ve always loved Bohlander and that Ferrozo fight, and of course the Goodridge/Herrera finish is one of the best ever.
You are right, Frye is the prototype for the modern mixed martial artist. Even though jiu-jitsu got all the early hype, wrestling proved itself to be the best base. Wait until you watch UFC IX, the Frye vs. Bitetti fight is still one of the most awesome, brutal fights in the history of the organization. And as a bonus, the best wrestler who ever fought in the UFC makes his one and only appearance, leaving us to wonder “what if” to this day.
I still maintain Frye-Bitetti is the best fight from the first ten UFCs. Well, it’s either that or Kimo-Royce.
As for Schultz, I don’t wonder “what if”, I’m just glad he never came back. The tactics he used against Goodridge were absolutely despicable. Also the wrestlers back then weren’t as well-rounded as they are now and so the best ones (like Kevin Jackson for instance) never really lived up to their potential.
The Gooodridge crucifix was almost immediately banned, as no one had even considered someone getting that position, much less how much damage it could do.
How long until Coleman shows up?
Coleman shows up at X. They didn’t ban that move… almost nothing other than eye gouging, fish hooking, groin strikes, etc. was banned at that point. Matt Hughes finished Newton and Penn in a similar position…
The long-standing rumor surrounding the Goodridge thing here was that someone had told him pre-fight that Herrera was a hardcore white supremacist. I don’t know whether that’s true but it’d certainly explain Goodridge’s ferocity!