Ultimate Fighting Championship: An Introduction
5 Comments Published by Joel October 10th, 2006 in Fighting. Share This
We would be remiss in our coverage of this week’s fighting theme if we didn’t mention the Ultimate Fighting Championship, loathed by many yet still growing larger and more profitable every year. If you’re one of the folks who remain unfamiliar with the UFC—intentionally or not—you might consider making an exception and tuning in to Spike TV tonight at 8:00 Eastern to watch Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock beat the holy living hell out of each other in what should be the final bout between two fiercely bitter rivals.
For UFC newbies, a little explanation should help your enjoyment of the event. First of all, if you are expecting kung fu action movie stunts, well, don’t. Most of these guys have studied several styles of martial arts (referred to as Mixed Martial Arts, or just MMA) and almost always the UFC bouts end up on the floor with the contestants grappling for position in a jiu-jitsu style wrestling match.
To the untrained eye, it can look a lot like a couple buff, half naked guys trying desperately to fuck each other while keeping themselves from being fucked by their opponent. Eventually one of the competitors will jockey himself into a position where he can punch the living daylights out of the other. Often this involves actually knocking the guy unconscious and/or lots and lots of blood.
The Ortiz and Shamrock rivalry goes back to around 1999, with Tito Ortiz winning both of their previous matches. Shamrock is ten years Ortiz’s senior, and few people seriously think Shamrock has any chance. It’s actually one of those shameful sort of attempts to reclaim one’s past glory that almost universally end in failure and embarrassment. Should be a great show! – Ryan Ashmore
I agree with tonight’s FREE event on Spike TV being a good introduction to the UFC.
I am more excited for tonight’s free event than I have been for the last couple PPV events (40 bucks apiece!)
Not only are you getting the third and final grudge match between a UFC legend and legend-to-be, you’re getting a few other fights with impressive up-and-comers that had featured on The Ultimate Fighter 3 (including Matt Hamill, the UFC’s first (?) deaf fighter).
So tune in to witness the more-than-possible end of Ken Shamrock’s career and/or to root for the greased-up-deaf-guy!
Can’t catch me!
Poor Ken Shamrock’s career as a top fighter ended a long time ago. He just doesn’t seem to know it.
One should not be so remiss as to blog about the UFC and not mention the Pride Fighting Championships. It’s way bigger than the UFC and truly international (Shamrock’s Pride record is 1 and 3). The first-ever Pride event in the USA will be held on October 21st in Las Vegas.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PRIDE_Fighting_Championships
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PRIDE_32
This is the first I’ve heard of tonights match-up on Spike (and I missed it here on the East Coast), but is it a rebroadcast of their PPV match of a few months ago?
nope, not a re-broadcast, was live
and the match lasted just about the same amount of time as their second match, no controversy though, shamrock was clearly overcome
he confirmed his retirement after the fight