UFC 106 Ortiz VS Griffin 2 review

now with gif animations

- Tito Ortiz VS Forrest Griffin

- Josh Koscheck VS Anthony Johnson

Though many may consider men who enter an mma proving ground little more than hired human pitbulls ripping each other apart for massive money and radical amusement, I tend to reject this view via a yawn of black hole, concluding that professional level mma is the combat of highly disciplined human spirits, opposing each other for but the duration of the bout, probably ending up as unified in the process as we could conceive, simply through their magnificent shared experience of being in a cage where the damage one suffers is the wit one failed to exhibit. That is how, in my opinion, the mma fighter fights against herself/himself. The reaction of one's opponent is the reaction to whatever one could offer as offense.

Notice that the ultimately glorious moments of mixed martial arts are not of those of KOs and submissions. They are of those of hugging the formal rival at the end of the bout, circulating the most honest, pure respect spirit and related (?) intelligence may come upon, the limitless respect each fighter deserves simply by making an attempt of expressing themselves thoroughly, honestly on the proving grounds. The biggest respect one could give is the assumption that one needs every skills- and wits to neutralize the rival. A fight is nothing less than the expression of these skill sets, put though to the test utterly and completely, instead of infinitely theorizing about them. The most glorious moment of the bout emerges in the form of the ensuing peace between the fighters, a legit, palpable sensation, unifying the former enemies and the grateful audience once the collision reached its conclusion.

This is a review of the latest UFC event to date, UFC 106 - Ortiz VS Griffin 2.



Introductory thoughts about the more significant lineups

UFC 106 marks the return of the Huntington Beach Bad Boy, as former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz comes back to the Octagon, leaving casual gallons of highly irrelevant bad blood between UFC President Dana White and him behind, so these metaphoric constructions of spoiled marketing elements and ultraviolent stylistic abuse can safely be-, AND remain what they are, namely, remnants of some massively flawed hive-memory cultivated in but the deepest bowels of cosmic amnesia, as it truly is of no further relevance if Tito Ortiz and Dana White have sported actual hatred towards each other or not.

What is important, is that The Ortiz is back, and, more importantly: The Ortiz is back with a NEW back and he surely does bring a rigorously crafted spirit and body to the table. To be honest with you, I wanted to express in this introductory section that I demand the right to be immensely, even: emencely bored by Tito and his fighting style, but I came to the conclusion that it would be an utterly degenerate and prejudiced thing to say before observing his current performance - and, to top it all off, THIS Tito, in my perception, shows a degree of inner maturity which he did not seem to possess so far. Tito Ortiz managed to start off with a blank page in my book - I can imagine his tremendous relief regarding this fruitful fact - and I am utterly curious of what he has to offer for the man who summarizes himself as follows:

I can be beaten, but I can not be broken.
- Forrest Griffin.

The frightening part about Griffin is this: I believe him. Tito will face off against him for a second time, though Forrest comes back to the proving ground following a devastating, I mean - deeeevastating loss against Anderson Silva. How can a loss be devastating? Easy: if the one you fight against did not start to fight yet, and have beaten you anyway. This is what happened to Forrest in the Anderson fight, but, as Dana White quite sanely points out, that match revolved around how good Silva really is and not about how Forrest have lost that collision. Silva played, Forrest fought. Playfulness likes flexibility. Let us remind ourselves of these classic retina stigma, here is how Anderson "The Spider" Silva lured Forrest into his spider web via 111% playfulness and related, radical form of beautiful fun:

Through scientific observation, notice this: Anderson "The Spider" Silva PLAYS here, he is NOT in a fight yet. This exceptional ability of transmitting the radical beauty of fighting via the playful declaration of current-, evident superiority as an artist of deconstruction, is nothing less than larger than life drama which is a true privilege to see. This is why Forrest Griffin could not FIGHT Anderson Silva that day, in my opinion. Because Forrest wanted to fight. And Silva showed him that Forrest was not quite ready yet to FIGHT against him. So he played with him instead and knocked him out in the process. Now for the event at hand, since, Forrest states that the event perpetuated on this awe defining gif animation, have made him to be more motivated than ever, and, as a fan of Forrest Griffin, I truly look forward to see if it really is so. Putting Ortiz against Griffin for a second time is a continuation that seems to be the epitome of a promise with infinitely elegant curves to it, and I will express why. Or at least make an attempt at that.

Forrest and Tito have fought before already, delivering a great collision with some relatively well placed-, intact Tito antics in it, as he refused to give Forrest respect by not touching gloves at the beginning of the bout and some similar affairs. Despite an especially strong start and the related-, vicious ground and pound sequence by Ortiz, Griffin remained in the fight and managed to give a solid challenge to The Huntington Beach Bad Boy throughout the second and third round, yet The Ortiz walked away with a decision victory. As further conclusion, Tito gave respect for Griffin, who deserves all of that and then some for stepping up against Top Dog Tito and being a totally relevant threat in the match. Now the two Collide Again, and, fortunately enough: both men have something to prove. Especially:

Themselves.

Phil Baroni VS Amir Sadollah

Phil Baroni is a prestigious notability of the sport, as the former, friendly bodybuilder indeed is around since the dawn of mixed martial arts. Baroni has all my respect and related awe for defining-, and presenting what a Man's Confidence Truly is, as The New York Badass does not seem to be particularly influenced by temporary nuances like getting his ass beat to death and beyond from time to time. The point is that no one beats the New York Badass, because he can not be beaten.

Baroni starts out passionately and efficiently, manages to keep this pace up for like 45 seconds, and then becomes an embarrassment to watch against Ultimate Fighter winner, talented prospect Amir Sadollah. Then, it is even better: he becomes an embarrassment to have your fun of. This Mike Goldberg comment is fantastic:

"Now Baroni shows us how tough he is!"

Yes, indeed. Baroni came here to be beaten to a piteous pulp of random shades of pink and red. The New York Badass started out as a friendly bodybuilder, you can see videos of him at YouTube. What have happened to the guy that made such a seemingly evident demeanor change in him, is beyond me. The New York Badass also has one of the most vicious knockouts EVER, which I will make a gif animation of as soon as we see the man winning a fight again.

As of this moment, Baroni is not a top level mma fighter. Once again, for good measure, and he does not know my address, anyway: As of this moment, Baroni is not a top level mma fighter.


He is a lazy gun for rent, ready to getting beat for lucky money. This is not so bad of a deal, if you think about it. As a former Legend, you go in there, you get your ass kicked around a bit and walk away with the excuse plan intact, corrupting your innermost self with probably ridiculous lamentations about how ultimately tremendous the promise in you is. Is Baroni special? Abso!BEEP!BEEP!lutely! Two or three losses like this and he will be one of the most special fighters of all time, believe you me!

As result of some surreal decision, and/or, probably as result of a random meeting with Dana White, Baroni came back to the UFC and he performed as I feared he would: got beat utterly in every area of the game I am able to exhibit suspected awareness of, yet he got enough funds in return to have some quality time to spend before coming back to the proving ground so he could be beaten to a piteous pile of random shades of pink and red again for yet another chunk of lazily-fought-for blood money. I have no intention to show disrespect to this man, quite the contrary. But, seriously: with a record of 13-12, one should invest some energy into massive soulseeking, no? Maybe something useful would come up. Anyway, here are some more gif animations of Baroni getting his ass piteously handed to him by prospect Amir Sadollah:










Can you spot the Leg Kick?

Phil Baroni is generous enough to demonstrate a 0.5 dimensional gameplan, entirely gravitating around a hope of vague vanity, a hope invented of shallow luck and similar affairs of fragile relevancy. The nature of this hope is constant and its name is pure persistency, indeed. This is the Inspiration. This is the Inner Voice. This is the Assuring Recognition Baroni cultivates, telling him-, promising him that 1 out of the 50 punch attempts he is eligible for per match at average - MIGHT actually connect! It is all it takes! ONE punch, Phil! Some day, who knows - some day you may score that punch, Phil! Also notice that Phil Baroni is kind enough to let Amir Sadollah kick his leg, so he - Baroni - can show his rival - and to YOU, of course - how tough he really is. Very! He is very tough! He is Badass! He is here to make a Statement, and the Statement is this:

I'm Badass!

My conscience asks me why am I trying to make fun of Phil Baroni? And my reply is: it is Phil Baroni who is making fun of himself. I remain ready to see a Phil Baroni with a more serious approach to fighting.

Minotouro Nougeira VS Luiz Cane

Monitauro's twin brother, Minotouro makes his UFC debut against fellow Brazilian Luiz Cane. Little Nog performs spectacularly tonight, negating, then conquering the threat presented by his rival of versatile talents. Here is a gif animation on this explicit knockout delivery, radically resonated in the first round:














Ben Saunders Vs Marcus Davis

Saunders is quick and efficient to forge layered benefits of his taller frame and longer reach, expressing these attributes throughout precise attacks administered from the clinch. Though Davis' aggressive style is a successful line of defense on its own sometimes, tonight The Irish Handgrenade finds himself overwhelmed by the accurately executed offensive offerings utilized by Saunders. Being cut up early in the match, Davis is squeezed to the fence from the clinch and the Knee of Final Verdict connects on the veteran's jaw. The match is pretty much all Ben Saunders, finding constantly relevant success with knees of which this one proves to be solid enough to seal the W for the up and coming prospect.

Josh Koscheck VS Anthony Johnson

A standup war with a balanced feel to it, in which both contestants show bold readiness to engage. Johnson seems to gain the momentary upper hand by rocking his opponent, yet a wounded Koscheck answers with a relentless urge to invite the rival to the ground. This is where half of the story of this collision ensues, as Johnson abuses Octagon rules by landing an illegal knee on a downed opponent, putting a pause to the contest. Fortunately, following a recovery period of weighty minutes of doubtful desperation, Koscheck is able to continue, then it is him performing inadvertent acts of illegality via two pokes in the eye - the second one seems quite harsh, and, with considerable relief one witnesses that Johnson himself is able to recover, as well.

The second round shows similarly passionate characteristics as the first period did, yet, Koscheck is even more successive in his attempts to score a takedown, this time in the vicinity of the fence. This talented wrestler has an outstanding background as a wrestler, thus it is of little surprise to the everyday average mma chairmolester that Koscheck manages to keep Johnson constrained to the ground via strict body control and efficient ground and pound fun. After softening the talented knockout prospect up a bit, Josh is able to sink the hooks in and force a tapout out of Anthony via a rear naked choke coming to lethal life via masterful realization of textbook efficiency. He did not sink the second arm in - but this fact, in my opinion, adds to the rampant relevancy of the maneuver as opposed of taking away from it.

Tito Ortiz VS Forrest Griffin

Tito looks monstrous with his ability to command Forrest to the ground whenever he seeks to do so. This initial efficiency is significantly decreased later on by a more alert Griffin who has the opportunity to experience the not too bright - meaning: dark - aspect of De Ja Vu, as he finds himself with Ortiz on top of him on numerous occasions, with this reinvented mma Legend looking to repeat history via the persistent ground and pound delivery he is prime administer of. Forrest seems to have much more developed defensive lines than he had in the first meeting, though.

Griffin prefers to stuck to the standup game, finding relevant success with his trademark legkicks and some seemingly sloppily placed-, not too strong punches, though the more complex attacks he tries to introduce, do not remain unanswered. As a continuation of a balanced collision taking place on the feet, the second round ultimately is characterized by yet another impressive Tito takedown.

The Huntington Beach Bad Boy rains down almost-proper hell from up above, cutting Forrest's head via elbows and abusing him on the ground for a pretty prolonged amount of time. A time long enough to make Griffin look quite stuck in a situation he definitely does not want to be stuck in.

Does Forrest come to the third round with rampancy, or does Tito come to the third round exhaustedly? I tend to think that Griffin remains consistent in the final sequence and succeeds decently at delivering the performance level he offered in the previous two rounds. Ortiz, on the other hand, seems to be pretty passive in the third-, and final sequence of conclusion. He eats in a whole lot of strikes and kicks and fails to answer in a convincing fashion. One must wonder though if Forrest Griffin has punching power at all, since he landed all the punches in the world and then some and Ortiz was not noticeably affected by those. A split decision victory goes for Forrest, who expresses his honest wish to make the collision between Tito and him a Trilogy. My interest in a third bout between the two is limited for the time being.

Infinity Combo by The Tito Ortiz:












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