Babalu – Saving the Shows Reputation
The brightest light in UFC 55 Fury was Renato Babalu Sobral, who was finally returning to the Octagon unbeaten since he caught an early leg from Chuck Liddell, going to the guard and having the referee intervene before there was any reaction allowed from the Brazilian warrior.

Making his UFC debut the talented Team Quest man, Chael Sonnen, who seems to feel comfortable floating between middle-weight and light heavy weight had last fought in the northeast at MFC 3 winning by complete control and a KO.

Both fought in IFC Global Domination's light heavyweight tournament, where Chael fell by triangle after controlling Forrest Griffith on the ground, while Babalu with pure heart and skill took the entire prize by defeating Trevor Prangley, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and then Jeremy Horn in the finals, all victories by decision.
Needless to say (Gracie Barra) Babalu was much more powerful than the speedy Sonnen, keeping him pressed against the fence, landing knees to the body, working elbows, attempting a standing shoulder lock, right high kick to the face and eventually made Chael chant Ahhh! - Ahhh! At the end of the first with a painful heel hook.

..............................

Eventually in the second, Sonnen got caught in a deep triangle by the submission reborn Babalu. It was about time this man was brought back from exile, this fight alone pulled the show up a whole two notches. This is the real skill level, which exists in "American" MMA.

A Matter of Weighting
Unlike some of the other UFC pay per view debutantes, Chael Sonnen is a talented grappler who likes to strike and who should be fighting at 185 lbs.
I'm sure Zuffa isn't foolish enough to let him go after only one fight.
And as far as weight goes, Joe "Diesel" Riggs was originally supposed to fight Pete "Drago" Sell from the Serra Longo camp at 185 lbs., but unfortunately Drago got injured. The young veteran Riggs was so hungry to fight, that he had to starve himself down to welterweight for a UFC gig.

Although in the first round Chris Lytle rode the top position after Diesel missed with a high left kick, Diesel eventually got the top position and brought down some huge hooks, which had enough leverage for Chris to lose his balance getting up and trying to walk back to his corner after the bell.

After a reversal and control from the top Lytle then crashed down head first into the larger left elbow of opponent Riggs who was defending from the bottom in round two.
Riggs displayed some great groundwork including oma plata, eventually finding the stoppage via bloody elbow.
Diesel must have weighed at least 190 lbs. - Water weight alone can make up most of this weight, plus all the food consumed after the weigh-ins that occurred over 24 hours before the fight. - Riggs probably did not foresee the opportunity, which would ensue after Karo Parysian had to withdraw from the championship bout against current welter champion Matt Hughes.

Weight!
Another fight, which was mismatched in weight was Dennis "Superman" Hallman vs. local hero Jorge Rivera whose roots run from Guayama, Puerto Rico via Framingham, MA. Although Superman got an immediate take down and side control, Jorge's size eventually wore down a much shorter Hallman who should at most fight at 170 lbs. Jorge simply shook off the first triangle attempt and Rivera’s solid standing game and evolving ground defense took over as the fight wore on.

In round two Hallman took a beating, knees to the body, body shots, and many elbow shots pressed against the fence by the bigger man. Rivera could not finish a Hallman who took some punishment in the guard and only had some lukewarm submission attempts including a heel lock at the end of round one.

In the third both fighters seemed uninspired as Jorge held on a dull lead in a mismatched duel.

..............................

A Quick One
Forrest Griffith is indeed a popular and evolving MMA fighter who became know to the mainstream from his stint in TUF I. Although Australian Elvis Sinosic made his entrance to crickets and a few handclaps at Mohegan Sun, he had the eye of the tiger, and came to show the local folk that he could trade on his feet. I was very impressed by Sinosic's initiating, striking combinations, low kicks and head motion and by the time Forrest Griffin got going and landed the big hook that sent Elvis down and backward onto the canvass, the referee stopped it almost as quickly as Quarry vs. Sell.

Although many people may disagree, Elvis did strike the right back of his head on the cylindrical base post of the octagon, although he caught another right forearm he was still there and willing to defend. In a similar incident I saw recently, a fighter struck the back of his head on the apron of the ring after being taken down hard, but he was given time for a doctors check. Elvis didn’t complain when the stoppage happened, but perhaps that's cause he’s a pro, and had to resign himself to the local laws.

Debutantes
Although Ron Faircloth came with the intention laying down some bricks on Alessio Sakara the only solid shot he was able to lay was to the nuts, and the fight was over. Sakara had dominated the fight up to that point, rocking Faircloth and bringing him down to his knees, even landing elbows until the bell. But the dominant quicker fighter eventually found himself vomiting from the severe pain he was experiencing from a groin kick only eight seconds into round two.

Also making their UFC debuts were Judo-ka Keigo Kunihara and BJJ man Marcio "Ped de Pano" Cruz. Kunihara was superior with the takedowns, but his last judo throw would lead to a sweep and then he exposed his back trying to escape. Cruz closed in mounting from the rear with a choke. Cruz looks kind of chubby and needs to tighten up before considering a return to the octagon.

By Invitation Only
In the last five years I haven't missed one UFC event in the East coast, but now that it is being made into a rare live commodity, Zuffa has decided to only let certain people into the party.
The theme of "Fury" in this UFC 55 was not displayed at a very technically high level by the fighters, but instead seems to describe the MMA Media's feelings about being rejected for the second time in a row from a UFC event. As a matter of fact, with guerrilla tactics, I took it upon myself to look at the nametags of all these so-called "media" who were present at the event.

..............................

VIP vs. Media
Well folks it's a battle of the chosen versus the rejected and dejected. After the show I checked out the two rows of tables octagon side, which were designated as seating for the "press." It's interesting how Spike TV had six seats, and next to them about three seats were for the production company that works with Spike, TUF Guy Productions, and then the rest of that row, from four to five other seats, were designated for those people that provide that powdered supplement that all these future fighters are being weaned on.

It's kind of like when William Burroughs makes a reference to the fat junkie, these yuppie marketing kids sat fat upon what should have been seating for the MMA media - The rest of the invites where, about four radio stations, two or three for Sports Illustrated, The Daily News, The Boston Herald, and a couple other mainstream newspapers from the area.

Brief Finish
Perhaps the statement that best sums up the local media's interest in this sport was a comment by a "newspaper photographer" from Boston, directed to one of my colleagues. He was pissed that Boston Cop Sean Gannon with a 1-0 underground MMA record was fighting so late in the night.

Anyways, this photographer from the Boston newspaper took off as soon as the Cop got bloodied up by the heavy rastlin' elbows of the much more experienced Buckeye. So now there were only seven photographers Octagonside, including a red head that stood in front of us watching the fights, forgetting to take photos or squat down for the people behind her.
Speaking of those elbows and blood, they sure are an ugly sight and a ridiculous rule for a so called sport.

Slim Main Event
Andrei Arlovsky proved to Paul Buentello, that fighters are not always the best judges of their own condition. Buentello was absolutely stunned by what seemed a grazing right hook in only 15 seconds. As he did some "intelligent falling" – working with gravity – as the creationists now call it, Paul had his lights put out by a shot that needed instant replay for most to catch. The fans booed as usual, and Buentello was in disbelief.

Keep Your Friends Close
If Zuffa – or is it Spike TV - doesn't want the media contradicting the way they see things or they way they plan things, then invite them to the party. No media is bad media; in the end it's all just media. Look at "journalism" in this country currently; if they don’t rub elbows with the politicians, they don't get invited to the press conference.
Oh yeah! By the way, every time I asked were the press conference was, nobody seemed to know, but then again, they had already shed this tradition at UFC 54, but somehow I kept hoping. My fellow MMA writers don't worry.

..............................

At least you didn't miss the press conference. Now they are making interviews with fighters less accessible to the MMA media, which happens to exist mainly on the internet.
The truth or alternative opinions always surface eventually. The question is whether people choose to pay attention to them or simply ignore them? Who's Watching the Police?
On the drive home from Mohegan Sun that night I was interviewing my friend about the current state of affairs in MMA. As we pulled up to the tollbooth, I turned the lens and zoomed in on the sign that said CASH ONLY.

Suddenly we heard a voice. "Sir, turn off that camera! What are you filming? I need to see your ID, don't you know you can be detained for 24 hrs. It's illegal to film, monuments, buildings and bridges." My heart skipped a beat. I reached for my passport and handed it to him. He asked me
which was the last country I had been to. I had to think for a minute, it was France. Then I thought; "wrong answer."
I told him I had been filming a documentary for the last couple years, that I was filming this fighter at Mohegan Sun, and I even mentioned the UFC. He lightened up a notch, "You got to watch out, especially if you carry a passport."

My friend and I felt as if someone had landed a couple body shots and taken our wind. He smiled, and let us go saying, "I know you’re not a terrorist."
You see, it's not just Zuffa; it's the current state of things in this country. The media is only supposed to report what big brother preaches. If you beg to differ, the Internet still does exist, and people who are curious about other opinions will still tune in.

Out of site out of mind is very puritan, but the shit still happens. Do we now ignore the UFC, or do we comment upon the fact that the level of some of the fighters they launched directly to Pay Per View this time around was worthy of two drunks brawling in a bar.
But the real problem still, is that those elbows are equal to beer bottles, ask Chris Lytle, and the Boston Cop, or even Evan Tanner four days before.
Blood and a cage, I wonder if Sports Illustrated will put it on their front cover? And I wonder what kind of interesting articles the folks who distribute the white powder will write? They all seemed to have left their press kits behind.

By the way Brandon Lee Hinkle's (the dude who bloodied up the Boston cop) voice and aura reminded me a bit of a handsome WC Fields. So remember, "It ain't over until the fat lady sings.”" But then again, that was an era when you were free to film anything.
Let the biggest surprise in UFC 55 have the last words.

Brandon Lee Hinkle -
"I'm emotional, I feel a little light headed, but I'm happy."
Asked who would win the title.
"Arlovsky, by KO."

Official Results >>