This article is about fights that a true MMA fan would love to see, but they already happened. You may have seen them, but "the average Joe" hasn't. Enjoy!
B.J. Penn vs. Lyoto Machida (K-1 Heroes)
This is a BIG fight for MMA fans. Both fighters are in the top 10 pound-for-pound fighters in my book. They fought at 205 pounds; with B.J. weighing in at 190, it was a bit of a size advantage for Machida, who fought at his natural weight and came away with a unanimous decision win. At the time, he was 5-0 and Penn was 9-1-1. Both men fought a war, but Machida emerged victorious!
Frank Trigg vs. Jason "Mayem" Miller (ICON Sport)
This fight between two top-level fighters happened in a promotion I've never heard of called ICON Sport. It took place in 2006, and it was for the ICON Sport Middleweight championship. The fight went just two rounds, and Frank Trigg TKO'd Mayhem to become the MW champ. Before this fight, Trigg lost three of his last four fights, the most to Carlos Condit. Mayhem was the ICON MW champ coming in to this fight, beating Robbie Lawler for the title three months before.
- B/R Ticket Guide
Tito Ortiz vs. Wanderlei Silva (UFC 25)
This fight was under the radar because not many people have seen this fight,and it seems to be hard to find (for me, at least). This was for the UFC light heavyweight title, Ortiz was coming off a loss to Frank Shamrock, and Silva was coming off of a six-fight winning streak. This fight's name alone brings curiosity, I finally saw the video thanks to an extensive Google search, and it was a good fight. This marked Ortiz's reign as the 205-pound champion.
Dan Henderson vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueria 1 (Rings:King Of Kings 1999)
Both men fought a tough first round match to advance to the semi-finals, but this fight didn't show that. Both men fought hard for three rounds, Nogueria hurting Hendo, Hendo hurting Nogueria. It was an all-out war, but at the end of three hard-fought rounds, Henderson was declared the winner via split decision. He then went on to win the tournament, beating Renato Sobral in the finals.
Forrest Griffin vs. Dan Severn (RSF 5: New Blood Conflict)
It was Griffin's first professional MMA fight, against a veteran of the sport. Many believed that Severn would tear the new guy apart. WRONG! Griffin came in and gave Severn a fight, taking him all three rounds; although he lost, he still gained respect. He showed same of the Griffin that competes today, and, considering that it was only his first fight, I'd say that it was pretty good.
Rich Franklin vs. Lyoto Machida (Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2003)
Another Lyoto Machida fight. Franklin was coming off a UFC 44 win over Edwin Dewees. Machida was just 2-0, coming off a win over soon-to-be UFC fighter Stephan Bonnar. Franklin was looking to get back into the UFC with a win, but Machida had other plans. He came into the second round guns blazing, resulting in a TKO over Franklin, derailing Franklin's UFC plans for the time being.
I am in search for more "Under-the-Radar Fights." Stay tuned for a Part Two (maybe). I do realize that some people might have also seen these fights (via YouTube.com, or Google.com), but for those who haven't, check them out.
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about 1 month ago
You always come up with creative article Sean. I really liked all the fights you picked out. Especially the Machida ones. I couldn't believe it when I saw Lyoto TKO Rich Franklin like that-Wow. I wish that Machida would show himself in the UFC more. He would certainly earn a title shot that way! I will be waiting for Part Two (maybe) =)
from about 1 month ago
Yeah i agree,if Machida fought like that all the time....The LHW division could be in for some serious problems! Thanks for the compliment/comment!
about 1 month ago
It's a good and very informative article, Sean.
Thanks
from about 1 month ago
Thanks Joseph,Thats what i was going for.
about 1 month ago
Nice job Sean. I have actually done some research on this topic as well. I thought about doing an article similar to this one but you beat me to it. I like the ones your chose. They are some other ones that come to mind as well:
- Tyson griffin/Urijah faber at GC 42
- sherk/parisyan had a couple battles way back in 2000/2001 in reality submission fighting
- Penn/Gomi at ROTR 4
- Shields/Okami at ROTR 9
- Shields/Condit at ROTR 9
- Marquardt/Misaki at Pancrase Brave 10
- Thiago silva/Marcus davis at HFC 2
- Anderson Silva/Sakurai at Shooto To the Top 8
from about 1 month ago
I thought about some of those,but i didn't find them on youtube or google,so i couldn't watch them! I don't wanna write about something i haven't seen,or know much about. But you should do a part two,we could combine them! NICE RIGHT?
about 1 month ago
derek, it was davis/alves. Not Silva.
from about 1 month ago
what i meant ..
about 1 month ago
Good selection on all six of those fights, Sean. They certainly are not fights the casual fan would have ever seen, but luckily most of them are easily available on YouTube. I actually had not seen the Forrest/Severn fight until about 2 weeks ago. While Forrest wasn't that impressive in his first fight, it is cool to see how much a fighter can improve with time.
from about 1 month ago
Forrest wasn't too impressive,but you could tell from watching he was gonna be good! Thanks for the POTD,it was my first! Check my others out as well! Thanks again bro!
about 1 month ago
Pete Sell vs Scott Smith, TUF4 Finale. Awesome, for all the right reasons.
about 1 month ago
A wonderful article. I will be looking forward to part two. ***** and POTD
from about 1 month ago
Thank You Dorthy for the compliment and the POTD!!! Look for part 2 around Thanksgiving,or the day after!! Again Thank You!!
P.S. Check out my new article "What To Expect From UFC 92"
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