By Michael Owens
The UFC kicked off 2014 with a fairly low-key event in Singapore. However, despite the event not being broadcast on US TV, a small crowd of about 5,000 in the arena and a notable lack of star power there was plenty to appreciate.
The highlight of the night was undoubtedly Tarec Saffiedine’s war with Hyun Gyu Lim in the main event. It looked like the Belgian could have had Lim finished at almost any time after he mutilated his left thigh with leg kicks but he just lacked the all-important killer instinct. It was actually a bit baffling to see him engage with grappling when a couple more kicks could have brought the Korean to his knees.
Lim was so hurt he was ready to quit on his stool before the fifth and final round, but you wouldn’t have known it as he came out and fought with everything he had. He even gave the former Strikeforce champ a scare in the final few seconds, rocking him twice before the klaxon sounded. It was a case of too little, too late though and there was only one winner in the eyes of the judges
Another highlight – especially for the ‘PRIDE never die’ hardcore – was Tatsuya Kawajiri’s Octagon debut. ‘Crusher’ got after the takedown quickly and eventually managed to wrestle previously-undefeated Sean Soriano to the mat where he took dominant positions, worked for chokes and handed out some brutal punches. The fight was over pretty quickly into the second round as Soriano was unable to stay off the canvas again. A a brief grappling exchange ended when Soriano took a nap due to a rear-naked choke.
Kiichi Kunimoto’s ‘defeat’ of Luiz Dutra is unlikely to live long in the memory. The fight was cut short after Dutra rained a series of illegal ‘12 to six’ elbows to the back of the Japanese veteran’s head. He was unable to continue, and that was a wrap.
The main card’s opening fight was a curious occasion, thanks to some creative interpretation of the rules by referee Steve Perceval. Kyung Ho Kang was inexplicably deducted two points without warning for throwing two illegal ‘12 to six’ elbows. He then kicked Shimizu in the groin, but the fight was restarted when Percival decided the kick had not actually impacted on his jewels based on a glance at the big-screen replay. Despite this lunacy, Kang was on his way to a (deserved) decision victory before he locked in an arm-triangle to get the tap late in the third round.
There was not too much to shout about on the prelims. Katsunori Kikuno’s debut was underwhelming in the extreme as a (now retired) Quinn Mulhern practically gifted him the fight. The fight between Singapore’s Royston Wee and The Philippines’ David Galera got some pop from the crowd, but was one of the worst UFC fights of the Zuffa era. Two fighters with limited ability stayed static on the mat for lengthy periods of time while the fight clock seemed to crawl towards the fight’s conclusion.
The outstanding moment of the prelims came when young Max Holloway put together a string of flashy and powerful strikes to put Will Chope away midway through the second frame. The Hawaiian got back on track in a big way, improving his UFC record to 4-3 and setting himself for an exciting year of action fights to get the crowd going on the undercards of some major events.
UFC Fight Night 34 full results.
Main card
Tarec Saffiedine def. Hyun Gyu Lim by unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47, 48-47) – Round 3, 5:00.
Tatsuya Kawajiri def. Sean Soriano by technical submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 0:50.
Kiichi Kunimoto def. Luiz Dutra by disqualification (illegal elbows) – Round 1, 2:57.
Kyung Ho Kang def. Shunichi Shimizu by submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 3, 3:53.
Prelims
Max Holloway def. Will Chope by TKO (punches) – Round 2, 2:27.
Katsunori Kikuno def. Quinn Mulhern by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) – Round 3, 5:00.
Royston Wee def. David Galera by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26) – Round 3, 5:00.
Mairbek Taisumov def. Tae Hyun Bang by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) – Round 3, 5:00.
Dustin Kimura def. Jon Delos Reyes by submission (armbar) – Round 1, 2:13
Russell Doane def. Leandro Issa by technical submission (triangle choke) – Round 2, 4:59.
