By Michael Owens
This Saturday’s scheduled scrap between Robbie Lawler and Matt Brown has all the makings of an all time classic. Five rounds, hight stakes and heavy hitters squaring off with the aim of throwing some serious leather.
It sounds like a sure-fire recipe for violence and it’s more than likely that it will be, but have no doubt that there is as much potential for some carefully-chosen combinations and tactical grappling in among all of those flying fists. I’ll tell you, that’s something I want to see from my mixed martial arts.
However, there is always room for a good old-fashioned dirty, brawling slugfest. They might not be pretty but they do get the pulses racing and have the capacity to leave you, dear fight fan, on the edge of your seat for the duration (as long as that lasts).
In celebration of these blood-and-guts battles, and in hope for more of the same (with maybe a little more technical acumen) come the weekend, here are five of the greatest brawls in MMA history.
Wanderlei Silva vs. Brian Stann: March 3, 2013, Saitama, Japan.
This one had it all in just under two rounds. In fact, this one almost had it all in the first round. Both fighters weren’t so much as knocked down, but knocked across the canvas, multiple times, during furious striking exchanges. ‘The Axe Murderer’ only paused to beckon Stann to come at him some more or shake his balls after he got hit between the legs. It was bloody, relentless and finished in vintage Silva fashion – a one-two followed by some vicious ground and pound. It’s just a shame we have not got to see the legend fight since.
Melvin Manoef vs. Evangelista Santos: February 4, 2006, London, England.
We go all the way back to pioneer UK promotion Cage Rage for this one and the meeting of two of the all-time classic sluggers in MMA history. Neither is blessed with a fantastic ground game, wrestling, strategic mind or stamina, but they knew how to hit hard. Eight years ago these were two big, light heavyweight murderers and they went after each other like they were aiming to kill. There was no let up for two rounds, though it looked like ‘Cyborg’ Santos had got the upper hand thanks to so outrageous knees. However, an exhausted Melvin was able to take the fight in the final frame with probably the only possible method. Hulking out, channelling his inner beast and swinging for the fences. The pair later rematched at welterweight in the Gringo Super Fight Organisation earlier this year and the Dutchman was victorious once again.
Eddie Alvarez vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri: July 21, 2008, Osaka, Japan
Another trip into the vaults of one of our sport’s now defunct promotions and the DREAM lightweight Grand Prix. This fight followed up Alvarez’s coming out party against Joachim Hansen in the previous round of the competition against many people’s pre-tournament favourite. The two men came together time and time again and rarely failed to connect face to fist as they went for a place in the competition final later that evening. The Japanese crowd inside the Saitama Super Arena roared as exchange followed exchange, Bas Rutten lost his mind and Kawajiri eventually fell. The fight almost got going again, but everything came to an end when Alvarez came back with some of the most horrifying hammerfists ever seen in a ring or cage. As it turned out, neither man advanced to the final in the end because of the level of damage they suffered.
Chan Sung Jung vs. Leonard Garcia: April 24, 2010, Sacramento, California
Ah WEC 48, or simply Aldo vs. Faber if you were watching on Spike and privy to commentator’s attempts to avoid any Zuffa contractual irregularities. This is the fight that made The Korean Zombie famous for throwing down and Garcia infamous for somehow managing to pull decisions out of his backside – despite being beaten up for 15 minutes. Jung smashed Garcia in the face, did it some more, jumped on his back and them smashed him in the face some more. Sure, he deserved to lose, but I suppose there was some back and forth and the Jackson’s product had to be commended for taking as much as he could, laughing in the face of a beating and still finding time to throw shots from his grandmother’s house until the bitter end.
Watch the fight on Fight Pass http://www.ufc.tv/video/leonard-garcia-vs-chan-sung-jung-wec-48
Olaf Alfonso vs. John Polakowski, January 16, 2004, Lemoore, California
Another one from the WEC, but from waaaaaay before the Zuffa purchase had not even been thought about. WEC 9 at the Palace Indian Gaming Centre. God knows what Polakowski was doing in the cage against this madman in his first ever fight and on one day’s notice but rest assured he rose to the occasion. There were bombs being thrown on an irresponsibly frequent basis, blood everywhere and a fighter wearing shorts with his name on his backside. Elbows, knees, punches, kicks, a broken nose and deep cuts could not stop this contest until the final bell. Alfonso won by ‘a hair on his chinny-chin-chin’ but Polakowski won the resulting trilogy before taking a stint on TUF 8 and retiring after one more fight. He’d taken enough punishment to last a lifetime.
Watch the fight on Fight Pass http://www.ufc.tv/video/olaf-alfonso-vs-john-polakowski-wec-9
