This week’s UFC 119 card in Indianapolis has gotten a bit of a bad rap, lacking that one blockbuster match up or big-time star. No GSP, no Lesnar and no championship fight. Not even a big grudge match.
But one thing I gathered from Wednesday’s open workouts, where the media are able to interview and take pictures of some of the fighters competing in the main card, is it is filled with interesting characters.
Not the least of which is Matt (The Terra) Serra? The 5-foot-6 New Yorker with the thick Long Island accent — who incidentally began our interview by saying, “It’s always nice to talk to someone my height.” — is one of the funnest guys to talk to. (That’s right, I wrote funnest.)
Serra will be taking on Indy’s own Chris (Lights Out) Lytle. This will be the second time he’s facing a guy he’s beaten before and doing the rematch in the other guy’s hometown.
“What’s up with that, man?” Serra said jokingly. “I beat GSP, they rematch him there (in Montreal). I win a decision over Chris, they rematch him (here). It’s a crazy thing man. But the thing I always say is I’m the easiest guy to work with for the UFC.”
That may well be the truth. Serra — yes the same guy who told GSP to “drink your wine, Frenchy” — is also perhaps the most easy-going guy you could ever talk to. (Just don’t let your guard down if you get in the cage with him.)
Having said that, it’s going to be change of perspective for Serra, who is coming off two straight fights against guys he said he “didn’t care for,” in Frank Trigg and Matt Hughes. He has a completely different view of Lytle.
“He’s the most exciting guy in the UFC. You’re not going to find a bigger Chris Lytle fan than me. And even more excited that I get to be in a fight with him, because I know it’s not going to be a boring fight.”
Training for his light-heavyweight match up against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (aka Little Nog) and Ryan (Darth) Bader, the only man in the room Wednesday yet to taste defeat, did some of the loudest pad work I’ve ever heard. And that was just the sound of his fists hitting mitt. Add to that accompanying noises from his mouth that would give a grunting Rafa Nadal a run for his money. He explained that was part of a technique he’s adopted to help him breathe properly while throwing punches.
“I’ve had this problem in the past of not breathing and it would fatigue me in fights,” Bader explained. “I used to hold my breath, so making those noises helps me with my power and my breathing.”
In the main event, you’ve got two unique individuals.
On the one hand there’s Frank Mir (whose hair I liken to Kramer) with a body like a bull but a teddy-bear demeanour. He had a lot of fun with his trainer Ritchie Vadnais; in particular, when the latter threw a left kick to the side of his head. He only got air, but Mir acted as if it connected and pretended to crumble to the ground, imitating a victim’s reaction to his opponent Mirko Cro Cop’s patented “left-kick cemetery.”
Cro Cop, who remains an enigma in the sport, was his usual stoic self, but often managed a wry smile as he contemplated his fight with Mir and his future in the sport.
Not only are the characters compelling but I am intrigued by most of the matchups. Not only do I think they will be fun to watch stylistically, but they have good storylines and potentially significant implications.
And the other two fights on the main card aren’t anything to sneeze at. Sean Sherk vs. Evan Dunham. The former dominant champion in the division vs. the potential future dominant figure. Sherk’s been off for a long time, so he could face some rust, while Dunham, like Bader, is also undefeated but hasn’t faced a guy of the same calibre as Sherk.
And finally you’ve got one of my favourite fighters to watch, Jeremy Stephens, who duelled with Sam Stout to Fight of the Night honours in Montreal in May and earned top KO in two of his previous four. He’ll face another dynamic brawler in Melvin Guillard.
And don’t forget about the two Canadians on the card (part of the motivation for being here in Indy, representing sportsnet.ca), who I’ll write more about later this week.