My father always told me that if some kid smacks you, well... you smack 'em right back!
Gabriel Gonzaga must have had the same kind of advice when he was growing up because he certainly didn't back down from the terminator, Mirko Cro Cop after the first leg kick which resulted in a take down and a juicy welt on Gonzaga's right rib section as a souvenir of battle.
Gonzaga's ground game would have made Tito Ortiz and Fedor salivate as Mirko simply didn't have the tools to escape the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt's relentless onslaught from the top position. Gonzaga was able to steer Cro Cop toward the fence which ultimately resulted in Cro Cop's face being crushed up against the fencing like a sheep trying to escape the imminent slaughter.
Gabriel Gonzaga was pressing the action and controlling Cro Cop from within his guard in the top position then, out of nowhere, the worst MMA referee of all time, Herb Dean steps in to stand the fighters up.
WHY???
Why stand up a fighter who is grounding and pounding much less stand up a fighter who is being grounded and pounded? Only in Herb Dean's world folks and who really knows the secretive rules that govern the biggest MMA referee tool of our time.
Fortunately for MMA fans, the fight wasn't stopped by Herb "end the fight early" Dean. No sir, the stoppage of the fight happened almost immediately following the stand up of both fighters in a way that would be considered cliche if presented in a movie but not so out of the ordinary for those who received their first few lovingly self defense lessons with their Fathers.
RIGHT HIGH KICK - THWAT!
Down went Cro Cop like a rag doll that was dropped lifelessly to the ground with his right leg crumpled and contorted beneath the weight of his own body.
Lifeless, with arms spread out on the canvass in a 'V' awaiting a couple more nails in the coffin by way of punches to the face then the referee, Herb Dean swoops in to protect Cro Cop from further damage as he lay silent and lifeless just like the discarded rag doll with no child to be seen to collect the doll for miles. Sad, very sad.
Cro Cop was indeed, Cro Cop'd.
Gonzaga DOMINATED Cro Cop like I have never seen before. I hate to say this but even Fedor Emelianenko couldn't dominate Cro Cop when the two fought in Pride FC which saw Fedor win by decision.
I'm completely out of the MMA predictions game now but I did spend the time to write about Gonzaga to warn the fans that he is a force in the Heavyweight division that should not be taken lightly even if Cro Cop is fighting him.
If I only had the same foresight about Matt Serra but that truly was a freak of nature.
Here is the Cro Cop vs. Gabriel Gonzaga UFC 70 fight that changed the UFC Heavyweight landscape completely:
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Cro Cop Cro Cop'd
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I watched that last night too. I gotta tell ya, I've been watching the UFC since the old Severn/Gracie days and I've never felt a little sick after watching a knockout. That changed. I mean, his friggn leg! It looked like Cro Cop got run over by a train afterwards. Just brutal.
ReplyDeleteI cannot believe what referee Herb Dean did. As a fan, I am completely outraged. Gonzaga was working on the ground, period. There was no reason at all to stand them up except to give favor to Cro Cop. As it turns out, justice was served with a Gonzaga head kick. I think Gonzaga should have given Dean a nut kick for trying to fix the fight. Herb Dean should be suspended or fired. He sucks as a ref. He interferes with the natural outcomes of fights, which is no good for the sport. He called Ortiz Shamrock II way early and forced a third fight. Now he pulls a submission specialist who is ground and pounding off of Cro Cop??? Dean is extremely lucky the fight went the way it did. I'm still not letting him slide by. Dean needs a long break from refing MMA.
ReplyDeleteAmen Nacho
ReplyDeletenacho you could not have said it any better.
ReplyDelete