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St. Pierre Shrugs Off Sherk at UFC 56; Ortiz, Shamrock, and Penn Return in Surprise Announcements By Loretta Hunt Las Vegas, November 19 – Rich Franklin couldn't have done much more to demonstrate the keen stand-up prowess he possesses that kept the golden belt around his waist once again this evening. The easy going middleweight champion utilized his speedier hands and killer combinations to land a left and its follow-up twin for his first knockdown of overmatched Team Quest member Nate Quarry in tonight's UFC 56 main event at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Referee John McCarthy swooped in quickly to get a better vantage point as Quarry's back brushed the cage while Franklin briefly halted his ground onslaught in anticipation the bout would be stopped, but both confirm no contact was made and the action continued. A resilient Quarry managed to his feet, but was simply no match for Franklin's fluid movement. The knockout punch came shortly after when Franklin countered Quarry's missed jab with a full-range left.
St. Pierre really began to connect with his punches in the second set, fulfilling his spinning back kick quota before rushing in to take Sherk down again. With elbows, St. Pierre crowded a quickly panicking Sherk and cut him, signaling a final flurry that left the bloody Minnesota fighter as overwhelmed as he's ever been in his career before referee Herb Dean jumped in to call it. St. Pierre's heartfelt plea on his knees for another crack at the title might or might not lead him there – murmurs of BJ Penn as his next opponent were overheard although this information is far from concrete at this time.
To novice fans watching this distinguished trio walk into the arena, the relevance of their homecomings might have fallen to the wayside. To those who diligently follow the sport, however, Ortiz's and Penn's return to the flock signaled not only the end of some meaty behind-the-scenes struggles, but an unfastening of Zuffa's wallet snaps. All three selections were astute business moves for the organization heading into a bright 2006. From surprises back to surer things, welterweight champion Matt Hughes did what most expected by stopping challenger Joe Riggs in a tidy 3:28 interlude. While the intrigue in potentially dethroning Hughes was terminated the day before when Riggs couldn't make weight and the bout was downgraded to a three-round, non-title affair, a slight air of possibility still lingered in the underdog's heavy hands. However, anyone that had observed Riggs' weight-cutting ordeal the day before (Riggs tried multiple times to get to 170 pounds in a grueling two-hour process), might have thought the Arizona upstart had lost even before he entered the Octagon. Indeed, the cards certainly weren't stacked in Riggs' favor, and the 23-year-old was taken down fairly soundly by his far savvier adversary following their initial exchange. Hopping to half mount immediately, Hughes positioned his body practically into side control while Riggs could do little to protest. Hughes' move of choice there was the Kimura he told the audience afterwards, as a replay on the Jumbotron screens showed Riggs' bended arm propped against the canvas which led to the tap out at 3:28. Leading off the pay-per-view portion of the event, South African Trevor Prangley made a noted effort against the notable Jeremy Horn, who was returning to the Octagon for the first time since his punishing loss to light-heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell last August.
In what must be surely referred to as a "cursed" slot in the UFC offices by now (UFC 55's Sean Gannon-Brandon Lee Hinkle is the predecessor), the swing bout pitting heavyweights Kevin Jordan and Gabriel Gonzaga almost brought down the entire event with it in its fiery "crash and burn" descent. An obvious attempt to prime another heavyweight for the UFC's shallow roster, neither candidate seemed able to answer the call. A staple of the world-class grappling circuits, Gonzaga and his propensity to hit the mats is understandable. Following this sentiment, his inability to land any heat once he hit mount on Jordan is explainable as well, but was no less painful to watch in its tediousness. After a slow first round for the most ineffective pair to hit the Octagon since UFC 50's Marvin Eastman and Travis Lutter, round two practically tipped inactivity readings off the scale. When the most exciting part of a fight is referee Herb Dean stopping to tell its participants to do something or face point deductions, something is not right with the picture. Even Gonzaga's dramatic grazing punch/elbow knockdown of Jordan with 30 seconds left on the third round clock could not save this sub-par offering from draining the energy right out of the arena. Undercard Offerings Although not quite as spunky as in his past performance against fellow TUF housemate Stephan Bonnar back at August's Ultimate Fight Night 1, Sam Hoger did manage past UFC debuter Jeff Newton with a second round rear-naked choke finish that clearly satisfied the masses. The 5-0 Newton was touted an unorthodox karate-based striker, but hardly had the opportunity to show it as Hoger kept him on his back for much of the duration. Newton unexpectedly held his own on the mats though, with two solid submission attempts of his own in the round –- first with an armbar and later with a heelhook. If Hoger was surprised, he didn't show it, matching Newton's second effort with his own footlock he momentarily dropped unexplainably as he looked to referee Dean for guidance. Hoger picked up his pace in the second five-minute set considerably. Within a minute of the starting bell, Hoger had the takedown and mount, then flipped briefly to a heelhook attempt before jumping back to mount again. Newton spun to his stomach and the crowd went into a frenzy for the pending choke which the California fighter tapped out to 2:05 in. 7-0 Russian grappler Ansar Chalangov made an aggressive initial campaign on American Top Team's Thiago Alves in the second preliminary offering for the evening. Although Chalangov underachieved a throw and landed on his own back with Alves in his guard, he quickly rebounded with a nice reversal and secured a guillotine he tried to leverage from a sprawled stance. Alves resisted and eventually escaped en route back into guard. He passed Chalangov's guard easily to mount and threw down a hammerfist to stun the Russian suddenly. Chalangov's arms remained up but stiffened at his sides, hardly much defense for the follow-up punches Alves landed as referee Mario Yamasaki moved in to stop the bout. In the event opener, regional standouts Keith Wisniewski and Nick Thompson proved a pensive pair at first with non-committed exchanges and a tedious series of clinches that seemed to go nowhere. Virginia native Thompson overcame his jitters in the second though, and took the reigns with a reversal into half guard once they hit the canvas. The turning point came when Thompson landed a punch here and Wisniewski began to unravel, cut under his right eye and quickly fading. Thompson continued his domination into the final round despite the fact Wisniewski briefly gained mount before his opponent wiggled back into half guard. Active on the bottom as well with an armlock attempt, Thompson then reversed to top position and puckered Wisniewski out with strikes. Thompson walked away with the unanimous decision. UFC 56: Full Force Results:
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