Mixed Martial Arts has often been derided as a sport that is as cruel as it is uncompromising. The bloodshed, the cauliflower ears and the extremely brutal displays of power (not vulgar, sorry Pantera) make MMA one of the toughest combat sports in the history of people beating each other for money. Not many people would agree but mixed martial arts is pretty similar to ECW’s hardcore oeuvre in some respects: the high-risk factor, the blood, the extent to which crazy people go in order to put up a great show amongst numerous others. Yes, ECW was choreographed but you can’t possibly choreograph people being put through burning tables, enduring barbed-wire hits etc without entailing a risk!
Here are 5 MMA matches that take us back to ECW’s “hardcore” style:
#5 Cain Velasquez vs Antonio Silva
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Within the confines of a demonic steel cage structure, two of the greatest fighters in the heavyweight division fought to settle their differences. It wasn’t going to be an easy fight for either and what ensued was a mat smeared with blood. Cain Velasquez, by virtue of his average of landing the most significant strikes in the UFC, took the battle to Antonio Silva in a gruesome battle that became the highlight of UFC 146.
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The match started and both men took the fight to the ground in the first few seconds, leading to one of the most brutal ground and pound displays ever, in the history of the UFC heavyweight division. Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva tried his best to maintain his defense but all of his efforts went awry in front of Velasquez’s speed and striking ability. A lethal elbow to the face of Bigfoot caused a huge gash which prompted a lot of blood to gush out.
In just three minutes and thirty-six seconds, Cain Velasquez’s hard-hitting reduced Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva to a hapless, bloodied pile, lying on the ground. Velasquez had just lost his title to Junior dos Santos and this was probably all of the pent up frustration that was showing! The match-up was short yet not withholding on the ‘bloodshed’ quotient. It was reminiscent of a hardcore ECW match, albeit with real fighting as opposed to sports entertainment. Phew, it pains to even write about the fight!
#4 BJ ‘The Prodigy’ Penn vs Joe ‘Daddy’ Stevenson
The fight was for the vacant UFC Lightweight Championship at UFC 80 and both men were vying for it with equal fervour. The fight began and The Prodigy was quick to take advantage of Stevenson’s weak defence. A combination of punches landed by Penn was enough to make Daddy lose balance and then the focus shifted to the ground. Penn was on top of his ground and pound game and Stevenson fought hard to overcome it.
There were moments when they exchanged lethal blows, including some fierce display of talent from Stevenson but all that was dabbed down by a vicious elbow strike landed by Penn. The strike cut open a faucet of red and that’s when it was clear that Stevenson would have a lot of catching up to do in order to overcome the might of The Prodigy. The second round was no different and it saw BJ Penn attack right from the word go, administering brutal boxing combinations that almost blinded Joe Stevenson.
The theatre soon shifted to the ground where once again a relentless surge of attacks by Penn proved to be too much for Stevenson to endure, culminating in a rear-naked choke that forced Stevenson to submit. Totally reminiscent of a hardcore match, it was also one of the most brutal displays of power, ever.
#3 Joe ‘Thoroughbred’ Hieron vs Jonathan ‘Road Warrior’ Goulet
This fight holds the distinction of being perhaps the bloodiest fight in the history of mixed martial arts. Even Dana White got the shock of his life upon witnessing two men beat each other to a pulp inside the octagon. It was UFC Fight Night 2 when Joe ‘Thoroughbred’ Hieron, a wrestler-boxer squared off against Jonathan ‘Road Warrior’ Goulet, a lean-mean kickbox machine.
Goulet opened up Hieron with a solid knee in the second round before he landed a barrage of punches and elbows from the bottom. The cut that Hieron had suffered, started growing wider and the continuous hits to it prevented it from clotting. The fight then went to the ground and Jonathan assiduously struck Hieron’s face till the mat was coloured in a bloody crimson!
After losing a lot of blood, Hieron was hit with the knee in the third round, prompting a doctor stoppage to save whatever was left of him! Nothing gets more hardcore than this! This was akin to seeing a match between Tommy Dreamer and Sabu.
#2 Renato ‘Babalu’ Sobral vs David Heath
The madness that transpired during the course of this match is typically reminiscent of the ‘anything goes 24/7’ hardcore match scenario that dominated the Extreme Championship Wrestling and later, the World Wrestling Entertainment.
Babalu known for his sublime groundwork skills faced off against David Heath at UFC 74. In the first few seconds of the match, Babalu took the fight to the ground after a clean takedown.
A brutal display of ground and pound by Babalu quickly shifted the momentum in his favour and Heath’s efforts to hold the fort were in vain. Babalu, known for his quick hands and legs, lodged himself atop Heath and continued the onslaught, resulting in heavy bloodshed. What made this match more extreme is Babalu’s refusal to let go of Heath even after forcing him to tap out to an anaconda choke!
#1 Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva vs Mark ‘Super Samoan’ Hunt
This match was a ‘long, slow, screw’ that resulted in a draw after 5 rounds of what was a great display of fighting skills by two of the greatest heavyweights. The match had all the right ingredients for it to be an iconic showdown; it had cardio, groundwork and brutal fist-fighting in equal proportions.
The last round turned into a boxing-exclusive competition where both Hunt and Silva gave it their all. A lethal left-right combination by Hunt was enough to offset Antonio Silva’s blitzkrieg, giving Silva a bloodied face (yet again)!
The propensity of two heavyweights to go on for five rounds with equal zest and the quest to emerge victorious makes this one of the best matches in the history of the UFC. The bloodbath skews it more towards the ‘hardcore’ oeuvre.
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