Tomorrow's UFC Fight Night card is filled to the brim with great fights. Normally we reserve GIFathons for just the Fox and PPV events, but for one night only we're not only giving you a GIFathon the day before a Fight Night, but we're also bringing you bonus GIFs. That's right, instead of the usual 6 we're bringing you 8 GIFs, and you'll see some of the following:
- Chael Sonnen pounding out Tim Credeur.
- Pre-PRIDE Shogun Rua.
- Travis Browne KOing a TUF 10 alum in just 8 seconds.
- Conor McGregor's one-punch KO power.
- How John Howard made his way back into the UFC.
....And more! Zombie Prophet made all of these GIFs and he makes this feature possible. Dallas Winston is here to provide some background for each finish, so let's get right into the fights!
Chael Sonnen vs. Tim Credeur (2007)
Mookie Alexander: It's a known fact that Chael Sonnen is not a savage puncher who can finish fights at any given moment, but after he was released from the UFC -- he had lost to Jeremy Horn (again) -- Sonnen finished 4 of his next 5 fights before his title shot against Paulo Filho. The first of those finishes came in BodogFights against TUF 7's Tim Credeur, who admittedly is not known for a good chin or defense, but is still a decent name opponent nonetheless. Sonnen actually started this fight with a flying knee a la Lesnar/Herring, but once he got the takedown it was a one-sided beating.
Dallas Winston: Chael has probably beaten as many BJJ black belts as he's lost to: Credeur, Nate Marquardt, Dan Miller, Paulo Filho and even -- though it was only his 3rd pro fight -- Jason "Mayhem" Miller. We saw Brock Lesnar neutralize a superior submissionist in Frank Mir with a half can-opener or neck cradle and his battleship-heavy base. Chael applies his beefy downward base and just punches away here (Credeur is talented offensively but has never thrived on the defensive side) but has recently preferred to climb into a high half-guard for additional control. Can Shogun's library of sweeps and escapes from his killer deep half-guard bail him out? Only time and Stephie's predictions will tell.
Mauricio Rua vs. Erik Wanderley (2003)
Mookie Alexander: It's not easy to track down usable GIFs of Shogun when he's had such a long career in PRIDE and the UFC, but here we are! This fight was on the same IFC: Global Domination card as Forrest Griffin's submission win over Chael Sonnen.
Dallas Winston: And it was on the same card that saw Shogun incur his first career loss by way of guillotine to "Babalu." Not only was Wanderlay in way over his head, but this was his first pro fight. Ever. If only his first or second name was Silva instead.
Alistair Overeem vs. Lee Tae-Hyun (2008)
Mookie Alexander: See how small the 2008 heavyweight Overeem looked compared to 2013 heavyweight Overeem? Anyway, it's been a hot trend to rag on Overeem after his KO loss to Antonio Silva, but he's still a damn good fighter with powerful striking, as Lee Tae-Hyun found out pretty damn quickly in DREAM. Even though the two punches clearly hurt Lee, I contend that the Uberknee to the body (of which there were many preceding the KO) is what finished the fight.
Dallas Winston: I actually slaved away at making a highlight reel of Overeem's TKO wins ... all dealt with nothing other than his left knee. Seriously, his signature left knee to the body has either facilitated or caused a stoppage in a ridiculous amount of his TKO's, and his left hook isn't far behind. Offensively, alternating between those two devastating strikes can be a real bitch to defend because your defensive focus goes from protecting your spleen from being blasted up out of your own throat to protecting your right temple from a wide looper, and Tae-Hyun already has his hands full with Overeem's bear-like clinch.
Travis Browne vs. Abe Wagner (2010)
Mookie Alexander: I mean, it's an 8 second KO, what else do you want? That's why Browne is one of the UFC's better heavyweights and Abe Wagner ... well he TKO'd Tim Sylvia, so that has to count for something, right?
Dallas Winston: This is why I always stress the rare level of exceptional grace and agility of Browne. This looks like a middleweight of heavyweight proportions and punching power unloading on a foe entrenched in molasses.
John Howard vs. Jason Louck (2013)
Mookie Alexander: John Howard has been tearing it up in Rhode Island as the reigning CES Middleweight champion. There's never been much doubt over his knockout power, and this brutal KO is one of those examples. The color commentator, who sounds a hell of a lot like Colin Quinn (mixed in with Suzyn Waldman), saying that Jason Louck was no slouch with his 15-10 record. This loss now makes Louck 9-11 in his last 20 fights.
Dallas Winston: Howard throws them thangs. He has true and unadulterated one-punch power, and here shows his laudable aggression and killer instinct. This also portrays why I'm picking Hall -- note Howard's entry above. A blitz of monster punches is a proven way to get inside in MMA, but I don't see that happening while Uriah is gliding around the cage and chambering off his arsenal with a 80.5" reach and substantial height advantage. Unless, that is, Hall decides to back straight up and put his back on the fence like he did against Gastelum ... Howard could turn his lights out.
Conor McGregor vs. Ivan Buchinger (2012)
Mookie Alexander: This was for the Cage Warriors vacant lightweight belt, and McGregor, having already won the featherweight belt, captured his 2nd title in style by slipping Buchinger's right hand and countering with a left hook that sent the Slovakian sprawling on the canvas.
Dallas Winston: 15 human heads just randomly toppled off of quivering shoulders at Mookie's mere mention of McGregor's left hook. The best athletes in any sport make complex things look simple, and that's what McGregor does with his boxing, but especially with his left hook. (Apologies to the owners of the 15 additional heads that just thudded on the floor).
Diego Brandao vs. Michael Casteel (2010)
Mookie Alexander: This is one of the scariest knockouts I think we've ever put on GIFathon, both because of the punch itself and the way Brandao was restrained like a caged animal who had just been let loose from the zoo and was out to get any human being who stood in his way.
Dallas Winston: The standard for this type of moment is in the original Indiana Jones when the crowd parts for that menacing swordsman, who's giving Indy an intensified stink eye and whipping the sword around him in a flashy pattern. Indy, like a boss, casually removes his fedora, wipes the sweat from his brow, draws a pistol and caps his ass. Brandao didn't play it off as coolly as Dr. Jones though ... I wonder why rendering someone comatose with one punch makes him so angry, to the point of needing to be restrained by the ref?
Joe Lauzon vs. Greg Mendes
Mookie Alexander: This was Joe Lauzon's first amateur fight and boy was it a doozy. Mendes clocked Lauzon early in the fight with a hard right hand, and as Lauzon desperately tried to get the fight to the ground it was looking like a rough debut for J-Lau. But once he weathered the storm and got the takedown it was all Lauzon, and seconds before he snatches this heel hook you can hear someone in the crowd (possibly a friend or family member) yelling "GO FOR HIS LEGS, JOE".
Dallas Winston: Risk-taking strikers who go balls-out on the feet with a wild and unpredictable blood-lust are well documented in MMA. Fighters that do the same with submissions are not. Joe is the type of cat who only needs the tiniest window of opportunity and he's sold; he'll explode after it in frenetic pursuit and spiritedly bend whatever limb or constrict whatever carotid artery he can find.
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The next GIFathon will be on August 30th, the day before UFC 164. If you have any GIF requests list them in the comments section or on Twitter (@mookiealexander). Please note we cannot use GIFs from UFC (including SEG era), PRIDE, Zuffa-era WEC, and Strikeforce.
SBN coverage of UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Sonnen
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