Sin City Sound Bytes: UFC 56

By Loretta Hunt

The votes are in and reviews seem favorably mixed on what was this Saturday’s UFC 56: Full Force experience. Scanning the list, UFC president Dana White’s treasure trove of special announcements — which included the returns of “spirits past” Ken Shamrock, Tito Ortiz, and BJ Penn — received high marks, while the heavyweight non-fight that was Kevin Jordan versus Gabriel Gonzaga unanimously flunked (Godspeed to the three judges that would have had to decide that one if it had gone to the cards). Some more tidbits from the weekend …

St. Pierre Injury Rumors Just That

Why was that blue elbow brace slapped on Georges St. Pierre’s arm following his rousing victory over Sean Sherk this past Saturday? The affable Canadian with the million dollar smile confirms it was nothing more than a sponsor, also dispelling fight week whispers that he was nursing an injured hand going into to his demolition demonstration on Minnesota wrestler Sherk. Believing the fictitious fact’s origin might have come from a misleading photograph the superstar fighter took side by side with one of his bandaged teammates, St. Pierre was content to play along with the charade — that is until he entered the cage.

Polite Prangley Begs to Differ

It seems a substantial room of witnesses agreed with Trevor Prangley’s assessment of his three-round grind with Jeremy Horn, when thunderous boos filled the MGM Grand Arena following the Utah fighter’s hand getting raised to the sky. The quiet South African’s face could not hide his astonishment with the announcement that Horn had unanimously captured all three identical scorecards with 29-28s. “I was ready to celebrate as you can see,” Prangley admits. “It took me a minute to realize they didn’t call my name.” While the bout’s second round has been verbally reappraised by the public in the last 36 hours, the courteous Prangley now only wants Horn to get his due. “The only thing I could see the judges thought was that Horn was a little more aggressive in the later rounds. That’s all I could possibly see. Next to Babalu [Renato Sobral], that’s the toughest fight I’ve ever had, so I don’t want to steal his thunder.”

Pep Talk Herb Dean-Style

What did referee Herb Dean say to halted heavyweights Gabriel Gonzaga and Kevin Jordan after their bout reached an all-time lull in the second round? “I told them they needed to start fighting or I would take a point from one of them,” the referee shares. Dean says he hoped this message would encourage at least one of the heavyweights to step up his game so he could take a point from the other.

Gonzaga’s Missed Memo

Somebody forgot to pass Gonzaga the memo that fighting not to lose is passé these days. “I knew the audience would like to see a knockout, so I looked at all times for that,” the Brazilian grappling standout told FCF through his translator, adding he’d wait for it as long as he had to. “It was my debut and I didn’t want to lose.”

Ultimate Fight Night 4 Murmurs

Monday, January 16th seemed to be the date escaping many fighters’ lips when asked when they’d be springing into action next. Fighters’ camps rattled off these match-ups: Drew Fickett vs. Jonathan Goulet, Josh Koscheck vs. Jeremy Jackson, Tim Sylvia vs. Assuerio Silva, and Stephan Bonnar vs. James Irvin. These bouts and supposedly three more would complete the roster for the first Spike TV televised fight night of the new year.