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Wednesday, Nov 19, 2003

Subdued Ufc 45 Weigh-ins Kick Off Tenth Anniversary Show



Subdued UFC 45 Weigh-Ins Kick Off Tenth Anniversary Show
By Loretta Hunt

      No frills was the order of the day today for UFC 45 Revolution’s weigh-ins, held at the Mohegan Sun Hotel & Casino in the remotely-situated town of Uncasville, Connecticut. With a stage roped off right outside the main sports arena’s doors, the sight of fighter after fighter stepping onto the scales drew a modest crowd of mostly passersby mingling with a small army of diehard supporters. It was a far cry from what has become a regular happening in Las Vegas — snaking lines of frenzied fans waiting sometimes two hours beforehand to get a snapshot or autograph of their favorite fighter.
      The subdued tone set by the surroundings was consistent with the introduction of the fighters, who all entered passively yet focused for the job ahead of them tomorrow. No melodrama or antics here — all sixteen competitors made their weight speedily and after the prerequisite pictures, seemed to fade back into the backdrop undetected.
      The only heat from the proceedings came with an unexpected and rather elongated staredown between middleweights Phil Baroni and Evan Tanner. Eye to eye on the stage, they held their bittered glances a bit longer than asked of them, fueling the crowd to applaud their show of competitive disdain for one another.

Tanner (left) vs. Baroni
Tanner vs. Baroni


      In comparison, after weeks of back and forth bantering between welterweight champion Matt Hughes and his boisterous challenger Frank Trigg, their staredown disappointingly bordered on playful, negating much of the hype building up between them. Along with a mention that seventeen-time competitor Tank Abbott came in noticeably fitter this time around, there was not much more to note.

Tank (left) vs. Cabbage
Tank vs. Cabbage


      With the "Legends" autograph session scheduled for 3 to 6 pm (also outside the arena doors) tomorrow afternoon, UFC pioneers Royce Gracie, Ken Shamrock, Don Frye, Oleg Taktarov, Mark Coleman, Randy Couture, and Pat Miletich (as well as appearances from nostalgic vets Keith Hackney [pictured below with Tim Sylvia] and Fred Ettish) are expected to attract a healthy crowd of well wishers for the UFC’s tenth birthday. And if that doesn’t get things cooking, sixteen fighters hope their performances will help to cement another ten years of UFC and mixed martial arts history in America.

Giant Killer Keith Hackney (left) with Tim Sylvia
Keith Hackney with Tim Sylvia


Listed in official fight order for tomorrow night, the weights were as follows:

Preliminary Bouts
Nick Agallar (155 lbs) vs. Yves Edwards (154.5 lbs)

Nick Agallar Yves Edwards
Nick Agallar Yves Edwards


Keith Rockel (185 lbs) vs. Chris Liguori (183 lbs)

Keith Rockel Chris Liguori
Keith Rockel Chris Liguori


Ricco Rodriguez (246 lbs) vs. Pedro "The Rock" Rizzo (243.5 lbs)

Main Card
"Ruthless" Robbie Lawler (169 lbs) vs. Chris "Lights Out" Lytle (169.5 lbs)

Evan Tanner (185 lbs) vs. "The NY Bad Ass" Phil Baroni (185 lbs)

David "Tank" Abbott (253 lbs) vs. Wesley "Cabbage" Correira (265 lbs)

Matt Lindland (185 lbs) vs. Falaniko Vitale (184.5 lbs)*

Falaniko Vitale (left) vs. Matt Lindland
Vitale vs. Lindland


Welterweight Title Fight
Matt Hughes (170 lbs) vs. Frank Trigg (169 lbs)

Frank Trigg Matt Hughes
Frank Trigg Matt Hughes


* Depending on time constraints, swing bout may be aired after title fight
posted by Full Contact Fighter @ 8:00 pm
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