UFC 99: A Victory by Eye-Gouge and Judges Rendered Blind
Published by Jim Genia on June 14th, 2009 in Current Events

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A funny thing happened when the UFC came to Germany for their first-ever mainland Europe show. Mirko CroCop, one of the greatest and most exciting heavyweights to emerge from Pride, stepped into the Octagon to face Mustapha Al-Turk and won with an eye-gouge. Then, in a main event that pitted another Pride superstar in Wanderlei Silva against former UFC middleweight champ Rich Franklin, the three judges who sat cageside were rendered blind, and a decision was handed down that defied logic – the fourth decision of the evening and the second to completely miss its mark. To put it mildly, UFC 99: “The Comeback” was a strange one.

After three lackluster performances in the UFC in 2007, CroCop returned to his homeland for surgery and fought a trio of inconsequential bouts in Japan. But his announced UFC 99 bout against Cage Rage alum Al-Turk sparked interest, for it meant fans of the Croatian might once more see that devastating high-kick in action – or at the very least, witness anew his brand of striking prowess. And after three minutes of CroCop pursuing Al-Turk, dodging wild punches and firing back accurate bolts of leather-lighting, it seemed as if we’d finally get that payoff. Unfortunately, Al-Turk reeled clutching his eyes, and the following unanswered punches forced referee Dan Miragliotta to step in and wave the fight off. What did the instant replay reveal? Sadly, CroCop’s fingers deep in his opponent’s eyes. It was far from the ending fans had hoped for, and just one of the night’s many misfires.

In the Silva/Franklin battle, the two 195-pounders engaged in a knockdown-drag-out affair that saw each wobble the other repeatedly for all three rounds, with Franklin playing the role of “Mr. Jelly Legs” slightly more than the Brazilian. Yet thanks to the sightless judges Silva wasn’t awarded the decision. Neither was Marcus Davis, who, despite threatening Brit Dan Hardy with submissions whenever he was on the bottom, and rocking (and yes, getting rocked) when on the feet, was robbed of a split decision when it went to the judges’ scorecards. Yes, Silva’s and Davis’ respective bouts were close, but they’d done enough to get the nods. What (if any) fights were the judges watching?

There was no funny business in the welterweight scrap between American Kickboxing Academy’s Mike Swick and American Top Team’s Ben Saunders. Taking a leap up in his level of competition, Saunders clung to Swick like a baby koala bear when the two were on the ground, but willingly threw down on the feet. This proved to be his downfall, as the technically superior Swick stalked him like an Outback hunter, dropped him with punches, and pounced for the second-round TKO. In a heavyweight match-up packed with divisional relevance, the untested Cain Velasquez ate Cheick Kongo’s knuckles whenever the two stood, but the Frenchman inexplicably played into Velasquez’s wrestling modus operandi for duration. There would be no question that the up-and-comer’s performance warranted the unanimous decision, as well as his place in the UFC’s hierarchy of big boys. In a lightweight contest between Japanese Shooto legend Caol Uno and Midwest warrior Spencer Fisher, the grappler failed to impose his game on the striker, and the accumulated punches he ate while trying get and keep his adversary down meant a unanimous decision for Fisher when time ran out. Again, everything was kosher with the results of these three matches.

But the CroCop/Al-Turk and Silva/Franklin pairings were another story altogether.

It’s too bad CroCop’s victory was tainted with an illegal blow, and it’s too bad Silva and Davis were the victims of myopic officials. As first impressions go, Germany didn’t get the best the UFC has to offer. Maybe next time will be different.