Part VI
*originally published in the Nov ’01 issue of Full Contact Fighter*
Joe Silva was a happy man, discernible by his grin from ear to ear. He was beaming. He had helped set up a stellar card, and unlike the last show, this one was full of thrills. What were his thoughts, in light of this incredible success? With enthusiasm, he spoke about his fighters after the show.
On the prelims: “I was really impressed with Frank Mir. He fought in a prelim fight, but he tapped out a Brazilian Jiu-jitsu world champion – an Abu Dhabi champion – with an armbar. The kid’s got a ton of potential. Evan Tanner made a great comeback. Numerous submission attempts, finally landed it. It was great. Phil Baroni answered so many questions I had. He talked a lot of crap, but he showed me he’s got a lot of heart. He came back and did everything to win. I’m really impressed with Phil. And Matt Lindland: he went to war! People said he’s boring, never bring him back.’ He wasn’t boring tonight. He did everything he could – I’m really impressed.” As Silva could very well hold their futures in his hands, this mean a lot.
On the lightning-quick bout between two stars in the lightweight division, Silva was even more enthused. “BJ Penn is completely insane! Caol Uno is truly one of the very best in the world, and BJ just wrecked him. I can’t wait to see him and Jens Pulver. That’s gonna be awesome.” Could fans expect to see Uno back, despite his crushing defeat? “Caol Uno is a true warrior. People know I’ve always been a big Shooto fan, I’m a fan of the Japanese fighters. Caol Uno is back in the UFC whenever he wants to come back to the UFC. BJ Penn is just a freak! Anybody he gets in there could end up like that! Din Thomas, one of the best in the world, didn’t do a whole lot better. What is our champion gonna do against him?”
Unable to halt his accolades, Silva turned his thoughts to the other match-ups. “Josh Barnett was awesome. Carlos Newton and Matt Hughes: almost the first double-knockout in history. Matt Hughes was unconscious, but he woke up first and he wins. It’s a tough call, but I think it was the right call in the end. Ricco Rodriguez proved a lot of his critics wrong. I think he’s gonna earn a lot of respect he deserves. Randy Couture showed he is undisputedly the top heavyweight in the world. That’s what I wanted to do. So many people didn’t think he won [in their previous match-up]. They had a question – there’s no question now. I hate questions, I hate judges decisions, and tonight we didn’t have too many so I’m really pleased about that.”
He paused, but never stopped grinning. He had done his job to the best of his ability. In spite of the “Victory in Vegas” show, he had resisted potentially exciting mismatches – instead pairing up fighters without concern about whether they were too evenly matched. “My heart goes out to everybody on the card. I said to them: ‘I can put together the best match on paper, but it’s up to you to make it reality.’ And these guys did. They all came to fight, they all came to finish – they have my eternal thanks.”
All in all, the evening was an astounding success. Not only did Zuffa accomplish all it had sought out to – captivate the crowd, put on a great show for the pay-per-view audience, and demonstrate that they are the premiere MMA event in the world – but they did it with panache. “High Voltage” shocked non-believers and believers alike. With one champ keeping his belt, and another champ crowned, UFC 34 was an electrifying experience. Can Zuffa top it with UFC 35?
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