I'm getting to the point in my MMA career that I'm old enough to have seen many a fighter hang up their gloves. Usually, when its all said and done, there is one fight you can look back on in that fighter's career that was the beginning of their decline. "Crossroads" fights are sometimes subtle, but more often than not they are exceptionally brutal. As one boxing journalist once said "Once it's beaten out of you…it's gone forever."
There are many reasons for a Crossroads fight. Sometimes a fighter's opponent discovers a strategy that other fighters begin to imitate (Buster Douglas is the all-time trailblazer of this category), other times a single fight destroys a fighter's confidence, or the years simply catch up to an aging legend. The worst, in my opinion, in the "unmasking" fight where we discover that a fighter just wasn't as good as the hype that surrounded them and their veil of protection is lifted by realistic matchmaking.
Whatever the cause, a fighter after their Crossroads moment is never really the same. For better or worse, here are some of the Crossroads fights in MMA that stand out in my mind:
Wanderlei Silva vs. Mirko Cro-Cop
Pride-Final Conflict Absolute, September 10 2006
When most people think about the glory days of Pride they think of a prime Wanderlei Silva and the path of destruction he tore through the middleweight (LHW in modern weight classes) division in his championship reign. To call the guy an animal is a bit inaccurate, most animals won't charge right at you and soccer-kick you to death like you stole something from them.
Silva ripped the title from the seemingly invincible submission ace Kazushi Sakuraba (more on that later) and would go undefeated in his weight class from 2000-2005. On the way he defeated Dan Henderson, Rampage Jackson (twice), and would batter Sakuraba two more times. After avenging the only middleweight loss of his Pride career by defeating Ricardo Arona in December 2005, Silva made the ill-advised jump to heavyweight for the Pride Absolute Grand-Prix in 2006.
The first round went well: Silva handed the iron-headed Kazuyuki Fujita his first real KO loss. Unfortunately for Silva, the Fujita win would be his last of the tournament. In the semis he met Mirko Cro-Cop, the K-1 standout who's high-kick was the most feared weapon in MMA. Cro-Cop was in his prime and the Brazilian wild-man had bitten off more than he could chew.
The wild aggression that had made Silva the most feared middleweight in the world played right into the hands of the polished Croatian southpaw and Silva's punching power paled in comparison to the man who had made his career in the heavyweight division. Cro-Cop battered Silva from the beginning, countering his wild attacks with straight lefts and well-timed kicks. On the ground it was more of the same as Cro-Cop countered Silva's submission attempts and made him pay with vicious ground and pound. When Silva rose to his feat after being smashed into the canvas his face was a bloody mess and his eye was grotesquely swollen, but he probably wishes he had never gotten up. As soon as the stand-up fight resumed, Cro-Cop let loose with his famous left kick to the cranium. The "Axe Murderer" crumpled to the canvas unconscious. It was one of the most thorough beatings I had ever had the displeasure of witnessing at the elite level of MMA.
Wanderlei and Cro-Cop both left the crumbling Pride banner for the UFC when the promotion was bought out by Zuffa. As of 2014 Wanderlei is still active, although embroiled in a PED controversy, and has fans that will still pay money to see him fight, but it isn't the Wanderlei of old. Silva has yet to win back-to-back fights in the UFC and has never been more than a fringe contender, even with a drop to 185. I think the old Silva that terrified some of the greatest in the world at 205 never got up from the canvas on that September night in Japan almost 8 years ago.
Record before: 31-5-2
Record since: 4-7
Chuck Liddell vs Rampage Jackson
UFC 71-May 26, 2007
Everyone who trained MMA in the early 2000's (if that's what we call that decade) spent at least one sparring session getting beaten up trying to imitate Chuck Liddell. He was flat-footed and kept his hands near his nipples, but he was frustratingly difficult to hit and had sledgehammers where his hands should have been. He wrestled D-I at Cal Poly SLO had was known as the ultimate sprawl-and-brawl wrecking machine. He had the wrestling pedigree and the short range power to keep even the most determined wrestlers at bay: Randy Couture, Kevin Randleman, and Tito Ortiz all found this out the hard way. After devastating the iron-chinned Randy Couture (who had slugged it out with heavyweights and had never been KO'd) to claim the LHW belt in 2005, Liddell looked unstoppable.
He defended his title 4 times, all of them by one-sided KO.
Rampage had beaten Liddell by corner stoppage in 2003 in Pride (yeah, it was weird back then, guys could actually move between promotions) but in the eyes of most fans that was a lifetime ago. This new "UFC Champion" Liddell was considered the favorite in most people's eyes when the two met again in 2006.
Liddell's undoing in their 2003 matchup was the takedown and ground-and-pound of Jackson. In the rematch, Jackson's boxing would prove to be the decisive factor. Liddell had gotten away with breaking some of the cardinal rules of striking during his MMA career, but had gotten away with it using a combination of power and aggressiveness. Liddell also made his name, especially in the UFC, by taking on wrestlers with rudimentary striking skills. In Pride both Guy Mezger and Alistair Overeem had Liddell in trouble before he landed the KO shots that put them away. Rampage possessed the fundamental skills and physical power to make Liddell pay for his unorthodox style. Just before the 2-minute mark of the first round Liddell threw a body shot from mid-range without bringing his hands back to his chin. When he did, Rampage unleashed a hook to the jaw that dropped the champ cold. With a howl, the Liddell era was over.
It didn't seem like it at the time, but the fall for Liddell would be far and fast. He would win only one more fight and, more disturbingly, was being KO'd in increasingly brutal fashion before calling it quits in 2010.
Record before: 20-3
Record since: 1-5
Ricco Rodriguez vs Tim Sylvia
UFC 41-Febuary 28, 2003
Whenever you are known as "The MMA fighter on Celebrity Rehab" something has gone REALLY wrong with your life. There was a time when Ricco was poised to be the next big crossover star in MMA. Not only was big, athletic, and technical, he was also young and knew how to talk to a camera. He was part of Team Punishment and trained with Tito Ortiz at the height of his skills and popularity in the UFC. His roots gave him crossover appeal with the emerging Latino market and the guy knew how to win, and win impressively.
Ricco started in 1999 and when he met Randy Couture in 2002 for the UFC Heavyweight Championship he had only one loss on his record. He had made his UFC debut a year earlier and had rattled off four straight TKO victories, Randy would be number five.
In his first title defense, Ricco was the heavy favorite against Tim Sylvia. Sylvia was a virtual unknown at the time. He sported an impressive 14-0 record but only had one UFC fight under his belt and his opponent, Wesley Correira, was the kind of fighter who got offended if you didn't hit him. He was a giant at 6'8" but was seen as slow, plodding, and one-dimensional.
The odds were 5-1 if memory serves me, and some people from Maine made SERIOUS money that night (Sylvia was from Maine, did I mention that?). Ricco started out with the right idea, sticking and moving from the outside as Sylvia pawed with the jab. Ricco ended up in guard, but couldn't find the arm-bar despite a couple of attempts. Just past the 3-minute mark Sylvia countered a Rodriguez kick with a VICIOUS straight right hand that sent Ricco to the canvas. The follow-up GnP left Ricco with eyes wide shut and the Miletich Team celebrated yet another champion.
As far as "falls from grace" are concerned, I don't remember any as fast as Ricco's. He only fought one more time in the UFC and suffered a decision loss to Pedro Rizzo. He fights on to this day, but has never defeated top opposition since his upset loss to Sylvia. Along the way he has had much-publicised substance abuse issues and hopefully he now has them under control.
Record before: 14-1
Record Since: 39-20-1
Wanderlei Silva vs Kazushi Sakuraba
Pride 17-Championship Chaos, March 25 2001
Before you thought of Wanderlei Silva as the king of Pride, you thought of Kazushi Sakuraba. The man who was known as "The IQ Wrestler" made his name in Japan as the man who handed the Gracie family their first MMA loss when he defeated Royler Gracie by (somewhat controversial) referee stoppage in their November, 1999 Pride showdown. He went on to beat three more Gracies, two by stoppage. His list of victims wasn't limited to the Gracies either, during his superstar run he defeated some of the top names of his era: Carlos Newton, Vitor Belfort, and Guy Mezger to name a few. He was a tricky wrestler with a "go-for-broke" submission style that seemed to be the Kryptonite of some of the best BJJ fighters of the time.
When the Wanderlei fight was announced I was training with Team Punishment in Huntington Beach. When I talked about it with my grappling coach Fabiano Iha, he just shook his head and said "They can't protect him from that guy."I didn't understand what he meant at the time. Sakuraba had beaten the best in the world, and one can hardly look at his record and say it was padded. What I think Fabiano meant is that Sakuraba was the perfect foil for certain BJJ-minded fighters. The Gracies, and their disciples (Belfort, Alan Goes, Carlos Newton), had made out-techniquing and out-grappling Sakuraba a point of pride. They didn't just want to beat him, they wanted to show that he could be undone with jiu-jisu technique.
Wanderlei felt no such restrictions.
To call their 2001 showdown a "fight" is an insult to combat sports, it was a felonious assault that no one got arrested for. Silva charged across the ring in vintage "Axe Murderer" style like a windmill with limbs. Sakuraba answered back as best he could, and even wobbled Silva briefly (a hallmark of Silva's career) but the outcome was never really in question. Wanderlei wasn't pulling guard or rolling for knee-bars, he was savagely attacking, and against that offensive style the "IQ Wrestler" had no answer. The end came with Sakuraba curled up on the canvas with Silva unloading soccer kicks on his bloody head. In a brutal 1:38 the torch was passed to the new king of Pride.
Despite the one-sidedness of the contest, Sakuraba would fight Silva two more times, losing both by brutal stoppage (anyone remember the broken collarbone in their 2nd fight? NASTY). Sakuraba would fight until 2011, but his days as the consensus #1 were over and he descended into the "win-some-lose-some"journeyman years at the end.
Record before: 12-2-2
Record since: 14-13-1
Dan Hornbuckle vs Ben Askren
Bellator MMA 22-June 17 2010
What a difference a round makes. Dan Hornbuckle entered his welterweight tournament final fight against Ben Askren as the clear favorite. It was a status he had enjoyed since joining the promotion's 170lb tournament in the previous spring. He was know as having a "black belt in intensity" and had made his name with a highlight reel KO over Akihiro Gono in Japan. In his first two Bellator fights he had scored first round submissions over Tyler Stinson and Steve Carl. He was tall, well-rounded, and spoke in sound-bites (the editors loved him), he seemed destined for promotional gold.
Ben Askren was the dark-horse of the tournament. I saw him win his two national titles at Missouri and was blown away by his unorthodox style. The question was whether such a style translated to MMA, where more basic "Matt Hughes-style" takedowns tend to be the norm. Askren got to the tournament final by beating the same guy, Ryan Thomas, twice due to a volcano eruption keeping Jim Wallhead trapped in England. The first ended with a bone-headed referee call, and the 2nd was a clear (if unspectacular) unanimous decision.
Before the fight, Hornbuckle told us he would "stop Ben's takedown for two minutes and that will break his spirit."
He couldn't stop it for two seconds.
Asken took Hornbuckle down with an ease that defied description. He didn't just take him down, he tossed him around like a rag-doll for a solid five minutes. The guard that had spelled the end of Tyler Stinson and Steve Carl wasn't even a road-bump for Askren as he countered submissions, passed to dominate positions, and peppered him with a steady diet of ground-and-pound. The Dan Hornbuckle who sat on his stool in-between rounds one and two was a different man than the one who has refused to shake hands before the fight. Gone was the "black belt in intensity" and warrior swagger that had paralyzed lesser opposition. Dan had his head down and barely nodded as Conan Silvera tried to get him back in the fight. For the next 10 minutes Askren put on a wrestling clinic and thrilled the home-town fans with his utter dominance and coasted to a unanimous decision.
Ben went on to dominate the rest of his opponents (with the exception of Jay Hieron, that was close) with the same style that had befuddled Hornbuckle. "The Handler" never got back on track in Bellator, despite two more tournament spots. He still fights, but has yet show the dominance he displayed before he fell to the "Funk".
Record before: 21-2
Record since: 3-6
Fabricio Werdum vs Fedor Emelianenko
Strikeforce/M1 Global- June 26 2010
No Emperor reigns forever. I was cage-side for this fight. Having worked for M1 for 2 years I got to spend a lot of time with Fedor and his team. His soft-spoken personality wasn't exactly what an American fight fan would expect from a man who dominated the Pride heavyweight division. From his debut in Rings in 2000, to his epic run in Pride, Fedor demolished the greatest heavyweights of his era. Mark Coleman, Minotauro, Heath Herring, Mirko Cro-Cop, Andre Arlovski, and Tim Sylvia were all defeated, many in spectacular fashion. He had an unorthodox low-hands striking style that generated tremendous power and his movement on the ground was aggressive and smooth, especially for such a big fighter. He ripped the Pride heavyweight belt from around the waist of Minotauro and never looked back.
The big question was where the big man would land after the collapse of Pride. The UFC did it's best, but couldn't reach a deal with "The Last Emperor" and he landed with the upstart Strikeforce in 2009 after two fights with Affliction's short-lived promotion. After a KO win over Brett Rogers, Fedor squared-off with BJJ world champion Fabricio Werdum in 2010 in San Jose.
Werdum was, at the time, a dangerous heavyweight who had somehow flown under the radar of most fans. He had beaten some serious names (Gabriel Gonzaga, Alistair Overeem, and Brandon Vera) but had been unable to win more than two fights in a row against elite talent. He had incredible submission skills and decent hands, but in the minds of most fans Fedor had taken on better talent and had rarely been tested.
The difficulty with Fedor's unorthodox style is that it requires timing, timing requires practice and confidence. The negative side-affect of Fedor's management constantly squabbling on his behalf was that he didn't fight with the regularity with which he had fought in Pride. Leading up to the Werdum fight he hadn't fought more than twice a year since 2005 and only once in 2008.
Fedor looked tentative from the outset. What I remember most clearly was his hesitation to attack Werdum on the ground, this is the same man who DOVE into Minotauro's vaunted guard, haymakers swinging. When he finally did engage his timing was off, and he paid the price. Werdum immediately locked up a TIGHT triangle from his back. Fedor fought valiantly, but had nowhere to go against one of the greatest grapplers in the world. When Werdum transitioned to the arm-bar, it was tap or snap and Fedor chose the former. The "Last Emperor" gave up his crown at 1:09 of the first round. Half the crowd went nuts, the other half sat in stunned silence.
Fedor fought on for another two years, but with his aura of invincibility gone his heart never seemed to be in it. Despite his end, I still think (in 2014) he ranks as the greatest heavyweight in MMA's young history.
Record before: 31-1-1
Record since: 3-3
Tito Ortiz vs Ken Shamrock
UFC 40-Vendetta, Nov 22 2002
For those who remember seeing it on PPV, this was a must-see grudge match of epic proportions.
In the first UFC Ken Shamrock and Royce Gracie were the only two fighters who had any business actually being in the cage. Ken looked like a He-Man action figure in life-size and had cut his teeth in Japans Pancrase circuit in the early 90's (yeah there were some works, but thats how it worked in those days). He had decent standup, basic wrestling, and murderous foot-locks. His only UFC losses were to Gracie and Dan Severn (the Severn match is an insomnia cure) and his fan base was rabid and loyal. At the height of his MMA success he transitioned to the WWE for bigger paychecks during the UFC's "dark days" of the late 90's and didn't return to real combat for four years, this time under the Pride banner in Japan.
Taking four years off in the late 90's was like cryogenically freezing Red Grange in 1925, waking him up in 2014 and having him try out for the Pittsburgh Steelers, the game was not the same. Gone were the days when guys would try to elbow their way out of a heel-hook Pat Smith style. Ken had his moments after going back, most notably a great performance against Kazuyuki Fujita. Ken was dominating the ranked Japanese heavyweight until he began having chest pains and had his corner throw in the towel (insert your own PED joke here).
Ken returned to the UFC and immediately got a shot at a PRIME Tito Ortiz. Tito and Ken had been at each other's throats since Tito demolished Guy Mezger and donned an insulting t-shirt in celebration (ok, ok, it said "Gay Mezger is my bitch", there happy now?!?!). I remember John McCarthy literally picking Tito up and carrying him away from a screaming Shamrock to prevent an in-cage brawl (these things happen in MMA). The two almost came to blows at the press conference when Tito burst out laughing at Ken's predictions for the fight.
Animosity makes for great hype, but its a poor substitute for preparation. Ken looked slow and his gigantic muscles made him about as efficient as a Formula 1 car with off-road tires. Tito battered him on the feet and took him down with ease. Ken was out of gas midway through the first round and resembled a walking punching-bag for the rest of the fight, a bag that bled profusely and swelled horribly. By the end of the third round Ken looked like a mutant and his corner mercifully called a halt to the beating and the fight.
If anyone doubts that money is the deciding factor in the matchmaking of any promotion, just remember that Ken faced Tito two more times. The fans ate up both rematches, despite the fact that Ken clearly didn't have a snowball's chance in Hell of winning either. Shamrock was doomed by two harsh realities: his body was past the point where he could endure the training necessary for modern MMA, and the era in which his skill-set was competitive had come and gone.
Ken was never again a factor at the elite level. He fought on until 2010, mostly due to the drawing power of his name as opposed to his ability to compete.
Record before: 25-7-2
Record since: 3-7
Roger Huerta vs Eddie Alvarez
Bellator MMA 23- October 21 2010
Yeah, I know: Huerta had lost 3 out of his last 4 fights going INTO the fight with Eddie Alvarez. So why is this a Crossroads fight Jimmy? I'm glad you asked: those losses were competitive decisions while the Alvarez fight was a massacre from which Huerta never recovered.
For a time Roger Huerta was MMA's golden boy. He had Zoolander good looks and had solid skills to go with his all-action style. Everyone remembers his appearance on the Sports Illustrated cover which heralded the "crossover" of MMA into the mainstream. He was poised to become the biggest face in the sport as it began the biggest expansion it had ever known.
Behind that celebrity status there were lingering questions however. Huerta's first five fights in the UFC were against promotional newcomers with little big-fight experience. They were solidly in the game-but-not-dangerous category and allowed to Huerta to keep amassing wins while he avoided the bigger names in a loaded 155 division. Clay Guida was the only name of note on Huerta's record, a solid win, but not one that would erase lingering doubts about his abilities against top-5 fighters.
I spoke to Monte Cox, Huerta's former manager, once about why he left Cox's stable. Cox responded bluntly: "I told him not to fight Florian because he would lose, the kid didn't want to hear it and left."
Cox was right-on with his assessment. Huerta stayed in the fight against Florian, but never had Ken-Flo in any real danger as he lost his first UFC fight by unanimous decision. A split-decision loss to an undefeated Gray Maynard followed a year later.
When I joined Bellator, Huerta's jump to the promotion was HUGE news in the MMA world. Despite back-to-back losses, Huerta still had serious drawing power in the UFC. Bellator (to my limited understanding, I wasn't around for the negotiations) gave a lot to get the young superstar and most people put him as the favorite in his first 155 tournament. Pat Curran really began his rise in Bellator with his upset of Huerta in their semi-final round fight in Boston. Huerta seemed flat, almost as if he expected "lesser" fighters to give up against him. Pat kept pushing and won a close split decision (not a unanimous as is sometimes listed) and derailed "El Matador"'s run in Bellator.
An injury to Pat Curran gave Bellator the chance to put together the "super-fight" they had wanted from the beginning and Huerta took on Eddie Alvarez in a non-title fight in front of Eddie's hometown Philly fans. An early kick from Eddie clearly damaged Huerta's leg, and it was all downhill from there. I don't think the injury had much of an impact on the outcome of the fight personally. Eddie was faster, stronger, and more polished with his striking technique. Huerta's pressing style, combined with his lack of one-punch KO power, gave Eddie all of the opportunities he needed to tee-off on the frustrated Huerta. The crowd went nuts every time an Eddie Alvarez right hand snapped Huerta's head back, and it happened a lot. As the fight dragged into round two, it was clear the Huerta was just out of his league. At the end of the 2nd, Huerta's eye was completely swollen shut and his knee was providing him with zero stability. Huerta didn't protest as the doctor mercifully called an end to the fight before the start of the third.
The gulf in skill between Huerta and the elite of the division was painfully obvious. When we talked after the fight Monte Cox freely admitted that he knew Huerta couldn't take on the best and Eddie was, and is (as of 2014), one of the best at 155. Huerta would only fight two more times, losing both by stoppage.
Record before: 21-3
Record since: 0-3
