Although the main spectacle for UFC 81 might have the battle between technique and raw power, intelligence over brute force, jiu jitsu over pro wrestling, the main lesson of this show was that jiu jitsu still rules the world stage of MMA, and the top fighters in the world have to be extremely versed in this art or if not they will wind up like Brock Lesnar, Tim Silvia, and a few other fighters who tapped out on a night which was stolen in the end by the main event of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Tim Silvia.

This was a battle between ultra size and reach, technique vs. pure jiu jitsu and the biggest heart in the sport since Royce Gracie.

It was not only Frank Mir who made a beautiful point for the martial artists, but it was jiu jitsu that overcame so much of the normal “power and pound” technique that the average Joe loves about this sport. It was not only a moral victory for Nogueira, but also a philosophical victory for an aspect of the sport that was beginning to loose its respect in the UFC, until a wave of fighters that had been in Japan invaded and just instilled the submision aspect back into the common psyche.

Nate Marquardt was once a super hot commodity in Japan's Pancrase who has struggled for notoriety in the octagon. Photography by Yoshinori Ihara

Plan B
Jeremy Horn is the most resilient and dependable man in MMA with over a hundred fights under his belt, he is definitely the fall back kid, the man you call when you need a last minute replacement, because everyday is all business for this fighter. It was definitely lack of shape rather than lack of technique that got caught in the standing guillotine, which former KOP Nate Marquardt finished him off with in the second round. Finally The Great Nate had finished off a very reputable adversary, but unfortunately Jeremy was a last minute replacement and seemed to be very much out of shape. Despite this, one cannot take credit away from Marquardt who like many fighters from the ring have made a difficult transition to the octagon. The point made here was one of jiu jitsu technique and stamina defeating jiu jitsu technique and lack of stamina.

Too Much Too Fast
The man who took Nate Marquardt's King Of Pancrase belt, Ricardo Almeida, made a swift return to the octagon were once again it was about technique over power as he struck a with a lightning like guillotine that froze the tundra out of an up to then undefeated Alaskan Rob Yundt who filled in for Alan Belcher.

Although a late filler, Yundt seemed well conditioned and ready to go but could not overcome the experience factor of the man fighting him nor the fact that it was his UFC debut. Ricardo Almeida simply said is too much of a world class MMA and jiu jitsu technician while Yundt is a powerful young man with a future ahead of him if he can embrace the tools of this particular foe, a Gracie jiu jitsu disciple and teacher.

Ricardo Almeida displaying an oma plata on the man formerly known as Minowa. Photography by Peter Lockley

You Are What You Eat
Watching the all access UFC program leading up to UFC 81 I remained extremely skeptical about Brock Lesnar’s chances against frank Mir and wrote on ADCC News that Lesnar has next to zero chances of beating martial artist frank Mir. It’s funny how suddenly the American fans were turned Japanese by the worlds leading MMA organization as they brought in one time MMA fighter Brock Lesnar. His talk leading up to the spectacle was definitely a healthy dose of Pro Wrestling spirit from the puffy comic book hero persona. There is no doubt that Lesnar could hurt most people in this world, but I think he missed a huge part of the first lesson of MMA and took on way more than he could chew. Sure he started off with the takedown and went for the instant kill, but what he forgot was that his opponent trained in defending exactly what he was bringing to the table. Jiu jitsu is a self-defense, and the fact that Lesnar was an aggressor with one strategy was obvious to Mir. The test for Frank would be his ability to keep his composure and survive that initial onslaught he knew was coming. The crowd went nuts when Lesnar attacked and then there was that awkward moment when the referee paused the action and deducted a point from the wrestler for strikes to the back of the head. Mir was a pro, he opened his mouth and recovered, the referee did the right thing and after some persiflage the action resolved itself with Mir reaching for the lower limbs and finishing with a beautiful knee bar after what seemed like way more than just a minute and a half into the fight. What was most satisfying to MMA fans was watching the big man tap to save his knee while Mir looked at the referee waiting and making sure it was time to let go. Whether it was jiu jitsu or sambo, it was beautiful submission grappling which finished of a “monster” of an opponent.

Brock needs to learn to defend from this game, which is now very prominent in fighters such as Mir or Nogueira or any submission man. Going back to the all access program, what really struck me was when the cameras followed Brock into a Bar- Restaurant and he ordered the greasiest looking fried flesh and fries one could imagine. He said he wasn’t worried about his weight, he was on a “high calorie” intake diet. All I can say about this is, you are what you eat.

When Nogueira confronted Sergei Kharitonov he proved how a technical ground game can overcome a large powerful adversary. Photography by Yoshinori Ihara

How Many Times?
Who would have ever thought that Robert Zimmerman’s words to "Blowing in The Wind" would apply to an MMA fighter, but for the man who enters with the warning of “Gimme Shelter” (which conjures images of Mick Jagger at Altamont pleading “Whose fighting and what for?”) “how many times must a mountain exist…” is the only way to describe the indomitable spirit of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. This is a man who has “existed” many times in the uphill battles with super heavyweight fighters, and the man who three times took on Fedor Emilianenko and has never been finished.

Just like Mino vs. Bob Sapp or Mirko Filipovic, it looked to the fans and experts alike that Nogueira was gonna slowly get picked apart by the Maine-iac who stood like a tree at the top weight limit of the heavyweight division successfully defending the takedown. Nogueira’s right eye looking droopier than ever (since the days of PRIDE) was the first sign of a man whose stand up was lacking reflex or quick enough reactions to block the strikes and therefore he took a lot of hits early on and throughout the fight. Like a wrestler Mino did get a takedown at the end of the first but with no time to work. In the second it seemed that he was withstanding an eternal and slow beating by a Tim Silvia who had a definite if not very dynamic game plan, but he was landing with his long tree like limbs. When Nogueira did finally pull guard getting the takedown and sweeping Silvia like he was a child, the entire momentum of the battle changed and swept the house like an ocean. For those who new what Minotauro was all about, they sensed the end was near as the MFS fighter was suddenly lost in a place where his height and weight now worked against him. It was in an awkward instance that Tim’s big head became his worst enemy as Nogueira proved with pure technical expertise why he is the most exciting heavyweight in the world. Fedor Emilianenko aside and rankings aside, no other fighter has been tested so hard fort so long in the upper echelon of MMA and pulled off so many pure spirited victories nearly from the grave.

Even Nogueira’s fights against Fedor where battles in which he fought for the submission, which never came, till the judges decided. Unlike Fedor though, Nogueira made the choice of fighting in an environment, which has not been too friendly to former Pride fighters in general. Fedor has been making waves here and there but mostly in rogue shows with odd opponents from Hong Man Choi to Matt Lindland. There is no doubt Fedor is a spectacular fighter with natural speed, power and technique and twice defeated Nogueira, but the credibility of his opponents is now lacking those of Nogueira. Not only does Nogueira now hold the UFC belt and formerly Pride’s, but he also continues to confront the top of the heavy weight heap.

Frank Mir was once on top of the UFC heavies.He is technicalwith his jiu jitsu an is now first in line for a shot at Minotauro's throne, which as once his. Photography by Nicholas H. McDonnell

Mir vs. Mino
Although Mir is the only one in this story who did not land via Brazil or Japan, he is the man who once upon a time would have been the UFC’s most likely Champion to do well in the PRIDE ring, that is until the motorcycle accident took away his title. Now the stage has been set for a phenomenal heavyweight jiu jitsu showdown between two former champions, one from Pride the other from the UFC. Both are relatively young men but veterans with a lot of experience and most of all a lot of jiu jitsu, the real winner of UFC 81.