UFC 74: Respect
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Background
UFC 74: Respect was a 9-bout fight card that was held on August 25, 2007 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The card aired live on pay-per-view and was headlined by a UFC heavyweight championship bout between champion, Randy Couture and Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, Gabriel Gonzaga.
A welterweight bout between former UFC welterweight champion, Georges St. Pierre and TUF 1 semi-finalist, Josh Koscheck served as a co-main event.
Fight Card
Preliminary Card
- Lightweight Bout: Marcus Aurelio vs. Clay Guida
- Middleweight Bout: Thales Leites vs. Ryan Jensen
- Heavyweight Bout: Frank Mir vs. Antoni Hardonk
- Light Heavyweight Bout: Renato Sobral vs. David Heath
Main Card
- Middleweight Bout: Kendall Grove vs. Patrick Cote
- Lightweight Bout: Joe Stevenson vs. Kurt Pellegrino
- Lightweight Bout: Roger Huerta vs. Alberto Crane
- Welterweight Bout: Georges St. Pierre vs. Josh Koscheck
- UFC Heavyweight Championship Bout: Randy Couture vs. Gabriel Gonzaga
Pre-Event Notes
Randy Couture's first title defense was decided by a heavyweight eliminator at UFC 70 between Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic and Gabriel Gonzaga. Gonzaga was awarded the fight after he head kicked to Cro Cop into unconsciousness.
Rumors abounded before the event that PRIDE standout, Hayato Sakurai would be fighting Diego Sanchez in a welterweight bout. That rumor turned out to be false and it instead transformed into that Sanchez would be facing BJ Penn at the event. Penn later denied the rumors and Sanchez did not fight on the card.
Ryan Jensen was originally scheduled to face TUF 4 middleweight winner, Travis Lutter. An injury to Lutter forced his removal and he was replaced with Thales Leites.
Results
Preliminary Card
- Lightweight Bout: Clay Guida defs. Marcus Aurelio via split decision.
- Middleweight Bout: Thales Leites defs. Ryan Jensen via submission (armbar) at 3:47 of round 1.
- Heavyweight Bout: Frank Mir defs. Antoni Hardonk via submission (kimura) at 1:17 of round 1.
- Light Heavyweight Bout: Renato Sobral defs. David Heath via submission (anaconda choke) at 3:30 of round 2.
After cutting Heath open badly in the first round, Sobral latched onto an anaconda choke in the second round. Heath tapped, but Sobral kept the choke on until he was unconscious in what was deemed as payback for earlier comments Heath had made.
Main Card
- Middleweight Bout: Patrick Cote defs. Kendall Grove via TKO (punches) at 4:45 of round 1.
- Lightweight Bout: Joe Stevenson defs. Kurt Pellegrino via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28).
- Lightweight Bout: Roger Huerta defs. Alberto Crane via TKO (strikes) at 1:50 of round 3.
- Welterweight Bout: Georges St. Pierre defs. Josh Koscheck vua unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27).
- UFC Heavyweight Championship Bout: Randy Couture defs. Gabriel Gonzaga via TKO (strikes) at 1:37 of round 3.
Couture broke Gonzaga's nose with a slam in the first round and continously mauled Gonzaga against the cage for the first two and a bit rounds. In the third round, Gonzaga landed a devastating head kick that snapped Couture's arm but a takedown shortly thereafter by Couture and some follow up ground and pound from half guard was too much for the exhausted Gonzaga. Referee "Big" John McCarthy stopped the bout at the 1:37 mark of round 3 to give Couture his first title defense.
Bonus Awards
Fight Of The Night: Joe Stevenson and Kurt Pellegrino
Submission Of The Night: Thales Leites
Knockout Of The Night: Patrick Cote
- Each bonus was worth $40,000
UFC Event Chronology
Preceded by: UFC 73: Stacked
Followed by: UFC 75: Champion vs. Champion
External Links
http://74.ufc.com - Official UFC 74 Website
--Sam Cupitt 03:40, 27 March 2009 (UTC)
