UFC Live Musings
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- Category: UFC News
- Published on Tuesday, 16 August 2011 05:00
- Written by By Michael DiSanto
A FITTING END TO AN ENTERTAINING CAREER
Chris Lytle couldn’t have scripted a better end to his UFC career.
Sure, he badly wanted to score a first round knockout. The former professional boxer came out throwing bombs over and over again. His punches looked almost amateurish at times because he wanted desperately to land a one-punch knockout.
Instead, he engaged in a three-round war with Dan Hardy that ended in spectacular fashion with a guillotine choke with less than a minute remaining.
The bout had everything that a Hollywood writer could want. Lytle savagely attacked from Jump Street, firing bomb after bomb. Each punch was laced with bad intentions. Each punch was designed to leave every bit of Lytle inside the Octagon. Lytle landed with more frequency. Yet, Hardy rocked him several times with counters, even putting him on temporarily wobbly legs.
But Lytle refused to be denied in his final UFC fight. It was evident that he wasn’t going to win by knockout, so with less than a minute left, he sunk a picture-perfect guillotine to bring the fight to a sensational end.
It was a perfect way to end one of the most entertaining careers in UFC history.
Sunday night was Lytle’s 20th trip to the Octagon. He never won a championship. He never even fought for the championship. But I guarantee you that he felt like a champion when his hand was raised inside the Octagon while two of his four children embraced him as Bruce Buffer announced him as the winner.
Twenty UFC fights. Ten wins. Ten losses. Sounds average, right? Check this out.
Lytle is only the sixth man in UFC history to compete at least 20 times inside the Octagon. Tito Ortiz has the record at 25. Maybe even more impressive is the fact that Lytle owns the record for the most “of the night” bonuses in UFC history. His efforts on Sunday night earned him two bonus checks in one night—an extra $130,000 thanks to his thrilling back-and-forth brawl that resulted in the Fight of the Night and Submission of the Night awards. Not a bad way to end a career.
Actually, it was a fitting end. Lytle has given fans more bang for the buck than anyone in UFC history, and his 10 post-fight awards prove it. His 10 awards puts him two ahead of Anderson Silva for most in UFC history. His six Fight of the Night bonuses also ranks as the most ever (one ahead of Tyson Griffin ).
It suffices to say that Lytle stands alone as one of the most entertaining fighters to ever step into the Octagon. Yet, he is choosing to walk away, though it is for all the right reasons.
I am blessed to have a 27-month old son, Rocco, and my wife is six months pregnant with our second child—also a son. Like Lytle, I certainly spend far more hours at the office than I do at home. Thus, I can empathize with Lytle’s desire to adjust his professional life so that he can put his family first.
In fact, I can say this without hesitation or equivocation: watching him embrace his eldest daughter and son at the end of his final fight, knowing what he was giving up so that he could focus more on them and his other two kids, was one of the most moving moments that I’ve seen inside the Octagon. And Lytle’s decision to spend more time with his family, when he still appears to be at the top of his game and the peak of his earning power, is something that demands respect.
Thanks for the great fights, Chris. You will be greatly missed, but fondly remembered. Enjoy your life after fighting and the extra time with your family. You have certainly earned it.
HARDY FACES TOUGH DECISION
As I sit here, I cannot think of any fighter in the modern Zuffa era that suffered four straight losses and retained his job with the UFC. I’m not saying it hasn’t happened. I’m saying that I cannot recall it happening. Zuffa CEO Lorenzo Fertitta put all speculation to rest last night when he tweeted that Hardy would not be...Read more
