MMA Nation - Mayweather Vs. Ortiz: Floyd Lands Controversial Knockout Punch In Fourth Round

MMA Nation Round-Up: Floyd Mayweather's Ranking, Jon Jones' Reach, Anderson Silva's Falsetto

2011-09-19T23:21:47Z

Slept through the weekend? Missed out on Monday's big stories? Not to worry. MMA Nation is here with the daily round-up of combat sports news, multimedia, and analysis. Today we look at Floyd Mayweather's true place in boxing, we ask how UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones can seem so impossibly impressive, and we play the latest installment of 'Where in the World is Mark Hunt?' Also, Anderson Silva sings. More on that later.

- On the heels of the most bizarre boxing finish in recent memory, Floyd "Money" Mayweather Jr. makes his return to Bad Left Hook's Weekly Boxing Rankings. Fittingly, he remains nestled in the safe shadow of Manny Pacquiao.

- Even more unexpected than the finish to 'Mayweather vs. Ortiz,' was the ensuing rumpus inside the ring between Larry Merchant and "Money." David Castillo from Head Kick Legend analyses why the hilarity of the moment was so fascinating.

- After such a ridiculous weekend, it's easy to forget how good Strikeforce's latest offering was. Bloody Elbow's Tom Grant breaks down Luke Rockhold's wall walk clinic from the first round of his surprise victory over Ronaldo Souza.

- On a different note, ESPN's Sport Science investigates into how Jon Jones has been so dominant. Hint: it's because he has the reach of Shawn Bradley.

- Brian Hemminger of MMA Mania caught up with Bellator bantamweight Ed West.

- Even wonder what happened to Mark Hunt, a man who defeated Wandelei Silva and Mirco "Cro Cop" back-to-back at the peak of their Pride powers? Bloody Elbow did the leg work for you.

- Some new footage from 'UFC Undisputed 3' -- this year's edition of the best-selling mixed martial arts video games series. I have to say, the new submission system is looking pretty cool.

- With just days left before the war of words between Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Jon "Bones" Jones comes to a head at UFC 135, the UFC released an extended preview to whet your appetite.

- What's that? You want us to end with a clip of the most dangerous man on the planet, Anderson Silva, singing a falsetto duet live on Brazilian television. If you insist. (HT: Cage Potato)

Mayweather Vs. Ortiz Video Highlights

2011-09-18T18:30:18Z

Yahoo! Sports has provided boxing fans with video highlights from the HBO pay-per-view main event between Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and Victor Ortiz. The bout will long be remembered for being the first time in years that Mayweather was forced into a fight, but moreso for the finish.

After an intentional headbutt by Ortiz, Victor attempted to apologize several times for the infraction. Unfortunately, he apologized one time too many and it was after the fight had technically been restarted. Rather than accept Ortiz's embrace, Mayweather unloaded a blistering left hook, right hand combination that knocked Ortiz down and out.

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Mayweather was correct that Ortiz needed to remember to "protect himself at all times" but many fans will never see the moment as anything other than a cheap shot.

Check out the highlights::

For the best Mayweather vs. Ortiz coverage around, make sure you follow us here at MMA Nation and our boxing blog Bad Left Hook.

Mayweather Vs. Ortiz Results: On Floyd's Win, Undercard's Strength And More

2011-09-18T15:16:18Z

The HBO PPV main event fight between Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and Victor Ortiz ended in such an unexpected, unusual and controversial fashion that it was somewhat hard to form coherent thoughts in the hours after the broadcast. After a week of talking about the fight and a night of excitement, to see such an odd turn first left me with many emotional reactions and then left me emotionally drained.

Here, in the morning after the event, it's time to unpack the night's action point by point.

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We covered last night that the knockout blows by Mayweather were legal. But many fans are still upset in that it was a cheap shot and not good sportsmanship by Floyd. While that's true, exactly how many times did Victor need to hug, kiss and say he was sorry? He did it once, Floyd was upset but acknowledged the first handful of apologies. Yeah, it was a cheap shot, but it was legal and Floyd wasn't there to spend the next eight rounds hugging.

Regardless of if referee Joe Cortez had technically restarted the bout or not he wasn't clear about it. He also spent far too long "in the middle" with his actions at the end. He somewhat restarted them, but still was touching Ortiz's arm right before the KO and spent time looking at ringside officials instead of focusing on the action. Cortez looks increasingly lost in the ring and seemingly can't get through a major assignment without his actions being a part of the story.

Victor Ortiz could have fought like he had up to the point of his ill-advised headbutt, lost (and he likely would have lost) and had plenty to hold his head up about. He fought well against a great fighter and I think it's clear that he's the best welterweight in the world not named Floyd Mayweather or Manny Pacquiao. Instead, we're left unsure just what Ortiz had last night. Could he have kept up his attack? Would he have gotten to Floyd? We'll never know, even if there is a rematch, what Victor was capable of last night.

Boxing got a big reminder last night on the value of a strong undercard. A solid opener between Jessie Vargas and Josesito Lopez set the table for a fun night of undercard bouts. Vargas and Lopez didn't back down from each other at any point, each man doing enough to force the judges to render a completely legitimate split decision for Vargas.

Erik Morales did the thing Erik Morales does and had an exciting battle with Pablo Cesar Cano. It was more that Morales is too old to handle guys like Cano in the way he normally would than anything, but it made for a fun scrap and a nice moment as Morales got another title belt. He's too much of a legend and warrior for me to get hung up on the "trinket nature" of alphabet titles and I find myself simply happy for him.

Alfonso Gomez showed up and wasn't content to simply play opponent for Saul "Canelo" Alvarez. Instead he put on a very deliberate, well scouted performance against the young star. Alvarez was clearly taken out of his comfort zone, being forced backward far too often before finally deciding he had had enough and opening up his power shots to get the stoppage win.

Boxing has created an atmosphere for pay-per-views where many people purchasing the events feel free to skip the undercard. It's usually a few promoter darlings being given a nice payday in a fight against a stiff. Last night they were able to simply put compatible fighters together and let the action unfold. And guess what? The promotional darlings (Vargas, Alvarez and Morales) still picked up wins, but did so in a way that actually made them earn it and probably raised their stock. I have no doubt we'll see promoters stick to what they've done for years and won't see a return to the stacked undercards Don King used to give the world, but if there's one lesson boxing can learn from last night (and from the UFC) it's that there is value in good undercard fights.

Gif Of Floyd Mayweather, Jr.'s Knockout Of Victor Ortiz, Sucker Punch Or Not?

2011-09-18T05:58:06Z

This gif of the end of the Floyd Mayweather, Jr. vs. Victor Ortiz bout on HBO pay-per-view appears to back up the case of those claiming that referee Joe Cortez had not yet restarted the bout at the point where Floyd Mayweather landed a two punch combination, knocking Ortiz out. But there's more to the story...

The fight had been stopped after Ortiz threw a headbutt to the chin of Mayweather, Cortez took a point and then the knockout came. I originally thought that the fight hadn't been restarted but video of the ending does show Cortez restart the fighters. He says "let's go" and motions them together.

For whatever reason, Ortiz then turns to ringside officials and is not looking when the punches land.

From the video evidence it does appear that this was a legitimate knockout. One can question how "sporting" it was of Mayweather, but it does appear to be legal.

Mayweather Vs. Ortiz Result: Forget Pacquiao, A Rematch Is Needed

2011-09-18T05:47:07Z

Three fun fights into what was shaping up to be one of the best boxing pay-per-views in years all that was left as a the perfect capper was for the main event between Victor Ortiz and Floyd Mayweather, Jr. to deliver the goods. And through the majority of four rounds, it was doing just that. Unfortunately, all three men in the ring would find a way to taint the evening.

First, Victor threw a 100% intentional leaping headbutt into the chin of Mayweather during a flurry with the undefeated superstar trapped against the ropes. It was such a blatant foul that referee Joe Cortez would have been well within his rights to disqualify Ortiz on the spot. Instead, Cortez chose to allow the fight to continue after deducting a point.

Second, Cortez had not yet restarted the fight but allowed two fighters during a fight to be in contact while he looked away, either to tell the timekeeper to restart the fight or to ensure that the judges had acknowledged the point deduction.

Finally, Mayweather chose to unload a blistering two punch combination as Ortiz apologized and attempted to hug his foe. As Ortiz crumbled to the floor while Cortez looked on shocked, Joe decided to count Ortiz out, despite the fight not technically having been resumed.

Both men had earned disqualifications honestly, but Cortez simply took the easiest route and counted out Ortiz. Ortiz's camp should appeal the loss and Nevada should have plenty of video evidence given that there are replays that show that the fight had not been restarted by Cortez.

Regardless of if the result gets overturned, for once we have a situation involving Mayweather that does not demand a fight with Manny Pacquiao.

Ortiz was huge on fight night, enjoying more than a fifteen pound advantage over Floyd after both men had a chance to re-hydrate following the weigh-ins. Ortiz found moments to use that size advantage, bullying Mayweather into the ropes on multiple occasions and letting flurries go. While Floyd picked off most of the punches, some were getting through and many times during the fight Victor found his way to Mayweather's body with heavy punches.

Floyd was likely enjoying an advantage on the scorecards when the fight ended, but he was being forced into an uncomfortable fight and being pushed unlike we've seen him pushed before.

There's now a storyline for the rematch and it's a fight that I want to see finished in a clean way. Could Floyd have held up to twelve full rounds of body work and a much stronger man? Were his right hand leads and jab going to continue to eat away at the younger, bigger man?

The story of the fight also lends itself to huge pay-per-view numbers. Honestly, a rematch has a shot at being a bigger fight if promoted correctly than any other in boxing history in terms of pay-per-view buys.

For one of the few times in boxing, we can all put aside the demand for Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and just get excited for Mayweather and Ortiz to lace 'em up a second time.

Update by Brent Brookhouse: Video evidence proves that Cortez had in fact restarted the fight. But it does remain a fight that demands a rematch.

Mayweather Vs. Ortiz Result: Floyd Mayweather Knocks Out Victor Ortiz During Ref Break

2011-09-18T04:24:35Z

Floyd Mayweather, Jr. found himself in a real fight against Victor Ortiz on HBO pay-per-view Saturday night. While Mayweather was landing more punches throughout the fight, Ortiz had moments where he forced Mayweather into the ropes, finding a home for power shots to the head and body.

In the fourth round, one of the oddest moments in recent history went down. Ortiz trapped Floyd against the ropes, was landing to the head and body and suddenly threw a completely intentional headbutt. Referee Joe Cortez broke the fighters up and deducted a point from Ortiz.

Victor walked up to Floyd, apologizing for the clearly intentional move. The two men touched gloves but Ortiz tried to take it a step further and hug Floyd. Instead of an embrace, Mayweather threw two very hard shots knocking Ortiz down. Cortez clearly had not restarted the bout and was talking to the judges.

Instead of sorting the issue out in the moment, Cortez counted Ortiz out and awarded the knockout win to Mayweather.

It was a very hectic and confusing situation but the replays made it extremely clear that Cortez had not yet signaled for the fighters to resume fighting.

After the fight, Mayweather got into a shouting match with HBO's Larry Merchant telling him that Merchant "doesn't know shit about boxing" and demanding HBO fire him. Merchant shoved Mayweather and told him he wished he was fifty years younger.

Mayweather said that he would rematch Ortiz during the dispute and the crowd was left unsatisfied after a very fun night of fights.

Mayweather remains undefeated with the win but Ortiz's camp should absolutely appeal the loss. It was a sloppy and bizarre end to what was shaping up to be an interesting fight.

Update by Brent Brookhouse: Video evidence proves that Cortez had in fact restarted the fight.

Mayweather Vs. Ortiz Results Live: Round 4 - Mayweather Wins By Knockout

2011-09-18T04:13:35Z

The HBO pay-per-view bout between Floyd Mayweather and Victor Ortiz got continued into the third round live from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada with Ortiz needing to come out and figure out how to adapt to Floyd's jab and lead right hand attack. Instead, Mayweather unloaded early with a big combination and appeared to hurt Ortiz.

Victor tried to come forward but was getting picked apart before Victor trapped Floyd against the ropes and landed a nice flurry including going back to the body. Victor needed to continue building confidence and at least should have some going into the fifth after having a few nice moments.

Suddenly, Victor opened up with another huge combination against the ropes and threw a completely intentional headbutt.

After a point deduction, Ortiz attempted to apologize and instead, Mayweather cracked him with a one-two punch and knocked Ortiz to the floor.

Ortiz could not answer the ten count and the fight was over.

Ortiz deserved his fate, throwing an intentional headbutt in a moment where he appeared to have the advantage upset a much better fighter and got crushed for it.

Floyd Mayweather, Jr. wins by knockout, round 4.

For the best Mayweather vs. Ortiz coverage around, make sure you follow us here at MMA Nation and our boxing blog Bad Left Hook.

Mayweather Vs. Ortiz Results Live: Round 3

2011-09-18T04:06:35Z

The HBO pay-per-view bout between Floyd Mayweather and Victor Ortiz got continued into the third round live from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada with the fight even on the MMA Nation and HBO scorecards. Mayweather was quick with the jab in the early stages of the round and Ortiz went hard downstairs. Mayweather started to find a little space to land counter punches and it slowed Victor down a little.

Mayweather looked much better in the third than he did in the second, continuing to work the counters and the very quick jab. Ortiz started going backward which is a terrible plan against Floyd. If Ortiz has any shot in the fight it is being an attacking, pressure fighter.

Ortiz landed a left cross late in the round but ate a much harder right hand in return.

Round: 10-9 Mayweather
Fight: 29-28 Mayweather

For the best Mayweather vs. Ortiz coverage around, make sure you follow us here at MMA Nation and our boxing blog Bad Left Hook.