MMA Quick Quotes: Jorge Gurgel vs Conor Heun 'a fight for the ages' at Strikeforce Challengers

by MMAmania.com on Jun 20, 2009 10:25 AM EDT

"I've never seen a chin like that on anyone besides myself. This was my first fight for Strikeforce and it was everything I've ever wanted."

-- Jorge Gurgel

"I may go home a couple of bucks shorter and with some scrapes but that was the most fun I've ever had. I live for those last 15 minutes."

-- Conor Heun

-- Lightweights Jorge Gurgel and Conor Heun reflect on their three-round war at the ShoWare Center in Kent, Wa., last night (June 19), which Showtime commentator Mauro Ranallo classified as "a fight for the ages at 160 pounds." That's perhaps overdoing it, but it was a very exciting scrap. Gurgel -- a Brazilian jiu-jitsu blackbelt -- once again abandoned his ground game in favor of an all out slugfest. This time, however, unlike in his UFC career, Gurgel went on to win a unanimous decision on all three judges scorecards (29-28, 30-27, 30-27). It was his first appearance under the Strikeforce banner and he certainly left a solid impression with his new employer. One just has to wonder the reason he constantly neglects his superior ground game on fight nights. Any ideas?

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Comments

Renallo over doing something? No… :P

by dredg XI on Jun 20, 2009 10:28 AM EDT reply actions

bout time jorgey won a fight.. he gots a black belt but never uses it!
WHY!!??

by mikeybear on Jun 20, 2009 10:46 AM EDT up reply actions

Wait gassed out brawling doesn’t mean you’re a good fighter?

by NameNotRequired on Jun 20, 2009 5:47 PM EDT up reply actions

he thinks he’s wanderlie

by JOhn G on Jun 20, 2009 7:55 PM EDT up reply actions

he saves his best ground game for the late nite training sessions with rich franklin, those are tiring!

by brendan on Jun 20, 2009 10:50 AM EDT up reply actions

mwahaha!

by day1er on Jun 20, 2009 11:27 AM EDT up reply actions

That was some sick fight last night. Heun just wouldn’t go down after viscious kicks to the leg and head.

by Lesnar-Rashad-Marquardt-GSP-Sherk on Jun 20, 2009 11:47 AM EDT up reply actions

best fight of the night
best fight by jorge
he does bring it all, i wish him great luck in his new home

by bryant on Jun 20, 2009 10:35 AM EDT reply actions

I don’t get Jorge! This dude is supposted to be some sort of stud on the ground and never uses it in the oct. Now I know why Rich left his ass in Cinci…bad coaching!

by mmamac on Jun 20, 2009 11:07 AM EDT reply actions

Renallo also made a comment about Huen’s head getting snapped back like a pez dispenser…. clasic!

by krs on Jun 20, 2009 11:07 AM EDT reply actions

great fight..everyone who was in the crowd last night will be talking about that one today

by HellaHectic on Jun 20, 2009 11:11 AM EDT reply actions

I was there and it was a great fight.

by Damon on Jun 20, 2009 11:28 AM EDT up reply actions

he says he likes to stand up to please the crowd. but not if you’re always going to decisions and can’t finish fights. that’s not exciting. that’s very predictable. does he think he’s as exciting as anderson silva? i like watching wars but if you know damn well it’s going to decision like most of gurgel’s fights then i might pass on it. gurgel doesn’t seem to have the knockout power and a lot of the guys he faces don’t have the knockout power too. and so you get a decision.

ground wars can be exciting too if guys just stay active. and i think gurgel is the type that would try different subs but i don’t think we’ll ever see that unless they give him a wrestler or a ground expert.

by remedy on Jun 20, 2009 12:27 PM EDT reply actions

Really? Anderson I’m gonna stand back and kick you in the knee Silva. You think he’s been exciting? That fight last night was one of the coolest fights I’ve seen in a long time. What a slugfest. Gurgel hit that guy with everything and couldn’t finish him. It wasn’t like he could have just taken the fight to the ground and then finished him. Hurricane has some bad ass jits of his own.

Did anyone catch that idiot ref call for action in the third round? I was like “are you kidding me? that’s all theyve done is swing for 12 minutes” and then they get on the ground and are doing some sweet grappling and tells them “more action or you’ll be stood up”. With an idiot like that in charge of the fight there was no way Gurgel would have been given the time to work on a submission anyway.

Great fight. Good job Jorge.

by DDT on Jun 20, 2009 4:19 PM EDT up reply actions

abondoned

by DirtyML on Jun 20, 2009 12:35 PM EDT reply actions

He might be good on the ground and never uses it, but no one ever said Jorge was a smart fighter.

by Kung Foo on Jun 20, 2009 1:54 PM EDT reply actions

I find Gurgel really frustrating to watch, I can’t stand it when great grapplers ignore their strengths in order to put on a show, as if ground fighting is boring and the fans only appreciate stand-up fights. To me this backs up all of these morons who still think of MMA as legal streetfighting. I like watching stand-up fights if it is between great strikers, like Liddell-Silva but when BJJ black belts keep the fight standing when they have little to no technique is ridiculous. Until Gurgel bothers to apply his BJJ in MMA, he will always be a joke.

by David W-S on Jun 20, 2009 2:04 PM EDT reply actions

Good write up

by SoCalStunNa on Jun 20, 2009 2:56 PM EDT up reply actions

i guess he prefers those fotn paychecks like he got last night..and besides, the people he was submitting in those smaller organizations werent the calibur of fighters he was facing in the ufc…he got submitted by cole miller who isnt anywhere near the decorated jits guy that he is..

heun is also a great jits/wrestler and has won the majority of his fights by sub and has never been subbed himself in 11 fights…i guess gurgel felt they would cancel each other out on the ground and he felt he had the distinct advantage on the feet…and it paid off for him..

he had the best fight of the night…put on the best show for the paying crowd in the attendance which im sure they appreciated and also got the win…what else could u ask for?

no one would even be talking about the fight if it was a dryhumping gay porn fest which is usually what happens when you have 2 skilled grapplers who are both good at defending submissions face each other…
(Comments wont nest below this level)

by HellaHectic on Jun 20, 2009 5:01 PM EDT reply actions

He didn’t take it to the ground because he knew it would get stood up. Look at previous Strikeforce fights and you’ll see how often ground battles get stood up.

by Payton on Jun 21, 2009 5:54 PM EDT reply actions