The Fighter's Fighter: Chris Lytle
I’m starting to write this in between the 2nd and 3rd rounds, because honestly, it doesn’t matter how this fight turns out for Chris Lytle.
The fight is damn near even at this point, and no matter what happens in the 3rd and final round, this fight will be about a sendoff that was entirely fitting for a fighter of Lytle’s stature… simply one of the toughest to ever step in the cage.
Lytle naturally possesses as optimal a style as any fighter that has ever fought in the UFC… possibly not for championships, but definitively for FOTNs. In some circles that honor is worth more than a belt.
An extremely talented and technically skilled striker, Lytle always intentionally fought wild, taking his hands advantage to another level against anyone that was willing to trade with him. His quick and accurate hands were deadly enough, but odd angle overhands and hooks, often off balance, were the edge that brought a man so willing to put his chin on the line to victory more often than not.
As I’m putting this down, Lytle now is officially retired and has locked in a stunning achievement: he has never been KO’d or submitted in his career – about 60 or so pro fights.
Chris Lytle just choked out Dan Hardy who went for an ill-advised and sloppy take-down that landed him promptly in a “Lights Out” choke-out. And that’s the the other side of the coin.
Chris Lytle is a true warrior, but as the modern cage has demanded, Lytle has for a long time not been a one trick pony. Lytle could have fought smarter throughout his carreer, as exemplified by several submission victories over his last 10 fights, but he chose the warrior way.
As a testimony to his confidence in his own chin, and as a true testament to his blue collar brass balls, Lytle always preferred to chase down highlight reel fights, memorable stand-up wars, rather than to intentionally bring a fight to the ground. As many (now including Dan Hardy) have found out however, Lytle was always far from helpless when the bodies hit the floor.
As many have said, what this fight was admirably designed for by Zuffa, was a story book ending to one of the most under-recognized careers in pro MMA history. Lytle has been one of my favorites since I saw him fight in Newark in the fall of 2008. It’s one thing to appreciate a guy that puts it all on the line every time he fights when you are at home on your couch, it’s another thing entirely to understand what it means to the growth of the sport that the UFC has fighters like Chris that make crowds stand up at live events.
Chris Lytle is even more admirable than all that. To this day he’s a full time fireman, a total throwback to the early days of the UFC (talk about story book). Lytle’s career is heralded by the old guard of MMA fans, those who have a certain fondness for the rough and tumble 90s era where full time jobs on the side were the rule and not the exception.
For these reasons, and also because Lytle was never ever a sh*t talker, he is to me the model of a true mixed martial arts fighter. I seriously hope I am not alone in hoping that some of the younger guys took notes on how Lytle handled himself in and out of the cage.
The loss of a fighter like this hurts the UFC, and Dana White especially has to be less than thrilled with seeing Lytle walk. White gets criticized and praised for a lot of things, however it seems obvious he is genuinely concerned for his fighters, particularly the ones that fight like “Lights Out”. White is probably truly in admiration of the way Lytle is leaving on his own terms. This is a major victory in itself.
There is no doubt Lytle’s boxing skills, iron chin and willingness to brawl made him one of White’s favorites, particularly in his 2nd life after a stint on the Ultimate Fighter. While Dana and all of us have to recognize and deal with this loss of Lytle as a loss of part of the UFC’s backbone, it is awesome to see a warrior like Lytle go out like this.
Truly he is one of the best stories in pro MMA in 2011, and “Lights Out” Lytle is easily one of the best fighters in UFC history to never get a title shot. He is an unsung hero of the sport. It wouldn’t exist without character role players like him.
………………………………………………………….
A lot of speculation now turns to Dan Hardy. Almost immediately the chatter will turn to the likelihood (or not) of Hardy’s dismissal from the organization due to a now rather dismal record over his last 5 outings.
However, anyone that thinks Hardy will not be back is a fool. I’m going out on a limb a bit because we have seen a few stunning cuts already this year, the type we had never seen before in the UFC. This is symptomatic of the growth of the sport and the ever increasing level of competition.
Still, anyone that thinks Hardy gets cut after this fight doesn’t understand 2 things: a) how much England means to the UFC and how much of a plus Hardy is for the UFC there, and b) that White and Zuffa in general live by a code. The plain fact of the matter is that despite a very steep and stunning decline in Hardy’s stock in just a year and a half, the fact is that Zuffa rewards guys that accept their marching orders.
To be clear, I don’t think the UFC has ever fixed fights, nor do I think that they directly tell fighters how to fight. Although some fighters have taken criticism from White as though it were a directive to change their style, that confusion is just not White’s problem.
But aside from all that, there is plenty of legit unwritten guy code behind the scenes at the UFC, especially with regard to the match-ups. Anyone that doesn’t get that should set their alarm clock a little earlier.
The fact is that the UFC had some not so secret hopes for this fight, a bout that essentially was meant to carry this card. Hardy performed his duty and lost to a still tough as nails 37 year old Lytle. The fact that Dan Hardy played his role well and fulfilled expectations as the perfect style match-up to once again bring out the best Chris Lytle means that Hardy will definitely get another shot. Definitely maybe…
No doubt, he’ll probably be promptly cut tomorrow….
J.Wise / Guerrilla Fight – GuerrillaFight@gmail.com
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