UFC 114 was a Mayweather style hyped card. Two of MMAs best light heavyweights finally fighting each other after 15 months of well publicized trash talk. The under card had some relatively unknown fighters as well as some well known names here and there. All in all the card displayed some very solid MMA fights. As the sport is getting more and more popular with fans all over the world, something else is happening. The fighters are getting better! MMA fighters are evolving in to legit professional athletes. The only problem is the general public has not seen a change like this in any mainstream sport because they have all been around so much longer than MMA. In the 40′s, pro football was played with leather helmets and no shoulder pads, while the lineman were barely over 200 pounds and the fastest guy on the field ran pedestrian like times in the 40 yard dash. Now look were the game is. They used to not even where helmets in hockey! Anyways, my points is that these MMA fighters are evolving into athletes and are no longer the brave “brawlers” that everyone thinks these guys are.
When it comes down to it, MMA is a thinking mans game. The fighter that can clearly execute a game plan will usually be victorious and the guy that wants to “stand and bang” no matter how scary and strong they might be will find themselves loosing to these smart methodical fighters. This does not sit well with a lot of MMA fans. The boos from the crowd before and after the fight and the backlash on the Internet made it clear. The fans don’t want to see technical fights. They want blood. I can easily see where they are coming from. Finally something as entertaining as pro wrestling comes along and its actually real. Guys are kicking, punching and slamming each other around a cage and its not fake. In the beginning of Mixed Martial Arts, a lot of fighters had no real skill sets so the fights were often one sided beat downs or slugfests that made for very entertaining match ups. However, what you have now are Olympic level athletes fighting each other and you really have to appreciate the technical aspect of fighting to enjoy these types of exchanges. While the general analysis of Saturday nights card is pretty harsh, I have a more optimistic in depth view of UFC 114.
John Hathaway def. Diego Sanchez via Unanimous Decision
TUF season 1 winner Diego Sanchez was the heavy favorite. It was his first fight back in the welterweight division after taking the worst loss of his career to the hands (and legs) of BJ Penn for the lightweight Championship. His opponent, unknown yet undefeated welterweight John Hathaway from England. with an impressive 14-0 record he seemed like a perfect fight for Diego’s first bout back at 170. An opponent good enough to warm Diego up for the prime time players at WW. Hathaway had different plans, landing a knee to Diego’s face in the first round almost finishing the fight. Diego was able to recover but was clearly never the same throughout the fight. Hathaway impresses everyone and remains undefeated. I can see a fight with Mike Swick or maybe even John Howard in Hathaways future. As for Diego, he is in a rough spot. He recently moved back to New Mexico and switched teams again. He is now saying he is “going back to his roots” something a lot of fighters do after taking a devastating loss. Diego has a very thin lower body, not a lot of power coming from his legs and just like any other sport strong legs are the source of power. Diego is suited for 155 but he is in between weights. Not strong enough for 170 and a little to hard of a cut for 155. Either way Diego’s record stands 21-4, still very impressive. He is in no danger of being cut by the UFC and depending on what his plans are for the future it is hard to guess who Joe Silva will match him up with.
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira Def Jason Brilz via Split Decision
Brilz took this fight on three weeks notice after Forest Griffin Pulled out. A lot of people were disappointed with this fight before it happened because they thought this was chalked up to be an easy win for Lil Nog. That was not the case. Brilz was very tough and showed a strong top ground game as well as a strong and patient stand up game. Lil Nog took some big shots from Brilz but did not go down. Once on the ground Lil Nog put on a half guard sweep clinic. Brilz was so strong that he would sweep Nog back by using just a guillotine choke from. The fight ended with some controversy. I did think that Brilz controlled the majority of the fight, but the judges did not. He ended up losing a split decision and the fans let Nog have it. They booed so loudly that you could not hear him talk to Joe Rogan after the fight. Brilz next opponent needs to be against a big name in the division like Jardine or Bader, while Nog on the other hand should be slated against Griffin again or maybe even Rampage.
Mike Russow def. Todd Duffee via KO rd 3
The classic example of what happens when a fight stays standing too long. The UFC’s “next big thing” Todd Duffee was no doubt supposed to not only win this fight but also showcase some of his talents. Joe Silva puts Todd Duffee a huge specimen of a fighter against Mike Russow a very soft looking shorter version of Josh Barnett minus the ground game and extensive experience/ steroids. What happened? Duffee threw everything and the kitchen sink at Russows face for two and a half rounds. Russow just took the punishment without even getting rattled once, and sure enough half way through the third round he delivered a straight right the sent Duffee to “imagination land”. Russow was easily the most surprised person at the MGM that night. The bottom line, Duffee got too comfortable on the feet and paid for it. For Russow, I would like to see him fight Matt Mittrione. And maybe a match up between Duffee and Gabriel Gonzaga could be in the future.
Michael Bisping def. Dan Miller via Unanimous Decision
Well. I fell asleep during this fight. Dan Miller is rumored to have really good Jiu Jitsu but in this fight he chose to keep it standing. Maybe it was a good game plan. In every single one of Bispings fights he has been rocked with a shot at least once, but on Saturday he was able to outbox Dan Miller very well and even kept his takedowns at bay. Bisping is one of the UFC’s favorite fighters and is treated very well by the management. He wants a rematch with Wanderlie Silva and Joe Silva will oblige him. I don’t think that is a good match up for Bisping. I think he should fight Damien Maia to really test him self against the top guys at 185, risking another highlight real KO is not smart for him. As for Miller, I don’t know how much longer he will be in the UFC. This is his second loss in a row and he isn’t a big draw for the fans, he is in danger of being cut.
Rashad Evans def. Quinton Jackson via Unanimous Decision
Finally the fight everyone has been waiting for. Most people thought Rampage was going to knock Rashads head off with an over hand right. After seeing Rampage on the UFC prime time show screaming at the pads and his sparring partners he did look very upset. Meanwhile Rashad looked like he was preparing for the next Olympics. His training partners were the “WHO’S WHO” of the top UFC fighters and I dont think he has ever been in a better training camp. The fight started out with Rashad flooring Jackson with an over hand right and a take down. For the majority of the fight Evans showcased excellent level changes, lightning fast footwork/head movement, control in the clinch, and great take downs. Rampage on the other hand came out flat footed, he did not mount any offense until the third round where he hit Evans with big shot. Rampage found him self on top of a dazed and confused Evans but seemed too tired to capitalize on the opportunity. Evans eventually recovered, got up, got a take down and finished the round ground and pounding Rampage against the fence to seal a UD victory. Was the outcome surprising? Not at all. Rampage is coming off of a 15 month lay off and didn’t seem like his heart was in it. After all he has said many times himself that he in fact “hates” training and at this point in his career who knows if he can rely on his old regime to be a top fighter anymore. So where does he go from here? I actually think Machida is a terrible fight for Rampage. The speed and elusiveness is too much for him to handle. However Rampage vs Lil Nog would be a good match up for him. Machida and Shogun spell disaster for the howling brawler. As for Rashad. He is next for a title shot and I am interested to see what kind of game plan he will employ in his fight vs Shogun.
Three times absolute black belt world champion Roger Gracie (also a GMA member) opened a new branch of his academy in London. His third in the city. The new place can be described as very well located. In the heart of the SoHo district, it is only five minutes away from the world famous Picadilly […]
GMA member Dana Taylor announces the results of the Best of The Best Jiu-Jitsu Pro-Ams, held last August 30th. The event organized by the leader of Omaha BJJ was a success and a new installment is scheduled next November 13th. Check out the results: Aflac Team Champions: Adult- Combative Sport Center, Manhattan, KS Juvenile- Midamerica Martial […]
Our GMA member Alexandre Machado is launching a series of BJJ videos on Youtube. He calls it the “You-series” and he created it to promote the book “BJJ 4All”, he will be releasing in 2011. Until the launch of the book, each month will have the release of a BJJ video. As a kick off, […]
The BTT top dog's techniques are still up to date, as GRACIEMAG.com readers can tell from the position Bustamante teaches exclusively: an omoplata variation for the armbar. […]
At UFC 118, which took place last Saturday in Boston, the main event was between Frank Edgar and BJ Penn, in a lightweight title dispute. Nevertheless, the biggest payout didn’t go to the participants in that bout. Nor did the heftiest paycheck go to Randy Couture, a hall-of-famer and one of the biggest idol of […]
