UFC 111 Results - Oh, and Boston Pizza Sucks

UFC 111 is in the books.

I tried to watch it with friends at the local Boston Pizza, but when fight time came, the signal was lost as if they’d never ordered it. The crowd was not happy. The manager assured us it would start momentarily and that other bars were in the same boat, but that was a bold faced lie. After 45 minutes we left (paying full price for our order, no less!) and booked it to my place to order it in. Turned out to be a better night that way anyways. F*ck you very much, Boston Pizza. You’ve lost my business for good, along with many fight fans in the Yonge & Eglinton neighbourhood, I imagine. Hope it was worth it to ya.

So, let’s review, shall we?

Georges St-Pierre def. Dan Hardy (unanimous) – This was a compete mismatch and highlighted why Hardy was not quite ready for prime time. The UFC clearly erred in giving the Brit a title shot before he was anywhere near ready. Sure, he may have punching power which was displayed in so-so wins, but he has no real ground game and he’s nowhere near GSP’s class. Hardy needs to measure himself against the likes of Fitch, Alves and Koscheck before he can lay claim to the #1 contender’s spot. GSP dominated from beginning to end. I can’t believe the judges did not score more 10-8 rounds. Give Hardy credit for not tapping out to a couple of sick submissions. In the end, he may have gained more fans as a result, but the night suffered for it. The result was never in doubt. (1-0)

Shane Carwin def. Frank Mir (KO 1) – Is Mir all talk? Sure, he beat a sick Nogueira and a lackluster Kongo, but despite all of his posturing he can’t seem to win when it matters most. I really thought he’d put in a better performance, but Carwin relied on the tried and true Lesnar playbook and beat Mir with some wrestling and ground and pound. I’m glad Carwin pulled it off so that we don’t have to see Lesnar-Mir III. Carwin came out unscathed, so we will likely see him face Lesnar in June. That leaves Cain Velasquez without a dance partner. Personally, I hope that means we’ll see Velasquez vs Dos Santos to see who gets the next title shot. (2-0)

Kurt Pellegrino def. Fabricio Camoes (sub 2) – I was a bit distracted during this fight, so I can’t recall too much of it. I don’t recall this fight turning my crank. There was one cool moment, though, when Pellegrino, fighting off a rear naked choke, did a front summersault and slammed Camoes’ head on the mat. I thought Camoes was going to go out right then and there, but he showed some heart and fought his way back into the match before finally getting submitted. (3-0)

Jon Fitch def. Been Saunders (unanimous) – This was one of the fights we missed thanks to Boston Pizza’s incompetence. Sounds like it wasn’t close, with Fitch keeping Saunders on the ground most of the fight. Predictable. (4-0)

Jim Miller def. Mark Bocek (lightweight) – We missed this fight too. I hear this one was close, with some thinking Bocek was robbed. (4-1)

Nate Diaz def. Rory Markham (TKO 1) – Not sure what happened with Markham but this was not an impressive performance. I’m shocked Diaz was able to overwhelm Markham so easily on the feet since he was coming up from lightweight and is still not a big guy. I’m still not convinced Diaz will find much success at 170, but he sure looked good on Saturday. (4-2)

Ricardo Almeida def. Matt Brown (sub 2) – Brown held his own for a while, but in the end, Almeida’s wrestling and jiu-jitsu were simply too good. Brown can turn in some exciting fights when it stays on the feet, but his ground game is clearly a weakness. (5-2)

Jared Hamman def. Rodney Wallace (unanimous) – Ths was a bit of a ugly slugfest. Entertaining, sure, but hardly top calibre stuff. Both fighters blew up early and were fist-swinging zombies by the end. Wallace seemed more tired, though, and likely lost the decision as a result. (6-2)

Matthew Riddle def. Greg Soto (DQ 3) – I’m glad Riddle got the win, though I pegged his opponent to get the decision. It seems there was an illegal upkick (?) in this one that halted the action in the third and prompted the DQ. It seems Riddle was leading the fight at the time, so it isn’t as controversial as it might have been. Still, a bad win to decide a fight. (6-3)

Oops…Looks like I missed a fight somehow(?).

Rousimar Palhares def. Tomasz Drwal (sub 1) – I’m fairly certain I would have picked Palhares in this one, but we won’t count that. Palhares looked awesome as he locked in a sick heel hook after knocking Drwal down. Not since Andrei Arlovski have I seen a guy go for that move as his first option. It was a bit bizarre, and very risky, but it worked – and I don’t think Drwal will be walking around for a while.

So 6-3 on the fights I picked. Not bad at all. Seems my luck is turning around.

The busy month continues as this Wednesday features another Fight Night Live and the debut of the new season of The Ultimate Fighter. Sweet.

Stay tuned for picks.