UFC 112 "Invincible" = Disgraceful

UFC 112 went off on Saturday in Abu Dhabi, a significant event in the history of the organization. By the end of the event, it would become a public relations nightmare. The storm may calm over the coming days and weeks, but at the time it was clear that everyone outside of Anderson Silva’s camp thought the main event was a disgrace to the sport. Dana White was fuming.

I sincerely hope the UFC finds a way to punish the middleweight champ for his antics in the octagon and the embarrassment he brought to the sport on this massive stage. If I were the UFC president, I’d consider stripping Silva of the belt and creating a Sonnen vs Silva, Belfort vs Marquardt tourney for the right to claim the title. Even if Silva won the belt back, he’d have to earn it and the 6 months removed from the title of middleweight champ would be a clear message that this sort of crap would not be tolerated.

Anderson Silva def. Demian Maia (unanimous) – In case you missed it, Silva spent five rounds dancing away from Maia, acting like an ass and landing just enough jabs to bloody his opponent and retain his belt. Silva’s taunting of Maia was almost violent as he urged the challenger to attack him. Message to Anderson Silva: counterstriking is YOUR game. Forrest Griffin and Chris Leben proved that attacking you with reckless abandon is just this side of suicidal. Why does Maia have to play your game? How about you attack him and finish him if he is so unworthy? Let’s get something straight: this was another example of terrible match-making. Sure, the UFC might have had this particular pairing thrust upon them because Sonnen, Belfort and Marquardt were all unable to fight on this date (and apparently Silva insisted on fighting in Abu Dhabi) but there was little doubt that this fight would be a repeat of the Silva-Leites fight that set the stage for Leites’ exit from the UFC. How is a jiu-jitsu practitioner with no real power in his fists supposed to handle Silva if Silva won’t go to the ground? It’s called a stalemate. Boring as hell. Maia, to his credit, did attack Silva more in the later rounds and landed a few good shots on the champ. Silva even said afterwards that he was surprised by Maia’s power. Was Silva so scared that he decided to just jump on his bike and backpedal for the last 5 minutes? Maybe. I’m glad Dana White did not try to sugar-coat the facts with some PR spinning. In fact, he showed his anger before the fight was even over, giving the belt to Silva’s manager and telling him to put the belt on “the champ”. I’m praying this is not the end of this story and that Silva will be sanctioned somehow. (1-0)

Frankie Edgar def. BJ Penn (unanimous) – This was the shocker of the night. Did anyone see this coming? Penn was apparently a 7-1 favourite. But did Edgar deserve the decision? I dunno… See, I always believed that to be the champ you had to beat the champ. If it was a close fight and it went to decision, odds were the champ would retain. I look at Arlovski-Silvia III for the best example of this. In my mind, Arlovski won that fight on points, but it was close, lacklustre and went to decision with Silvia getting the nod. Ok, fine. So what about this fight? Well, Edgar spent the five rounds dancing and circling around Penn, trying to land punches and feigning takedowns here and there (at least, I assume they were feints because if they were real efforts he failed miserably). He did land one takedown in the 5th round (I think) which I felt would give him that round, but for the rest of the fight it was Penn who was landing the more effective strikes. Edgar threw far more punches, don’t get me wrong, but Penn’s were landing at a far greater rate, it seemed. Penn did seem to fade in rounds four and five, but even then he seemed to be getting the better of the exchanges. When the scores were announced, I was disappointed that one judge had the fight 50-45, meaning he didn’t think Edgar deserved even that one takedown round. I was floored when the unanimous decision was actually going Edgar’s way, meaning that HE was being given all five rounds by that one judge. Wow. So what happens now? Will Penn want to regain his belt or will he use this as an opportunity to move back up to welterweight? (Man, I hope not – at least not if it means an undeserved second rematch with GSP!) It would seem inconsistent with Penn’s ego to vacate the lightweight division without the title in his hands, so I’m betting on a rematch in a few months, with Penn moving on if he wins that night. If that isn’t the plan, look for lightweights to be positively salivating at the prospect of facing Edgar for the belt and not Penn. First up, the man who last beat Edgar – Gray Maynard. Boy, wouldn’t Kenny Florian be pissed, too, since Edgar didn’t have to go through him to get his shot. If Penn, like other champs who have lost their belt, is forced to take a redemption fight before getting a rematch, then I’d love to see him square off against the Energizer bunny, Clay Guida. (1-1)

Matt Hughes def. Renzo Gracie (TKO 3) – When the fight card was announced, I feared it might turn into a complete dud of an evening with three boring fights to end it off. Aside from the shock of Edgar’s win and the insanity of Silva’s behaviour, I was right. All three main event fights were uneventful, boring fights. The fact that this one actually ended before it went to the scorecards is testament to the fact that Renzo had no business inside the octagon. Before this fight, Gracie hadn’t fought in 3 years. By his own admission, he hadn’t trained in two and a half years leading up to the six months of training for this fight. That’s ridiculous. Why did the UFC even make this fight? The guy makes his UFC debut at 43? WTF? Matt Hughes fights once a year and this is the match-up you give him? What a waste of time. That said, it’s not like Hughes dominated Gracie. He landed very few clean shots, basically wearing his opponent down with kicks. But Gracie still looked terrible. He clearly did not have the gas for this fight and went down at every occasion simply from fatigue. One knockdown was clearly a phantom punch. Eventually, Herb Dean stepped in not because Hughes was threatening to hurt his defenseless opponent but because Gracie simply could not continue. Pathetic. And he has a six fight contract? Let’s hope the UFC cuts him. (2-1)

Rafael Dos Anjos def Terry Etim (sub 2) – Sure, the main events were garbage, but the prelims/undercard fights weren’t bad. Etim had Dos Anjos in serious trouble in the first round with a deep guillotine choke but Dos Anjos turned the tables in the second, securing an arm bar submission for the win. Good fight. (2-2)

Mark Munoz def. Kendall Grove (TKO 2) – This was another one where one guy dominated in the first but got put away in the next round. Munoz took a big uppercut in the first and was on queer street for the rest of the round. His wrestling saved him as he was able to tie up Grove against the cage and ride out the storm. He didn’t look much better in the second, but still managed to land a few shots that shook Grove and then he dropped some bombs from the top to draw the ref’s mercy. Grove’s soft chin was exposed again. (3-2)

Phil Davis def. Alexander Gustafsson (sub 1) – I’m not sure why I picked Gustafsson in this one. Davis was insanely impressive in his beatdown of Brian Stann though he did have holes in his game. Still, they weren’t holes Gustafsson was going to be able to take advantage of on his feet and once this went to the ground it was pretty much over. Davis secured an anaconda choke that had Gustafsson tapping with just 5 seconds left in the round. Ouch. (3-3)

Rick Story def. Nick Osipczak (split decision) – Apparently Story eked this one out after a tough battle with the always game Osipczak. Wish I had seen it. (4-3)

DeMarques Johnson def. Brad Blackburn (TKO 3) – Didn’t see it, but Johnson earned KO of the Night. (5-3)

Paul Kelly def. Matt Veach (sub 2) – Oh well, my underdog pick didn’t pan out. Kelly was very successful in his lightweight debut, finishing Veach with a guillotine. Veach’s face was a mess afterwards. I’m looking forward to seeing Kelly’s future lightweight matches. (5-4)

Jon Madsen def. Mostapha Al Turk (unanimous) – Ok, that’s three losses in three appearances for Al Turk. Surely this is the end of his UFC career. I thought he’d redeem himself, but I was wrong. Time to go. (5-5)

Paul Taylor vs John Gunderson – This fight didn’t happen for medical reasons. I was a bit confused as to the weight class for this fight and apparently Taylor was, too.

So a .500 record for the night. A couple of dogs didn’t pan out and you can’t blame me for not picking Edgar. Still, I thought I’d do better. Next time.

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.

UFC 107 Predictions

Another week, another UFC event - this time on PPV - and yet again, I'm gonna miss it. This time, even TiVo won't save me. F*ck!

It's shaping up to be a good one, too. And with the health of most elite UFC fighters these days being fragile at best, it may be the best collection of fights we'll see for a while.

Ok, my picks:

BJ Penn vs Diego Sanchez

Am I the only one who gives Sanchez even odds in this fight? Sanchez ought to be the bigger, stronger fighter and he has a wide range of skills, much like Penn. He's no rookie, either, and aside from a bad health stretch a while back, his record is pretty much spotless. He could have easily been undefeated at this point. Yet people seem to think he's a ridiculous underdog in this fight. Ridiculous? Maybe. Underdog? Not by much. If this fight goes into the third round and beyond, Sanchez's odds of winning increase exponentially. Sanchez doesn't seem to tire and Penn still has an anemic gas tank as we saw with GSP. I think Penn is the smarter fighter and I wouldn't be surprised at all if he gets a decision (I can't see him finishing Sanchez), but I'm gonna go balls out and pick Sanchez to pull off the "upset" and become the new lightweight champ.

Frank Mir vs Cheick Kongo

Kongo could lay and pray all night and try to blast Mir like Lesnar did, but I don't see it. I think Kongo will try to stand all night while Mir will be desperate to get this fight to the ground. If it does go to the mat, look for Mir to secure a submission. Otherwise, this could turn out to be yet another boring Kongo dance. I'm pulling for Mir.

Jon Fitch vs Mike Pierce

Pierce seems ok, but I don't think too many fighters are in Fitch's class. I think this fight will get Fitch back into contention and possibly set up a Fitch-Koschceck #1 contender's fight to face the GSP-Hardy winner.

Kenny Florian vs Clay Guida

A potential fight of the night battle between two guys who like to go and try to finish fights. Guida is a freak of nature with his cardio, so Florian will have his hands full. It's almost impossible to knock Guida out, so Florian will likely try to work the submissions, likely from the bottom as Guida uses his wrestling skills. I don't like Florian's odds in this one. I could see Guida getting the decision. Sorry, KenFlo.

Paul Buentello vs Stefan Struve

Buentello returns to the UFC. Can't say I was a fan of his the first time around. He was famously knocked out by Andrei Arlovski. Struve will have his usual massive height and reach advantage, so it'll be interesting to see if Buentello can get inside and use his power - otherwise, he's screwed. I could see Struve wearing Buentello out, and securing a submission in the third round. I'll pick him.

Alan Belcher vs Wilson Gouveia - Two guys who tend not to impress but somehow manage to get wins when you least expect them. Not sure who to pick here. Belcher works hard, at least, whereas Gouveia seems to fluke out knockouts. I'll pick...Belcher?

Matt Wiman vs Shane Nelson - I'm a fan of Wiman's so I'd like to see him get back on the winning track. Three losses in a row could be the end of him. I'll pick Wiman.

Johny Hendricks vs Ricardo Funch - Hendricks is good and Funch is a nobody who has fought no one of consequence. I'll take the experienced guy.

Rousimar Palhares vs Lucio Linhares - Palhares is awesome but needs to drop a weight class. He's too small at middleweight. He'll be six inches shorter than his opponent. Still, I'll pick him for fun.

DeMarques Johnson vs Edgar Garcia - Johnson didn't exactly overwhelm me with his talent on TUF, so I'll go with the darkhorse Garcia who will have something to prove after dropping his UFC debut (his only MMA loss).

Kevin Burns vs TJ Grant - Can't go against the Canadian in a toss up fight. I'll pick Grant.

I look forward to reading the results... *sigh*

Tim Sylvia's career is over

I've never been a Tim Sylvia fan. The guy never struck me as particularly talented. He was a freak of nature who manged to befuddle his opponents - that's about the best you can say.

The only time he showed any MMA skill was in his highlight-reel stoppage of a freak of a different sort - Tra Telligman. His other wins have come by straight-up knockouts.

Other than that, he has been submitted like a bitch by Frank Mir, Antonio Nogueira, and Andrei Arlovski, bullied by Randy Couture, been involved in boring matches (Arlovski 3, Brandon Vera) and been suspended for taking steroids.

He lost to Mir in 50 seconds, Arlovski in 47 seconds and Fedor Emelianeko in 36 seconds. He's lost 3 of his last 4.

Oh, but wait - as if the Fedor match weren't humiliating enough (sure, it's Fedor, but 36 seconds?! Who is he - Jonathan Goulet?) the cherry on the top of Sylvia's sundae of suckitude came on Saturday night when he lost an MMA fight to former boxing champ Ray Mercer...

...in 9 seconds!

Dude. You suck.

There's no way he's ever going back to the UFC (I don't think Dana White was a fan anyways) and even the lesser organizations would have a hard time hyping a fight with this giant turd.

Sylvia's story is one of a guy who achieved success far beyond his abilities thanks to his freakish size; but now it seems the rest of the world has discovered Sylvia is all bark and little bite.