Posthumous Thoughts: UFC Fight Night 24 Analysis

Well the results are in; and with the possible exception of the Hardy vs. Johnson fight it was an exciting night on Spike TV. Sadollah showcased his precise and exciting Muay Thai striking, Davis pulled out a significant (if hard fought) win to let him continue with his perfect record, the first tap out in the UFC by spinal lock occurred in the Garcia vs. Jung fight, and Joe Rogan got hugged. It was a special moment.

"Brothers don't shake hands--BROTHERS GOTTA HUG!"

First off lets take a quick look at the Hardy vs. Johnson fight; a fight that should have been a brutal slugfest turned into a strategic execution of a gameplan by Anthony "Rumble" Johnson, and an exercsie in lying down for Dan "The Outlaw" Hardy. Hardy and Johnson both love the standup game, but unlike Dan, Anthony Johnson is also a very experienced wrestler.

Suffice it too say that while Hardy wasn't damaged too much, he was taken down at will by Johnson and kept there. Dan Hardy's ground skills seemed to mostly consist of failing at kimura attempts and keeping "Rumble" Johnson from landing too many big hits. No sweeps, no fancy escapes, nothing. For a man that loves the stand up portion of the game, he has little in his arsenal to keep the fight on his feet when pressed by an experienced fighter. As evidenced Saturday night, and in his fight with George St. Pierre just a day over a year ago.

Johnson's gameplan wasn't flashy, it wasn't exciting, and the on the ground stalemate it produced had more than a few Seattle beatniks booing at the Key Arena. But it got him the win without getting too injured, helping him to keep a sharp looking record. In short, it was the smart thing to do. If not exactly the most entertaining.

Our next stop is to take a look at the fight between the Ultimate Fighter season 7 winner, Amir Sadollah, against DaMarques "Darkness" Johnson. Johnson had taken the fight on short notice, and although he put on a decent show in the first round he was easily chewed up by Sadollah.

Sadollah essentially gave a clinic on proper and precise Muay Thai in MMA, not much to say about this other than that those knees he gave to DaMarques in the second round were brutal. Not sure about his ground game, although he had some good ground-n-pound, but I know that I would not look forward to standing toe to toe with this guy.

It was definately cold that day at the photoshoot.

In the post fight interview Sadollah said, "As far as fighting a higher level of competition, that's just something that you've got to want. You've got to be hungry for it, and I'm hungry." No doubt having had time to think up a response to Joe Rogan's question immediately after the fight if Sadollah was interested in moving up the ranks.

Well Sadollah, we can only hope to see more of your fantastic striking and talent.

Next up we had the rematch between Leonard Garcia and Chan Sung Jung. Their first fight in the WEC was claimed to be the "Fight of the Decade" by Joe Rogan, with Garcia taking the win by a contraversial split decision. In this fight the two combatants were much more tame, with Jung clearly taking the first round and then ending the second round via a twister-submission with one second left on the clock in the second round. The first win by twister in UFC history.

"Aunty Em, Aunty Em! It's a twister!"

And no wonder its the first one, seeing as how it is technically considered a spinal lock and therefore technically illegal in the UFC (le gasp!). But that's a topic for another post at another time. (UPDATE: I actually did end up covering this. See here )

The main fight of the evening was quite the humdinger, but not in the way that many hoped. With Phil "Mr. Wonderful" Davis (aka Captain Pink Shorts) and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, or "Little Nog", the twin of his slightly more famous and successful brother Minotauro Nogeuira.

Sadly your faithful commentator (that would be me) was thwarted while watching this fight. Mainly because my DVR recording of it was cutoff by Spike somewhere in the middle of the second round. So if my analysis seems lacking you can all blame the t.v. guide programmers sitting in their little cubicles in some Comcast office far away. But remember no matter what, you should follow my lead and keep a calm head.

"God damn you all to HEEELLLL!!!"

But let me go ahead and sum up the fight for you. Davis won by unanimous decision simply due to his activity after three rounds. His supposedly unstoppable takedowns were repeatedly stuffed by Little Nog and although he dished out some nice kicks he ate more than a few clipped shots to the face. In addition he was unable to do any serious damage on the ground when he finally did manage to get the takedown in the second round.

This is the man that was selected to stand in for Tito Ortiz. This was the man that a few weeks ago had fan-boys touting him out as a possible match-up against light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. This is the man who did not perform as well as expected.

Yes it was a win, and an important one. But it was not decisive, and my gut tells me that if it had been scheduled for more than three rounds Nogueira would have won via an eventual submission or a lucky KO shot. So Mr. Wonderful and his little pink shorts will move up in the ranks. But I don't see any title shots in his future for at least a few more fights.

Besides. He kind of gives me the creeps. What with the devil-goatee and mustache on his already somewhat pointy chin.

The face of fear.

So good job Phil Davis. You are an exciting fighter, I hope you continue to improve and I look foward to your continued career. You have plenty of spirit, and I like your respect for Nogueira. But I think you have a ways to go yet. So good luck, and happy hunting.

Jonesing for a Fight: Rashad Evans vs Jon Jones

Well its official. The next matchup for Jon "Bones" Jones is his team-mate, training partner, and former light heavyweight champion "Suga" Rashad Evans.

Or should I say former team-mate and training partner?

The verbal barrages are flying back and forth already. Although technically it was Jones who admitted he would be willing to fight Evans first (something they had both agreed not to do long ago) during a MMAScraps radio interview with Pat Barry, its Evans who has escalated it further and declared Jones to be a modern day "Judas" to Bloodyelbow's Duane Finley.

An artist's rendition of Jon Jones cheek-kiss on Joe Rogan, no doubt practicing for Rashad.

Evans also spoke about moving away from Team Jackson (a move that has already been confirmed) and possibly forming his own team with a few trainers that would stick with him. Whether these were decisions made in the heat of the moment or an actual long-term plan being implemented has yet to be seen.

Although it does seem that Evans may be taking Jones's decision a bit personally, it's been pretty obvious to the outside observer that this has been coming for awhile. If only because of the sheer amount of peer pressure on the two fighters and the threat of Dana twittering nasty things about them. In fact, I would have been very surprised if they hadn't ended up fighting each other.

That said disloyalty to a team-mate is not easy to shrug off, and while Evans may be acting out after being "disrespected" its understandable. I'm not saying some disrespect hasn't been shown on both sides but overall I feel like the entire mess has been arranged by the UFC in order to hype up a Jones vs. Evans fight and that both fighters have every right to feel frustrated by it. Rashad is just being more open about it.

Rage brother, Rage Against the Machine!

But all of this, its only the icing on the cake for any die hard fan. What's really interesting is how Jon Jones and Rashad Evans match up together on paper.

With takedowns they're about even since Jones has excellent takedown defense and Evans has excellent takedowns and wrestling. But I would have to give a slight nod towards Evans here since he has trained and sparred with Jones before and is better acquainted with that defense then most. I can totally see Evans being the first one to take Jones down in a UFC match.

With striking I have to give a huge advantage to Jones. Evans is very well rounded with his striking and his experience and power always makes him a threat standing up, but Jones has a huge reach advantage and an unpredictable and inventive style. And if that isn't enough Evans will be coming off of a knee injury which makes the chances of him throwing a highlight reel high-kick a big ol' zero.

With submissions I give the advantage to Evans, at least on paper. Jones is good, but he is no black belt in BJJ. While he may be able to land a submission on Evans, it is far more likely that Evans will land a submission on him. And Evans will be more than capable of defending from Jones's submissions, whereas the reverse may not be true.

Health and conditioning go to Jones who will be the younger fighter, and whose conditioning will likely be much stronger since Evans will still be recovering from his knee injury. Rashad does not want this to go to a decision since I think it unlikely that he will be able to maintain a decent performance for the full five rounds.

My prediction is that Evans will try and take this fight to the ground and force Jones to tapout via submission, if it goes past the third round or if it stays standing up I don't think Evans will survive but for those first few rounds "Suga" Rashad Evans has a very good chance of winning. I say Evans takes the win by tapout in the second round.

Yeah, he may have already started the smack-throwing contest (albeit one you have to go to bible college for to really appreciate) and his skin isn't as thick as it should be. But the man is a damned good fighter with plenty of heart and he will undoubtedly become an inspiration and a living legend for the next generation of MMA fighters. So here's lookin' at you Rashad.



We'll always have Par--Err, Vegas.

Posthumous Thoughts: UFC 128 Analysis

Well the big night has come and gone, and it was a fascinating night filled with great fights that have left many of us asking important questions.

Questions like, is Jones now the top light Heavyweight fighter? How long will he retain the title? Will this destroy his friendship with Rashad? Is Mirko Cro-Cop's career over? Will Jim Miller, Urijah Faber, or Nate Marquadt get title shots? And just who is Eddie Wineland's tattoo artist? All of those important and world-changing questions that we simply must know the answer too.

Just look at his shoulder. Its so...So SWIRLY!

First off lets look at Cro-Cop's fight. Other than for the die-hard Cro Cop fans it seemed likely to many (in light of his past performances in the UFC) that the powerful Croatian was actually the underdog in this fight and was serving as a gatekeeper against Schaub so that the UFC could set Schaub up as a true contender.

Although Cro-Cop fought admirably in the standup game his grappling and ground-game were once again sub-par. He managed to get in several good shots but was ultimately knocked out (although it was called a TKO) in the third round by a punch from Schaub, who had gotten Mirko's timing down, that was reminiscent of the atomic bomb.

Schaub won yet another battle on the 19th in the war between Spray-on Tans and the Al Naturale Caucasians.

According to the Toronto Sun, UFC president Dana White reportedly said that "...tonight is probably the last time we'll see Cro-Cop fight again." in a post-fight conference. I personally would have to agree with Dana. And personally I am surprised it hasn't happened sooner. Since the takeover of the Pride organization, many of Pride's greatest fighters have had a very hard time converting their success in the ring to success in the octagon.

For a kickboxer like Mirko it's easy to understand why, since the rules of the UFC severely hamper the effectiveness of kickboxing as a tool in a fighter's arsenal. Especially when compared to the lenient rules of Pride. Kickboxing needless to say is still very effective, but it is nowhere near as deadly a tool as it was in Pride, and you must have an effective ground game to succeed as an MMA fighter in the UFC. Something that Cro Cop has simply neglected.

Mirko if you are out there, we love you and we want what's best for you. But if you are going to stay in MMA then you need to evolve as a fighter, otherwise I personally ask that you retire with your dignity and your reputation before you get hurt any worse. At least that way you will continue to be an inspiration to new generations of fighters and not be turned into a gatekeeping laughing stock by the UFC publicists.

This is the Cro-Cop the world should remember.

Next up lets look at Jim Miller, Urijah Faber, and the continual contender Nate "The Great".

Nate's win does keep him in contention for the middleweight title and lets the world know that like Ralph Nader he will always be in the running. But his win was not horribly decisive. Yes he did win by unanimous decision but he was in danger several times from a choke and he was unable to finish Dan Miller who is less experienced and took the fight on one week's notice. And with Nate talking to MMAFighting.com's Ariel Helwani about dropping down to Welterweight it seems unlikely that he will be getting another shot at the Middleweight title anytime soon.

Faber, of course, will get a shot at the Bantamweight title against current champion Dominick Cruz. If for no other reason than the huge draw that those two names will have. Although some may have felt his fight against Wineland was lackluster, I personally found his takedowns and body slams to be both entertaining and the marks of an incredible athlete. After the first round former champ Wineland had nothing to use against Faber who had used that time to get Wineland's timing down. An impressive performance that according to Bloodyelbow.com already has UFC officials stating that Faber will get the title-shot he has asked for. Dana White going so far as to tell MMAWeekly.com "Yeah, that fight's going to happen."

You have been warned Cruz.

Jim Miller's seven fight win streak after a TKO win over Kamal Shalorus in the highly competitive lightweight division gives him a very good chance at going up against the lightweight champ Frankie Edgar. So much so that Joe Rogan was (in a rote method that must be becoming a bad habit for him) asked Miller if he wanted a title shot after the fight. Miller's response? "I'm ready."

Let's hope you are Jim, because while no such match has been scheduled yet I think we can all agree that it would be one helluva fight.

But of course all of these were secondary features to the fight and upset that was and is on everyone's mind. Shogun vs. Jones where Jon "Bones" Jones completely dominated the dangerous Shogun Rua and gained the light heavyweight title.

Ladies and gentlemen, I present your new UFC champion.

Jones's domination over Shogun was not anticipated. Even those who thought Jones would win did not anticipate him to so completely outclass Rua in a match that ended in TKO in the third round. Rua simply had nothing he could throw at Jones and appeared gassed in the first round.

Although the fight is already being cast by the publicists as Jones dominating a highly skilled veteran (which Shogun is) it seems clear to me that Rua's knee injury had much more impact then anyone would have guessed. Let's face it, it is not like Rua at all to get so tired and gassed in the first round. Nor is it like Rua to have relatively flabby legs. Which leaves us with one of two choices, either Shogun didn't take the fight seriously and didn't train right. Or his cardio and endurance training was SEVERELY hampered during his recovery.

Either way we did not see Shogun at his best. But that said Jones's performance was still very very impressive and he has all the makings of a truly great champion.

In fact the entire night was jam-packed with great fights and the only complaint I really had was the UFC's decision to bring Rashad Evans out into the octagon while talking about Jon Jones's predicted future fight against him.

It was a coarse, rude, and disrespectful tactic used to hype up the "team-mates fighting each other" angle. The UFC has recently gotten into the bad habit of stealing the moment's thunder by bringing future challengers or champions into the ring after a fight. Dana, if you are reading this please remember that this is the UFC not the WWE. Most people got their fill of highschool drama like this in, you guessed it, highschool.

The hallway...OF HORROR!

Well I have spoken my piece, go ahead and speak yours and let me know what you thought about UFC 128 in the comments below. And if anyone knows the name of Wineland's tattoo artist give me call. I love those swirls.

Jonny Be Good?: Predictions for UFC 128

Perhaps one of the biggest surprises to the casual MMA fan was the announcement at the end of UFC 127 that the proverbial new kid on the block, Jon "Bones" Jones, was going to be given a shot at the light heavyweight title against the champ Mauricio "Shogun" Rua after Rashad Evans (Shogun's original opponent) blew his knee in training and was forced to quit the fight card.

Although a top contender, the up and coming Jones is still seen as untested at the championship level despite his victory over the then undefeated Ryan Bader at UFC 127. As such the main question on everyone's mind is "Can he do it?"

Maybe he should be called Jon "Unorthodox" Jones

Of course if you've been paying attention you already knew all of this and my little recap probably has you snoring in your computer chair. Well wake up, 'cause now we are getting into the nitty gritty.

I think we can safely assume that Jones is coming in as the underdog here. If not because of Shogun's great record, skills, and reputation then simply because Shogun is the champion and Jones isn't. But we need to ask ourselves, is this the same Shogun who fought in Pride? If not, is he a better or worse fighter? And how does Jones stack up against today's Shogun? Let us look at each of these in turn.

First off, Shogun is not the same up and coming fighter that was beating people left and right in Pride. If for nothing else then that many of the moves and tactics helped Shogun to succeed in Pride are either illegal (i.e. Kneeing a downed opponent [here's looking at you Bisping] ) or not relevant in a cage-match. 

Hopefully we won't be seeing any of this during the championship match.

But also because he is no longer a young, healthy up and coming fighter with nothing to lose. Now he has everything to lose. He has a family, a championship belt, and an expiration date that is looming closer and closer. That can create a completely different mindset in a fight, he is not coming from the viewpoint of an aggressive attacker but from a position that is far more defensive.

Second, is Shogun better or a worse fighter than he was? I would say that while he is not the same fighter what he has lost has been made up for with what he gained. He no longer has the same youthful health and aggressive mindset he once had, but he has also gained great experience and confidence. This lets him win fights he would have lost before, but he also now loses fight he may have once won (e.g. Machida vs. Shogun 1).

Third and finally how does Jones stack up against today's Shogun? Quite well actually, enough so that the man listed as the #5 light heavyweight by USA Today is given some actual consideration against the man listed as the #1 light heavyweight, that being Shogun. But why?

First there is the hype. The UFC needs to promote this fight to help make up for the loss of profit that the draw of Shogun vs. Evans would have created. They will emphasize Jones strengths and try there best to make this fight seem like a bigger clash than we might believe otherwise.

Second there is the influence of culture. The UFC is primarily dominant in the USA, and in the US we love rooting for the underdog. The idea of a new contender with nothing but great talent and a dream appeals to the average American. We WANT Jones to win.

Third and most importantly. The look in Jones eyes. This guy has nothing but absolute confidence that he can win this fight. He has the infamous, and hungry, "eye of the tiger". He has already started signing autographs as "Jon Jones, UFC champion". He is young, healthy, talented, unorthodox, and hungry.

In a sense Shogun isn't fighting just another contender but a younger version of himself.

It must be "Shirts On" Friday at the UFC

With that last aspect in mind and remembering that Shogun is coming off of yet another knee surgery I must acknowledge that while Jones may lose, it is also very possible that he may win. And that is what has the entire MMA community on the edge of its seat.

This is not another fight where the outcome is already decided, no matter what anyone tells you. If Shogun wasn't coming off of knee surgery or if he didn't have to worry about feeding another mouth in the family it might be different. But as it stands I have to say that the odds for who will win are dead even at 50/50.

Jones talents and the circumstances around Shogun makes this one of the most exciting championship matches in a long time. We simply do not know who will walk away with the belt, and that not knowing is why Jon "Bones" Jones has so quickly captured the minds of the entire MMA community.