Fan Fight

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.