After spending the majority of the day away from the internet in anticipation of UFC 112 I did as much as I could to stay away from my laptop. Running around the backyard with my son, took out the trash, got some laundry done. As fight time approached I was tempted to go to twitter and when I did I quickly backed out for fear of some random tweet ruining the night. I wanted to enjoy the event unspoiled by any random update or outburst of the already 9 hour old event.
Well I succeeded here are few things that stuck out to me during the event.
- Mark Munoz is one tough S.O.B. after suffering one brutal first round from Kendall Grove. The Filipino Wrecking Machine rebounded in the 2nd frame used his wrestling and savage ground and pound to get the TKO victory.
-Terry Etim may have good submission offense but can’t hang with a bjj black belt.
- Phil Mr. Wonderful Davis is the man and is coming along nicely and his anaconda choke should have gotten sub of the night in my opinion.
- Matt Hughes played it safe and showed off inexplicable stand-up against a man who hasn’t fought professionally in 3 years.
- I was afraid Frankie Edgar was going to get destroyed by BJ Penn and was oddly happy when he went toe to toe with him and held his own. Edgars fundamental head movement and angles frustrated the then champ who seemed uncharacteristically sluggish after a couple rounds.
Be it his fabled bad cardio, fighting in the first outdoor UFC event in the Middle East, having to keep up with one of the fastest lightweights in the division, or a perfect storm of all 3, BJ just didn’t seem like his old self. Granted Edgar didn’t stand right in front of Penn like other challengers, while he did get hit the New Jersey native never seemed hurt. Even more surprising were the two takedowns Frankie landed in the last two frames of the fight. While I am going to rant like hell over the next title fight I am going to give props where they are due and call attention to one of the biggest underdog performances in UFC history.
Frankie “The Answer” Edgar shocked the world plain and simple.
-And now from one of the most surprising fights in recent UFC history to one of the worst title bouts in the Zuffa era. Anderson Silva the pound 4 pound greatest fighter in the world as told by Dana White put on yet another lackluster performance that went went form silly to infuriating over the course of 5 rounds as he clowned, jeered then ran away from a over matched but game contender Demian Maia. It was made crystal clear that Maia had nothing for Silva standing in the first 3 frames of the fight, which had the champ putting on an clinic that could only be be described as mma improv comedy. As Demian shadow boxed his way into striking range he was promptly greeted with the effortless array of kicks, punches and knees that we have come to expect from The Spider.
Then things got weird, when Maia tried to prep himself for some telegraphed long distance double legs takedowns, Silva began to goad and harass him to exchange in some stand up action. Being that he already tried and failed Maia opted to try to get the fight to where he had the advantage. That didn’t happen but what did will be seen as exhibit A in the case against Anderson Silva being a ppv draw. Nobody likes a cocky jackass, plain and simple all the talent in the world won’t get you fans as much as just being a humble person. Not being an English speaker Anderson’s actions and octagon decorum is how he is gauged and perceived by the public and in his past 3 fights Silva to most casual and hardcore fans is coming off like a disrespectful bully. But one who is so predisposed with mocking his opponents he doesn’t bother to actually show and prove by finishing them. Granted he did take out Forrest Griffin in his last light heavyweight bout at UFC 101. But this is the second consecutive title defense in where Silva has chosen to play it safe by only engaging on his terms and heckling his opponents for doing the same. Never had I heard such disdain and disappointment from a crowd post title fight.
On a fight card filled with grappling legends such as Renzo Gracie, Matt Hughes, BJ Penn and Demain Maia in a grappling and submission friendly country like Abu Dhabi it would be safe to assume that the night would be filled with outrageously competitive ground wars. Or at least if the fights were to take place entirely on the ground there wouldn’t be a litany of boos emanating from the crowd as soon as the fight went to the ground, but there were few and far between.
- Props are also in order for Big Tan Dan Mirgliotta doing a decent job as ref for once, as he tardily warned Anderson Silva to fight instead of retreat near the end of the 25 minute fight. Better late than never :/
I can only imagine the fury of Dana White after this event having to yet again apologize for the unremarkable performance of what he calls the best fighter on the planet. Coupled with the fact that both Strikeforce & Bellator are holding events this month the UFC didn’t set too high a ceiling for both organizations to surpass. If Zuffa is smart they will put their full weight and leverage of their advertising department on promoting WEC 48 along with giving the fans a break by having the organizations first ppv be at a reasonable price ($30 sounds fair to me). The shockwaves from this event will be felt in the weeks to come.
But I am done being bitter about it (for now at least)and will re-watch WEC 41 to remind myself how awesome MMA can be.
