There seems to have been a little more interest than usual in the last couple UFC threads, so I figure it’s worth starting one.
My thoughts: A pretty good card. There weren’t a ton of superstars on it, but pretty much every fight delivered.
The televised bouts:
Vera Vs. However you spell his messed up name
Not very impressive, but I think Vera knew he couldn’t lose to this guy so he was playing it a little safe, and “the Polish experiment” does seem, so far, to be legit. He was clearly stronger than Vera, but not as technical.
Leben Vs. Rosholt
I’m not surprised Rosholt won (he is a legitimately phenomenal wrestler), but I’m pretty surprised he won by submission, and an arm triangle no less. Leben was going to tap, and then decided he couldn’t in front of his home town and went to sleep.
Marquardt Vs. Maia
I was really disappointed in this. I like Maia a lot. The guy is a total class act, and out of pretty much everybody’s league on the ground. He’s as good on the ground as Anderson Silva is on the feet. I’m really sad that we didn’t get a chance to see his skills against Nate.
Tim Hague Vs. Todd Duffee
Wow. Seven seconds. New UFC record. Todd Duffee is one to watch, but I agree with him that this didn’t tell us much. I can’t wait to see him fight again.
Jardine Vs. T. Silva
Man, what is up with Jardine’s movements? They probably served him well when he was up-and-coming but all of his UFC opponents at this point are going to be analyzing the hell out of hours and hours of his tapes, and he doesn’t change. The guy has becoming predictable in his unpredictability. I’m still not fully sold on Thiago Silva, because we’ve seen b-level fighters do that to Jardine before.
Marcus Aurelio Vs. Evan Dunham
Aurelio has really stumbled in the UFC. I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets cut after this. Anyone who takes a fight on short notice is a warrior, though.
Couture Vs. Nogueira
This was a total barn burner! Better than I could’ve hoped for. There were flashes of Don Frye Vs. Takayama in there. At the end of the day, though, Handy was just outmatched. He came out looking great, and I was surprised by his speed, but once he got rocked in the 1st round he slowed down a lot and I knew he wasn’t going to stop Nog. His only chance was to control the pace and win the decision, but it was clear going into the 3rd round that that wasn’t going to happen. Couture signed a new 6-fight deal, but I’m afraid to say that I don’t think he’s got that many left in him, and depending on his competition, he might not win many of his remaining fights. There are some absolute beasts of the field coming up in the heavyweight division, and lightheavy is full of devastating strikers with lightning reflexes. I’ve always been a believer in Couture but his head movement looked terrible last night, his legendary gameplanning failed, and he was completely outclassed on the ground. I’m sad to say that he will never, ever, ever win a rematch with Brock Lesnar-- something I didn’t believe a few months ago.
Unaired prelims:
Gabe Gonzaga Vs. Chris Tuchscherer
Holy ^&*%! Tuchscherer got kicked in the balls so hard he puked, and then he kept fighting. Bad idea, but big heart. Gonzaga has some of the best offense in the heavyweight division, but seems to consistently buckle under pressure.