UFC 132 Results: Hung Over Reflections and Analysis
by Derek Suboticki on Jul 3, 2011 2:55 PM EDT
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- What a card. I was with a group of people that included some MMA neophytes and old school boxing fans, and the night had something for everyone. All of those that don't religiously watch fights agreed that Cruz/Faber was the best, most competitive, most difficult to judge (more on that later) bout they had ever seen. These little guys - fast, damn near impossible to gas and scrappy - have a bright, bright future in the UFC.
- Melvin Guillard facing off against Shane Roller didn't make any sense to me when it was announced, and it doesn't make any sense to me now that it's happened in the same way everyone predicted. Melvin looked confident, loose and comfortable as he decimated Roller standing while fending off the prospect of a take down. You can't go from beating Shane Roller to getting a title shot, Joe Rogan - right now, I'm leaning toward Guillard/Siver because Jim Miller is already slated to face Benson Henderson. If Miller was available, that would be the ideal opponent for Melvin, with the winner earning a title shot.
- Looking back on it, I was stupid for calling the first round of Anthony Njokuami and Andre Winner a 10-9 affair. The lack of a knock down shouldn't be held against Njokuami - he absolutely put it on Winner for the last half of the first round, essentially saving his energy and picking his power shots based on how Andre was defending (Anthony never had to worry about a counter or Winner improving his position/getting off the cage). That was a 10-8.
- I absolutely loved the reaction of the corner of Brian Bowles when he complained of a possibly broken hand after the second round: "Don't give a shit. Don't care. This is when champions fight." This is apparently a recurring theme for Bowles, as he was making his return after a long layoff caused by breaking his hand against Dominick Cruz (and not answering the bell for the third round). He looked good against Takeya Mizugaki and is definitely back "in the mix" for a rematch with Cruz (although I'd be shocked if we don't see Cruz/Faber III after last night) - fighting through an injury that previously ended his undefeated streak is a hopeful sign for his future.
- Aaron Simpson beat Brad Tavares. There was only one person I saw that didn't have the bout scored as such - Dallas Winston's inexplicable 30-30 scorecard on the Bloody Elbow liveblog - so I'm not going to spend a lot of time on this, but I think it's silly to just assume that Tavares was spending the majority of those rounds stuffing take down attempts. Simpson seemed perfectly content to grind Brad, keep his back against the cage and feed him punishment. If you can't get your back off of the cage, I have zero sympathy for you.
- I don't know what's up with George Sotiropoulos, but I think I'm about done with him.
- Carlos Condit ended Dong Hyun Kim's undefeated streak in the first round in spectacular fashion. While I think both still have a future, Condit's immediate prospects are surely brighter. I'd like to see the UFC use the Cinderella scenario in this instance and set up Condit v Charlie Brennemann. Since Jon Fitch is apparently never going to get a title shot again ever, the winner of this bout could be in that slot.
- Did Ryan Bader just underestimate the shit out of Tito Ortiz like the rest of us did - talking about "showing off" his new striking acumen during the lead up to the fight, saying beating a legend would look good on his resume - or is/was Bader not/never that good to begin with? It's difficult, because I simultaneously refuse to believe that a) beating Little Nog means nothing OR b) Tito Ortiz is in the midst of some sort of career resurgence. I hope Bader learns from this. Meanwhile, put Tito against the winner of Nog/Franklin, or - and I like this better - shaft Rampage and make it Ortiz/Jones. For the lulz.
- I'm not going to talk about what transpired between Chris Leben and Wanderlei Silva.
- Dennis Siver, once again, showed that his take down defense has evolved in order to compliment his striking game. Matt Wiman discovered early in the first that trading with the German was a bad idea and began to shoot - however, for two of the three rounds (Wiman clearly won the second with some great GnP and damage caused) , Siver fended off those attempts expertly and won the fight where he's most comfortable. I think he vs Guillard would remove a log from the jam at 155 AND be fun as hell to watch.
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Miller/Henderson
is only a month away, so there’s time to put Guillard in there with the winner of that fight. It guarantees a #1 contender on top of that, unless they put Guida in there instead (after all, there’s the whole Jackson connection between Guillard and Guida). It’s just a matter of when Edgar and Maynard can finish their trilogy.
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Except they’ve already said Miller is next in line if he wins against Henderson. Now, the UFC’s certainly gone back on their words on a few occasions (to say the least), but I’m pretty sure they want to keep Guillard in their back pocket and give him his title shot after Miller got his. I actually agree with those calling for a rematch of Siver/Guillard. 1) I don’t like Siver and wouldn’t mind seeing him get knocked off the list of contenders (sorry for the pun), and 2) It’ll give another solid KO to put on Guillard’s resume, allowing the UFC to boost up his highlight reel even more for their promo packages, etc.
If not Siver, how about the loser of Miller/Henderson? Either way, it’d be a great fight, and winning against either of these guys would be enough to propel Guillard to a title shot, or to at least get very close to one. Basically, if Miller wins, he gets the next title shot, and Guillard fights Henderson. If Henderson wins, you can have Guillard fight either guy, really.
I’m sure you remember that Guillard and Siver fought and that it does not warrant a rematch.
Not that I condone facism or any ism for that matter. Isms are in my opinion, not good. A person shouldn't believe in an ism, he should believe in himself.
I quote John Lennon, "I don't believe in Beatles, I just believe in me". Good point there, after all he was the walrus. I could be the walrus. Wouldn't change the fact I have to bum rides off of people.
That was a long time ago
And I’d argue that both are different fighters today than they were before. I don’t know what else to do with Siver, frankly. He really fucked everything up when he upset Snuffleupagus.
When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are in a confederacy against him. - Jonathan Swift
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Still Subo at Fightlinker.com
by Derek Suboticki on Jul 4, 2011 1:02 AM EDT up reply actions
Yes they have both improved, but the distance between them still remains the same as it always was. I’d go with Guillard vs. Guida or Miller/Henderson winner and Siver vs. Oliveira.
Not that I condone facism or any ism for that matter. Isms are in my opinion, not good. A person shouldn't believe in an ism, he should believe in himself.
I quote John Lennon, "I don't believe in Beatles, I just believe in me". Good point there, after all he was the walrus. I could be the walrus. Wouldn't change the fact I have to bum rides off of people.
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