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From MMATorch.com Staff Columnists
Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Brandon Vera The best moment in this fight was when Soszynski pointed to Buffer during the introductions as Bruce performed the "Buffer 180". Krzysztof Soszynski is a supremely likeable guy who became known to us by way of 'The Ultimate Fighter,' and he is indeed a skilled fighter with a good head on his shoulders. By no means, however, is he an elite fighter, but so far he has done his very best to win fights in the Octagon, and at UFC 102 he was faced with the biggest challenge of his career in Brandon Vera. Brandon Vera has been an inherently lazy athlete who has been content to get by on his prodigious gifts and then proffer up excuses for why that wasn't enough to get the job done. He also was one of the most vocal against the signing of Lesnar to a huge deal, and came across as a very jealous fighter to say the least. It seemed as if Vera was insinuating that a fighter such as himself should have been granted those huge opportunities, but Brandon forgot that he was given a load of them and proceeded to show up out of shape and unfocused. That has since seemed to change and this new Brandon Vera can still bore us to tears as he did in his loss to Keith Jardine, but he can also finally make good on his promise, which he did in his win over Mike Patt. Vera looked in shape and as if he had finally found a comfortable place as a light heavyweight. I was looking forward to his fighting Matt Hamill and still hope this bout will materialize in the future. Vera has stated he would like to win titles in two weight classes and then call it a day. Well, based on his performance against Soszynski he should probably call it a day, because that simply will not happen. This bout at UFC 102 was a glorified sparring session, and it seemed as if there was an unspoken agreement to just go the distance, as neither man seemed as if they wanted this win. Vera knew it was his from the very beginning as a kick to the liver made the statement for him and Soszynski knew he was thoroughly outclassed from that moment on. Here is to hoping the Vera vs. Hamill fight is made because I would like to see what "The Truth" can do against a fighter who will keep coming forward and one who has some power behind his strikes. Bent Scored The Fight: 30-27 for Brandon Vera Official Scores: 30-27, 30-27, 30-27 all for Brandon Vera Winner is Brandon Vera by Unanimous Decision Nate Marquardt vs. Demian Maia This was the only other fight outside of the main event that many fans had really desired to see. This middleweight tilt was to determine just who should be next in the pecking order for a title shot after Dan Henderson gets what is rightfully his. Marquardt was an improved version of his already impressive self, and Maia was the man whose face should be on the "Submission of the Night" award. Fans were mixed in their predictions for this fight but all agreed we were in for a treat. I don't think anyone was prepared for the shock we received. Maia's striking looked sharp in the early moments of the fight and Marquardt looked especially determined. One big right hand with a load of power behind it would show just how determined he was, as Maia literally took flight soon after being decked with it. Maia was down on the mat and Marquardt loomed over him prepared to dole out one more blow, but in knowing his opponent was done, chose to not land that extra blow. Demian Maia loses no standing in my book as this is just what can happen in this sport, and especially so when you face the best fighters in the world. There are certain shots that if they connect will drop nearly any man, and Marquardt uncoiled one of those blows. This is MMA and not BJJ and this is what can happen when you are standing up with Marquardt in front of you. Dan Henderson should get the next title shot, and if he falls, Nate Marquardt should be next in line. It wouldn't be so bad to see Henderson and Marquardt square off with the title shot on the line, but if Henderson wins it should mean he finally gets that title shot and no longer has to jump yet another hurdle to get there. Nate Marquardt held off from landing the "extra" shot on Maia, but this does not make me look down on Dan Henderson for doing just that to Bisping at UFC 100. I think the two are different competitors and that perhaps that Marquardt simply has a little more restraint, or that Henderson is so supremely focused that he is unable to exhibit any. At any rate, this was a huge win for Marquardt and the matter of a title shot is not if but when for him. Winner is Nate Marquardt by KO at :21 of Round 1 Chris Leben vs. Jake Rosholt Chris Leben made his triumphant return at UFC 102. Ok, it wasn't so triumphant, but he returned. The funny thing is that the announcers failed to address it until later on, and did so quickly and without any more details. By no means am I saying it should be forced down our throats ad nauseum, but for those fans who do not follow the sport such as those who visit countless websites, it might not be a bad idea to just put what is real out there for consumption. Goldberg and Rogan went on about how Leben had matured since 'The Ultimate Fighter,' along his gym in Hawaii and how he is great with kids as a teacher. I don't dispute that he might be great with them and one hell of a teacher, and I do agree he has matured since 'The Ultimate Fighter,' but I do believe his steroid suspension doesn't exactly go along with the aforementioned statements. Everyone deserves a second chance and Leben did admit to using the steroids for his bout with Bisping. That alone wins him points in my book, as Sean Sherk has continued denying he ever has. Not saying Sherk has or has not, but most of us tend to believe the drug tests and Leben was forthright in admitting his guilt. His bout against Rosholt was his first since being suspended for nine months and his second chance began at UFC 102. Leben looked good in the early stages of this bout against Rosholt and did his best to stalk his opponent. Rosholt appeared intimidated but was able to get off some leg kicks and at least remain in the fight while staying away from the left hand in the first round. Rosholt was able to do much more in the second round, but Leben landed the bigger shots, did more damage and was still firmly in control. All of this would change in the third round, however, as Rosholt scored an early takedown and landed a brutal series of elbows. From here he was able to mount Leben and then take his back before putting his opponent in an arm triangle. Leben was done for, and as he tried in vain to tap, Yves Lavigne did not stop the fight. Leben went unconscious and only then did Lavigne wave this one off and award Rosholt the upset victory. This one should have been stopped, and thankfully Leben looked no worse for wear a minute or two later. I just think I would rather have anger towards a referee for stopping it a second early than to have to report on something awful that lasted a second too long. Huge win for Jake Rosholt and he looked like the prospect many figure him to be. As for Chris Leben, it looks like his days on PPV are done and he will be back on 'Fight Night' cards on Spike TV until he begins to win bouts once more. By no means is his career done, but his days as a contender could well be over; Rosholt's may have just begun. Tim Hague vs. Todd Duffee Tim Hague asked Todd Duffee if he wanted to touch gloves; Duffee shook his head as if to say "no". Just seven seconds later he had touched his glove to Hague's face and knocked him out in picking up a record-setting victory for himself. Todd Duffee scored the fastest KO victory in UFC history with this devastating win. All I can say is this was what Pat Barry was getting ready to do before making a fatal mistake. Duffee made no such mistake, and it was a jab which did the damage and dropped Hague to the ground. Hague's lights were turned out and Duffee's star is now shining very bright as a heavyweight prospect. Just my opinion, but did anyone else notice how especially vascular and shall we say "puffy" that Duffee was? Obviously this means nothing, and so long as he passes any and all tests it matters not, but it just piqued my curiousity. Especially when Leben looked like a brick house against Bisping and we all know what helped him get there. For the sake of our sport and Duffee's career, let us hope this is not the case. Winner is Todd Duffee by KO at :07 of Round 1 Keith Jardine vs. Thiago Silva Jardine is a hot and cold fighter. I, like many others, predicted he would be cold against Silva. I didn't imagine he would be out cold, but I had predicted a first round TKO and Silva absolutely decimated him. Keith Jardine is no joke and he is a solid hand in the Octagon. He has some big wins on his resume and also has been knocked out big in some losses. He was going up against Thiago Silva who was coming off of a KO loss to Machida and had much to prove. It was perhaps too much to prove as he made quite the statement on Saturday night. Silva rocked Jardine, dropped him and then rained down two more shots before "The Dean of Mean's" arms went limp and it was all over. Wow. Just a furious knockout victory and this one does more to prove Machida is amazing than anything else. Perhaps we all shouldn't have been so quick to drop Silva down a peg following his shellacking at UFC 94. By the same token, a big win over Jardine should not mean he is back at the top, either; although he should get a bout against a top foe in his next time out. As for Jardine, he goes back to being a gatekeeper and there will never be any worries about him being unwilling to fight Rashad Evans again. Because Evans has a chance at the title in his future and Jardine's role will be to prep the challengers. Winner is Thiago Silva by KO at 1:35 of Round 1 Ed Herman vs. Aaron Simpson Due to time being available since a few fights ended earlier than expected, we were treated to Ed Herman vs. Aaron Simpson from the prelims at this point. It was nothing special here with the matchup but it was indeed an interesting fight. Ed Herman has more respect from me now than I have ever given him before. He took one hell of a beating in the first round and it amazes me he survived. Randy Couture took a pounding in the main event but Ed Herman was getting pummeled from pillar to post by Simpson who was like a buzzsaw. Herman's left knee was hurt as the first round came to a close and he limped to his corner. Moments later he was asked if he wanted to continue and referee Yves Lavigne told him to protect his knee. A referee telling a fighter to protect his knee?!?!? Look, I have seen countless examples of a referee telling a fighter to watch his cut or else this fight will be stopped, but they are not just offering fatherly advice. Lavigne was like a supportive Uncle on the sidelines of a Little League game in telling him to protect his knee. It wasn't, "protect your knee or else I will stop the fight" but simply "protect your knee". Well, needless to say, Herman should have heeded this sage advice. He planted his left leg to throw a kick and shredded it. He crumpled to the ground and let out an audible scream due to the immense pain. He is definitely going to be on the shelf for a while and it is a shame when any fighter suffers such an injury. Fighters do not want to quit. This is why they are fighters and you and I are not. Period. Herman's corner should have done what he would not and that is to protect him to fight another day. A loss to Simpson was bad for him, but not as bad as being out for up to a year recovering from major knee surgery and rehabilitation. Fighters are too tough for their own good, and their corners have to be the ones using their brains. Sadly, Yves Lavigne did a curious thing by offering advice as a referee, but he ends up being the smartest man in the Octagon as far as Herman goes. Aaron Simpson looked great in this fight, but again it was Ed Herman and we are going to need to see this again before we can declare him anything special. Given his age, it is going to take a lot in a short period of time, but maybe that is why he fights so furiously. Simpson got the win and would have probably gone on to do so anyway but a fighter's injury always takes away something from the other fighter's victory. Winner is Aaron Simpson by TKO at :17 of Round 2 Randy Couture vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira The main event of UFC 102 would have been Earth-shattering had it taken place several years ago, but it was still something many of us were very much looking forward to. We all wondered what Couture had left while at the same time wondering just what Nogueira did have left himself, and both questions were answered and then some in the Rose Garden. I gave the first round to Randy Couture. Perhaps I led with my heart and not my head, but he just had me in awe that he was able to survive before landing two punctuating blows before the horn sounded. Couture didn't just survive, though, he would not be stopped; and just wasn't going to be put down on this night. Nogueira was firing on all cylinders, but at UFC 102 he was not really fighting the man but rather the legend, and those seem to never die. I scored the second and third rounds for Nogueira as did everyone else, but it wasn't as one-sided as the scoring would seem to suggest. Randy Couture didn't look 46 at all, and Nogueira proved that maybe it was the staph infection that made Frank Mir look so good in December of last year. For one night, both men were ageless, and this bout is one that begs for two more rounds or at the very least a rematch and will stand for all time as a truly great heavyweight fight. My only concern is that Nogueira was pounding Couture in the early stages of the third round and yet the referee allowed it to continue. My reasoning for this is that Couture's bout with Lesnar at UFC 91 was stopped with significantly less damage having been done than it appeared Nogueira was dishing out here. Again, things should be kept consistent. If you are going to stop fights because of damage, then stop the fights. There should never be one instance in which you let it go and then another where you won't, with the only difference being the moment of the fight itself. By this point, it was clear Couture was not going to win, so it makes me wonder why it was allowed to continue based on other stoppages in Couture's own career, but I also have less of a problem that this fight was not stopped because it was Couture. Maybe this is again because I am going with heart and not head and that I simply enjoyed it too much, and as much as I knew Couture couldn't win, I just couldn't count him out, either. Couture finished this fight strong and was landing elbows with thirty seconds left in the bout. This was, of course, too little too late; and as if to truly send it home, Nogueira reversed his position at the horn. This was a three round war between two of the greats and neither man should retire just yet based on their performances at UFC 102. Nogueira looked reborn and Couture looked reinvigorated. No matter what happens down the line, they will always have UFC 102, and so too, will we the fans. Bent Scored The Fight: 29-28 for Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira Official Scores: 30-27, 30-27, 29-28 all for Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira Winner is Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira by Unanimous Decision Evan Dunham vs. Marcus Aurelio We had time for another preliminary fight, and due to having substantial time left the UFC opted to show us this one rather than the more high profile Gonzaga-Tuchscherer bout from earlier. This was the most exciting bout to go the distance, and for what it was it wasn't a bad bout to watch. Evan Dunham brought the whooping stick with him and smacked Aurelio around for the bulk of the first round. He out-struck him completely, hurt him at times and just pounded him with efficient punching precision. Marcus Aurelio looked nothing like a ground wizard and looked supremely lost. The second round was much more of the same, although Aurelio did have a few moments here and there. Aurelio did score a takedown in this round but this wasn't enough for me to give him the round and he was definitely entering the third round in need of a stoppage. Marcus Aurelio came out to fight in the third round and came perilously close to securing an anaconda choke, which would have taken home the victory. Give much credit to Evan Dunham for fighting a smart fight while also not backing entirely off of the gas pedal for the final round. Dunham just did too much, too early, and Aurelio ran out of time. Of course, he also did little with the time afforded him, and seemed content to just do the poor man's version of Jorge Gurgel when the original version found himself out of the UFC for that performance style. The one thing worse than perhaps Aurelio's gameplan was the scoring of the fight, as one judge gave the win to Aurelio. Just as curious as this, in my eyes, was the shutout afforded to Dunham. I have to say that I would much rather see 30-27 scores for Dunham than 29-28 for Aurelio, but the judge who scored it for Aurelio could not be any more off the mark. Bent Scored The Fight: 29-28 for Evan Dunham Official Scores: 29-28 Aurelio, 29-28 Dunham and 30-27 Dunham Winner is Evan Dunham by Split Decision UFC 102 delivered on its promise, and this is because Couture and Nogueira didn't let us down. It was a shame for Couture that he had to perform in front of a half empty house, but hopefully in time the UFC will realize you cannot charge Los Angeles prices in every city across the land. We got what was promised to us, and this was not a stacked card in even the slightest sense. The main event delivered and was worth the price of admission, but this one just didn't have big fight feel to it from top to bottom at all. Again, the main event itself did, but as an entire event; UFC 102 fell a little short. I guess the best way to rate this show was to compare it to the Rose Garden attendance. It felt half empty to me. © Copyright by MMATorch.com |
