11,172 fans jam packed the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas for UFC 86 to see two of the most popular fighters in MMA lock horns. It was a solid show with a fantastic main event. Once again, the "yeses and nos"for UFC 86
Yes to Quinton "Rampage" Jackson (28-7, 3-1 UFC, 13(T)KOs, 7 Subs) and Forrest Griffin (16-4, 7-2 UFC, 3(T)KOs, 7 Subs). Fight of the night, fight of the half year. What an awesome showing by both. If Forrest fights Chuck Liddell next for the light heavyweight title we can expect, maybe, the biggest fight in MMA PPV history. Meanwhile, for "Rampage", perhaps next up is a rematch with Mauricio Rua or Wanderlei Silva.
No to Patrick Cote (13-4, 5-4 UFC, 6(T)KOs, 3 Subs) for being ranked as the number one contender. The middleweight division is the weakest division in the UFC. Perhaps Cote has earned his shot with five straight wins, but he is clearly outmatched against Anderson Silva. I would rather see Yushin Okami as the number one contender. I think he is outmatched as well, but at least the fight can be hyped as a rematch, with Silva looking for revenge.
Yes to Josh Koscheck (11-2, 9-2 UFC, 2 (T)KOs, 4 Subs). He plays the "heel" role perfectly. He has also improved immensely since his time on TUF. There is talk of him moving down to lightweight to fight B.J. Penn. I don't like his chances in that fight, but I'd love to see it. Set it in Hawaii, so Koscheck can play heel for the perfect crowd, and you have another big fight on your hands.
Yes to Chris Lytle (25-16-5, 4-8 UFC, 4(T)KOs, 17 Subs). A true warrior and a courageous fight considering the amount of blood he lost.
No to Lytle. As courageous as he is, Lytle is not in the upper echelon of fighters, he is a gate keeper. If his sole purpose is to be a gate keeper, I suppose Dana White will keep him. If the idea is for the UFC to have the absolute best fighters, then it may be time to trim him from the roster.
Yes to Joe Stevenson (29-8, 6-2 UFC, 6(T)KOs, 13 Subs). Losing on the scorecards, Stevenson locked in a guillotine choke for the win. The move has become a favorite of his, having won three of his last four with it.
No to the UFC for having commercials on PPV. Sell advertising space on the octagon cage floor, no problem. Let Bruce Buffer announce the sponsors of the show, fine, but don't cut to a commercial, especially not for another Nicholas Cage dud.
Yes to Tyson Griffin's (12-1, 5-1 UFC, 5 (T)KOs, 3 Subs) and Gleison Tibau's (15-6, 3-3 UFC, 2(T)KOs, 7 Subs) ring music. For Tibua's fight with Stevenson he came out to Black Sabbath'sIron Man. Griffin came out to Survivor'sEye of the Tiger for his fight against Marcus Aurelio. During both fights I thought I was five years old again watching 80's wrestling. Love it.
No to the UFC for their continuous shots of "B-list" celebrities in the crowd. The NBA does a good job of making their sport look big, by focusing on the "A-list" celebrities in the arena. During the NBA Finals they showed Jack Nicholson and Denzel Washington, among the many, in the crowd. But to the UFC, stop showing me That 70s Show actors, that doesn't make the UFC look big time. Nor do I wanna see Mandy Moore. She's cute, but she's "B-list" material. If the UFC wants to get "a rub" from celebrities, focus on the big names in the crowd, if there are any, at the show. Wilmer Valderrama and Laura Prepon simply do not cut it.
No to Jorge Gurgel. Another "gate keeper" fighter, it may be time for him to move to a smaller promotion to brush up on his skills.
Yes to Melvin Guillard (22-7-2, 4-3 UFC, 14 (T)KOs, 3 Subs). After losing two in a row, one of those being to his rival Rich Clementi, Guillard left the UFC to fight for a smaller promotion. He won that fight and came back to the UFC last night in style, with a sensational knockout.
Yes to the overall show. Although there wasn't bad blood between Jackson and Griffin on TUF, like with past coaches on the show, their fight was still a dream match and it lived up to to it's potential. The undercard was solid if not spectacular.
