Hyden's Take
HYDEN BLOG: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly from UFC Fight Night 29 and Bellator 103, plus Ben Askren to the UFC
Oct 16, 2013 - 10:40:33 AM HYDEN BLOG: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly from UFC Fight Night 29 and Bellator 103, plus Ben Askren to the UFC

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By: Frank Hyden, MMATorch contributor

UFC Fight Night 29 and Bellator 103 both took place this past week. Here's my rundown of the two events

UFC Fight Night 29

GOOD: Raphael Assuncao vs. T.J. Dillashaw

This was a really good fight. It got a bit tentative in the third round, but Assuncao did just barely enough to get the decision win. Maybe it was home cooking from the Brazilian judges, maybe not. I didn't find the decision to be that objectionable. I was fine with it. Both guys are trying to make their names in the bantamweight division. More fights like this will go a long way towards doing that.

UGLY: Rousimar Palhares is a big jerk

There's been a lot of debate about this. Some people say that what Palhares did wasn't that bad. He held onto that heel hook an extra two seconds or so. I think that act alone is worthy of a big fine or suspension. However, this is the second time Palhares has done this in the UFC. There's also a few other instances of this earlier in his career. There's no place for this junk in the UFC. I'm glad that the UFC banned him for life, a jerk like him doesn't need to be in the company. I'm refraining from laying into the guy too much because he's already been banned from the UFC, and Bellator has said they're not interested in him. That means he's just about been blackballed from MMA in the U.S. so I'll just keep my further thoughts to myself.

UGLY: Fabio Maldonado vs. Joey Beltran

This was incredibly sloppy, and just not good at all. Maldonado got the home cooking split decision win. This one was a lot more clear. Beltran should have won, although I don't think either guy should be proud of such a fight as this one.

UGLY: Thiago Silva vs. Matt Hamill

This fight was even worse. Neither guy fought like he belonged in the cage. Either they were fighting underwater, or I accidentally watched the whole thing on slo-mo. All I know for sure is this fight sucked. It was awful, it was horrible, it was sleep-inducing. Whatever you want to say, it fits here.

GOOD: Dong Hyun Kim knocks out Erick Silva

Kim picked up a pretty good win in this one. I thought it was impressive for him, and it's something he can try to build upon. This doesn't put him anywhere near a title shot, but he can build on this and try to insert himself into contender status.

UGLY: Jake Shields blankets Demian Maia for the split decision win

The reason this gets an UGLY instead of just a BAD is that after this incredibly dull win Shields says he wanted another shot at UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pierre. This just makes me shake my head. What in the world is different from the last time Shield fought and lost to GSP? There is absolutely nothing that is changed from that fight. Shields still employs the same lay-and-pray strategy that he has for several years, and has shown no desire to try to improve his game.

The fight itself was just plain bad. There were moments where both men were grappling and things got interesting, but then it reverted back to your typical Shields fight. Break out the pillows, folks, we've got a big blanket here.


Bellator 103

GOOD: Mikhail Zayats submits Aaron Rosa

Zayats made this look about as easy as it gets. Literally, this looked like it was pre-planned like a movie stunt, that's how easy Zayats made it look. I thought it was somewhat impressive.

GOOD: David Rickels thrashes J.J. Ambrose

I had to go GOOD with this because it wasn't a bad fight, it was just a fight that probably shouldn't have happened. Rickels just dominated Ambrose. Not much else to say here.

BAD: Justin Wilcox vs. Joe Taimanglo

Speaking of fights that shouldn't happen, here's another one. I don't know why it played out the way it did, honestly I was expecting a bit more. Wilcox gets the decision, but I wouldn't call it a big win.

BAD: Patricio Freire vs. Fabricio Guerreiro

I guess Freire was just wary of getting caught by Guerriro, but he was too hesitant. I understand that you want to respect an opponent, but not to the point that it stops you from even trying to push your advantages. This just wasn't a good fight at all. Friere won the decision, but he really could have won by a finish if he had tried to.


QUICK HIT

Bellator's Bjorn Rebney said that they would waive their matching clause if the UFC would offer Ben Askren an immediate title shot. Of course, this is just posturing and a clear attempt to validate Bellator and their champions in the eyes of MMA fans. However, let's address this seriously.

Askren simply isn't deserving of an immediate title shot in the UFC. I know Askren is a former Olympian, and I give him all due credit for that, that's very impressive. The thing is, though, that he's so one-dimensional that it severely hurts his chances to beat the elite fighters in his division. In Bellator this wasn't a problem, as Askren was always much better than his opponents. But Askren has never fought a guy who could even dream of stopping his wrestling.

In the UFC, though, it would be a much different story. He'd be fighting guys who are the best in the world. They may not be better wrestlers than him, but they'd be able to stymy enough of his wrestling that they'd be able to take advantage of the tremendous gulf in skill level in the other disciplines. Georges St-Pierre, Johnny Hendricks, and Carlos Condit are the three best welterweights in the world in my opinion. I don't think Askren has much chance against any of them. I believe that even the guys underneath them would be able to beat Askren handily. I'm talking about Rory MacDonald, Robbie Lawler, Martin Kampmann, Matt Brown, Jake Ellenberger, and Demian Maia. There's already a guy in the UFC who I think is the exact same guy as Askren, and he just beat Demian Maia.

Jake Shields is essentially the same guy as Ben Askren. They're both wrestlers who prefer to coast to a lay-and-pray victory. I don't know many people who would give Shields much of a chance at beating the elite welterweights, and he's actually faced much better competition than Askren has.

Looking at all that, I think it's wrong for Bellator to want Askren to get an immediate title shot. I don't think it'd be fair to him. It would be the equivalent of going from middle school to the pros. You'd be throwing him into the shark tank when he's wearing a suit of blood meat. The difference in the level of competition would just be worlds apart. I know Askren competed in the Olympics, but that was years ago. He's likely not used to such a high level of competition anymore. I think it would be better if they gave him a few fights first to prove he belongs before putting him against a top five UFC fighter.


Comments and suggestions can be emailed to me at hydenfrank@gmail.com and you can follow me on Twitter at @hydenfrank