Hyden's Take
HYDEN BLOG: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly from UFC Fight Night 33, World Series of Fighting 7, and Invicta FC 7
Dec 11, 2013 - 12:10:29 PM HYDEN BLOG: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly from UFC Fight Night 33, World Series of Fighting 7, and Invicta FC 7

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By: Frank Hyden, MMATorch Contributor

Last weekend was extremely packed with three major MMA events on television. Here are my thoughts on the best and worst from all three.

UFC Fight Night 33

BAD: Julie Kedzie vs. Bethe Correia

This was just dull. It didn't seem to ever leave first gear. Correia won the split decision. I scored the fight for Kedzie, but I won't complain too much because the fight wasn't that good.

BAD: Clint Hester vs. Dylan Andrews

Hester won after Andrews injured himself after the second round. Up until that point Hester was starting to pull away and it looked like just a matter of time before he won anyway. Calling this fight BAD might be a bit harsh, but it sure wasn't GOOD.

GOOD: Soa Palelei stops Pat Barry

Barry lost because of his lack of a ground game again. Palelei got him down and just took him apart. A big win for Palelei and this probably signals the end of Barry's UFC run.

GOOD and UGLY: Ryan Bader destroys Anthony Perosh

Bader's performance deserves a GOOD, without question. He was on his game and he was about as dominant as you can get. Perosh showed incredible toughness, but he was clearly outmatched. The part of the fight that gets an UGLY is the lack of a stoppage. The fact that the fight was allowed to go to a decision is absolutely ridiculous. Perosh took a ton of unnecessary damage, and for what? He wasn't coming back and winning this fight. He was as out on his feet as is possible. How the hell the ref didn't step in I have no idea. It was absurd.

GOOD: Mauricio "Shogun" Rua stops James Te Huna

Shogun looked good here, no doubt. Does this mean he's back? No, absolutely not. Anyone who thinks it does is kidding themselves. It was a great counter-striking display from Shogun, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. However, I want to focus on the positives here. Shogun hasn't looked this good in quite a while. I don't know exactly what got into him, but he needs to keep doing it.

GOOD: Mark Hunt vs. Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva

This fight was crazy. It was sloppy, it ebbed and flowed, but it was pretty damn entertaining. They went back and forth repeatedly, and it was hard to judge who was winning at times. It was bloody, both guys were in major trouble at different points, and I couldn't help but love it. This really felt like a barroom brawl to me. They went out there and put on a hell of a fight. It sure wasn't the most technical fight, but both showed such heart that you had to appreciate and love it. It's always kind of sour when a fight ends in a majority draw, but I can't complain that much. This was just fun.


World Series of Fighting 7

UGLY and GOOD: Kalib Starnes stops Dwayne Lewis

The GOOD part is the knockout Starnes got. It was pretty sweet. The UGLY part was everything else. The fight sucked up until the knockout. Normally I would probably give a BAD for that, but Starnes had to act like an ass after he knocked Lewis out. I hate stuff like that.

GREAT: Nick Newell submits Sabah Fadai

Newell is a badass. He's beating guys and making it look easy. This guy is so impressive, you just can't help but be amazed that he can do the things he does. He beat Fadai with ease. That's just amazing.

BAD: Jesse Taylor vs. Elvis Mutapcic

Ugh, this was dull. Quite frankly, I found it hard to not zone out during this fight. The less said about it, the better. Taylor won by decision.

GOOD: Georgi Karakhanyan submits Lance Palmer

I should probably go BAD for this, but after that last fight this one seemed positively exciting. Karakhanyan looked OK at best, but Palmer just couldn't do anything. This was almost the definition of a "Meh" fight. It was just kind of there.


Invicta FC 7

GOOD: Nina Ansaroff stops Munah Holland

Ansaroff looked good with her striking. Solid fight. Ansaroff finished it with a very nice sequence.

GOOD and BAD: Decision wins for Tonya Evinger, Vanessa Porto, Julia Budd, and Joanna Calderwood

Tonya Evinger beat Sarah D'Alelio in a sloppy fight that was somewhat entertaining at times. Vanessa Porto beat Zoila Frausto Gurgel pretty cleanly, though Gurgel had her moments. That was a pretty decent fight. Julia Budd employed some classic lay-and-pray to beat Charmaine Tweet in a horribly dull fight. Joanna Calderwood beat Katja Kankaanpaa in another dull fight.

GOOD: Felice Herrig vs. Tecia Torres

Torres is a berserker. She unleashes these hellacious flurries. I love that. At times you almost expect her to take a Mike Tyson-like bite out of her opponent. She's definitely not the most technical fighter, but she's sure fun to watch. Herrig did good to not get finished, as Torres had to win by decision.

GOOD: Lauren Murphy vs. Miriam Nakamoto

It sucks that this fight ended due to injury to Nakamoto in the fourth round. Nakamoto took the early rounds, but Murphy was making a comeback. It looked like Murphy was taking over, but we don't know for sure. The injury to Nakamoto's knee looked pretty bad. I'm sure Murphy would have rather won the Invicta FC Bantamweight Championship another way, but these things happen. It's unfortunate, but you take what you get. I was really into this fight.

GOOD: Barb Honchak vs. Leslie Smith

Honchak looked so strong in this fight, but Smith showed great heart. Honchak was so good in all areas, it's going to be so hard to beat her. This was a very, very good fight. Excellent showing by both women. Smith was overwhelmed, but she wouldn't quit. She took a round, and almost took another one. That was really good. Honchak is going to be tough to beat. I was also impressed by the pace of the fight. They were going for it the whole time. They were getting a little tired, but they both showed great cardio. I really liked this fight.


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

This article initially listed Dwayne Lewis as "Dwayne Harris." That error has been adjusted.