Hyden's Take
HYDEN BLOG: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly from UFC 181, and CM Punk signs with the UFC
Dec 10, 2014 - 12:30:24 PM HYDEN BLOG: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly from UFC 181, and CM Punk signs with the UFC

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By: Frank Hyden, MMATorch contributor

UFC 181 took place on Saturday night. Let's get right to it, along with some other big MMA news.


UFC 181

GOOD/BAD: Urijah Faber submits Francisco Rivera

This was the final fight on the undercard, used as a way to bring eyeballs, and hopefully some more sales to the PPV. It wasn't expected to be a super close fight, and it wasn't, but Faber gets a GOOD for the nice submission. However, this deserves a BAD because Faber poked Rivera in the eye. The referee missed the poke, but the bigger issue is that these eyepokes happen way too frequently. Guys only get a warning for eyepokes, so a lot of these guys purposefully stick their fingers out to try to poke their opponent, or at least make them wary of being poked.

Something needs to be done about this. I don't care if it's something out there like you're only allowed one accidental eyepoke for every four fights you have (with any subsequent pokes leading to automatic losses and fines and possible suspensions) or something else, but this needs to be stopped.

GOOD: Tony Ferguson submits Abel Trujillo

Trujillo opened up strong early, but Ferguson weathered the storm and came back strong himself. In the second round, Ferguson went out there and took it to Trujillo before securing the submission.

GOOD: Todd Duffee stops Anthony Hamilton

Duffee returns after two years out and returns with an explosive knockout. It went about as well as the UFC could have hoped. The fight only took about thirty seconds or so, but it was exciting.

GOOD: Travis Browne stops Brendan Schaub

This was another mismatch on paper that went as expected. Browne is a better fighter, and he showed it. He dropped Schaub with a powerful uppercut and worked for the stoppage. He just rained shots down until the ref had to step in. A nice win.

GREAT" Anthony Pettis submits Gilbert Melendez

This was a fantastic performance from UFC Lightweight Champion Anthony Pettis. Melendez came out and fought his fight in the first round, but then Pettis came out in the second round and whooped him. He peppered him with strikes, then worked for the submission. Pettis looked so good in this fight that it's crazy to think that he was going against one of the best fighters in the world. Gilbert Melendez is a very tough guy, but Pettis was able to finish him. That's the first time that Melendez has ever been finished in over twenty-five fights. That's damn good, and makes what Pettis did even more impressive.

At this point it seems as though the only thing that can stop Pettis is his own body. If he can stay healthy there's no telling how good he'll get. I don't know who can challenge him in the division right now. No one has been able to do that effectively. I suppose a strong wrestler would probably be the best challenger to Pettis right now, but we'll have to see how he deals with one.

GOOD: Johny Hendricks vs. Robbie Lawler

Hendricks was defending his UFC Welterweight Championship against the same man he had narrowly beaten earlier this year. This was another close fight in my eyes, though upon watching it a second time I agree with the decision that Lawler won. For one, I would have given Lawler the final two rounds just based on the stall tactics of Hendricks. He wasn't doing anything, he seemed content to coast and try to ride out the decision. Lawler did a lot more during those rounds and I would also give him the first round as well. I would give the second and third rounds to Hendricks, but I thought it was clear that Lawler won.

I thought the fight was pretty good. To be honest, it was a little disappointing after the amazing performance from UFC Lightweight Champion Anthony Pettis, but that says more about how I felt about the Pettis win than anything else. It seems like the UFC will go with a third Lawler-Hendricks fight next, so we'll see who wins the rubber match. I'll definitely look forward to it, though I am hoping for a decisive finish.

*************

Phil "CM Punk" Brooks has been signed by the UFC. I don't know how well he'll do, and a lot of that depends on who they match him against, but I think it's a good thing for the UFC to at least kick the tires and see what's there. If they hadn't, Bellator surely would have, and this will bring a lot of eyeballs to whoever signed him. I don't think this is a bad thing for the UFC at all. It'll draw attention, much-needed attention, to the UFC and hopefully help out some of the other fighters on cards that Brooks fights on. He's not going to fight until next year, obviously, so the UFC needs to carefully think about the placement of his first fight. They really should put his first fight on cable or network TV and not PPV. I think one of their FOX cards would work best. Either way, I think this signing is a good thing, and the UFC made a big move they needed to make.


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