Hyden's Take
HYDEN BLOG: Looking at UFC 113's eventful evening
May 12, 2010 - 8:09:20 AM HYDEN BLOG: Looking at UFC 113's eventful evening

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By: Frank Hyden, MMATorch Contributor

UFC 113 was an eventful evening. There are several big stories that transpired during and after the show. In order, from smallest to largest:

Jason MacDonald suffered a horrible leg injury during his preliminary fight with John Salter. It's not the most graphic injury ever in MMA, but it was still pretty bad. If you haven't seen it, you can see his left leg bend in a way that it's not supposed to. MacDonald said on his Twitter page that he broke his tibia, fibula, and dislocated his ankle. He's going to be out for quite a while. Here's hoping he makes a full recovery.

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Kimbo Slice being cut by the UFC is a little bit of a surprise. I thought Slice deserved one more chance. I know it didn't look good for him to get stopped by Matt Mitrione like that, but there's still a market for Kimbo fights. I personally would have given him one more fight, then cut him if he lost. I like Kimbo, but let's be realistic, he's no title contender. Despite that, though, I still think he can serve a role in an organization like Strikeforce.

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Paul Daley's sucker-punch on Josh Koscheck wouldn't have resulted in Daley's release if he were friends with Dana White. A weak shot like that was more like a typical NBA shot, rather than a NHL punch. It wasn't going to do much damage, but Daley still needed to be disciplined. I totally disagree with cutting him, but that just shows the favoritism shown towards guys who are friends with Dana.

Brock Lesnar flipped off and cursed at the crowd at UFC 100 yet didn't get disciplined at all. Koscheck taunted the crowd in Canada. Pissing off the people who pay the bills is much worse than some post-fight love tap in my eyes. You could make the case that what Brock and Koscheck did actually increased their popularity, or infamy. People will pay to see those guys fight, in the hopes that they get their ass kicked. The same could be said for Paul Daley now. Although, since Daley punched Koscheck, one of the most hated guys in MMA, you could say that the punch actually won Daley some fans. Or won back some fans that Daley lost with that bad fight.

Daley being cut by the UFC was purely based on him not being friends with Dana White. MLB pitchers who start beanball wars, throwing 90mph at a guy, only get a suspension for a handful of games usually. NBA players who fight don't get cut by the league, they get suspended for a short time. Even Ron Artest was only suspended by the NBA, not cut, after the Malice at the Palace. I guess you can do bad things in the UFC as long as you're buddies with Dana.

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Mauricio "Shogun" Rua's destruction of Lyoto Machida brought an abrupt end to "The Machida Era", as Joe Rogan had called it. This isn't the biggest surprise in the world, especially considering Rua's past, but Machida had never had someone do such a number on him like Rua did.

The light heavyweight division has been the deepest for the UFC for years, and Rua's win further cements that. Rua, Machida, Rashad Evans, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, Forrest Griffin, the list can go on and on. I also want to include Ryan Bader on that list, as I think he'll be Light Heavyweight Champion some day soon. He's improving a lot and I think in another year or so he'll be a real force at 205lbs. I'm an even bigger fan of Jon Jones. I think the sky's the limit for Jones, and I can't wait to see how good he becomes. It's amazing to think how good he is at 22, and how good he can be at 26 or 28. Jones may eventually move to Heavyweight, though, but he'll be a nightmare match-up at 205 lb. for some time to come.

I think the fact that no one can seem to defend the belt speaks to the deepness of the division. I know Machida technically did defend the belt in his first fight with Rua, but that was pretty controversial and could have gone either way. The UFC light heavyweight division is stacked, and should continue being the deepest division in MMA in the foreseeable future. If only the UFC middleweight division could have half the depth the Light Heavyweight division has. It always seems as though there's several intriguing matches to be had in the Light Heavyweight division, more so than anywhere else. UFC 114 is being promoted almost solely based on the Rashad Evans vs. Rampage Jackson fight, and that's not even a title fight.

Comments or suggestions can be e-mailed to me at hydenfrank@gmail.com