Hyden's Take
HYDEN BLOG: Random Thoughts On Newsworthy UFC 132 Event
Jul 6, 2011 - 8:30:43 AM HYDEN BLOG: Random Thoughts On Newsworthy UFC 132 Event

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By: Frank Hyden, MMATorch contributor

I choose to take the more optimistic side when it comes to Tito Ortiz's win over Ryan Bader at UFC 132. I consider it more a testament to Tito's experience and knowledge that he pounced on the right opportunity, rather than an indictment of Bader as a fighter. I think Bader is a good fighter. He's not great, though he certainly has the chance to reach that goal. Bader just turned 28 last month so he has plenty of time to grow as a fighter.

I don't know if Tito's win was a last hurrah, but it's hard to imagine Tito making a serious run at the Light Heavyweight Title again. He's always been a polarizing figure so it'd be great for the UFC if he did make a run at the belt. However, injuries and out-of-cage issues may be conspiring to keep Tito from getting there.

One thing's for sure, though. Tito has earned himself a shot at one of the big dogs hanging around the top of the UFC Light Heavyweight division. I know I'll be watching to see what he does with that shot.

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I've said this so many times that I'm sure people are sick of hearing it, but I'm not one to force retirement on someone. The exception to that is when they're putting themselves in danger. I think that time has come for Wanderlei Silva. We all know the numbers by now, Wanderlei is 2-6 in his last eight fights, four of those losses coming by way of knockout.

It's not uncommon for a fighter to keep hanging around. It shouldn't matter to anybody as long as the fighter isn't placing themselves in danger. Wanderlei is at that point, though. He's got nothing left to prove. Wanderlei will go from retiring straight to the Hall of Fame.

I was glad to see that Dana White say that he's going to talk to Wanderlei and urge him to retire. Those close to you are best suited to convince you to retire. I hope he does, I don't want to see Wanderlei suffer any more blows to the head, he's already taken far too many.

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I was expecting Urijah Faber to be more aggressive during his fight with Dominick Cruz. I picked Faber to win because I thought he would wear Cruz down before slapping on a submission. Cruz did a good job, though, of fighting his fight. I definitely would be in favor of a rubber match between the two, especially considering no one else in the division right now is more deserving of a title shot than Faber.

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I was excited and glad to see Carlos Condit continue his winning ways. When Condit first came to the UFC he stumbled with a split decision loss to Martin Kampmann, but he's righted the ship and is on his way to a title shot. Of course, Georges St. Pierre and Nick Diaz won't be fighting for a little while, but that gives Condit a chance to prove to everyone that he deserves a shot at the belt. The only question is what opponent should be matched against Condit? There's plenty of possibilities, but whoever it is has to be a big name who's on his way to earning a title shot. I don't want to see Condit stuck in the same situation that Melvin Guillard was in at UFC 132.

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Speaking of Guillard, why was he fighting Shane Roller at UFC 132? Nothing against Roller, but what did Melvin stand to gain from this fight? Melvin should be fighting against guys who are contending for a shot at the UFC Lightweight Title. He should be fighting guys who are more on his level. Melvin deserves a chance to prove that he's earned a title shot. He should at least be given a fight against another possible title contender. I've always been in favor of testing guys to see what they can do. I don't like dealing in "possibles" and "maybes", I want to know for sure. I want to know if Melvin deserves a title shot, and they only way to find that out is to put him in there against good competition.

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Finally, there was some talk last week of Matt Mitrione making his way into the UFC Heavyweight Title picture. I disagree that Mitrione is ready for a title shot, but I did advocate placing him in deep waters against big time opponents, although I would hardly consider Frank Mir to be a big time opponent. I've never been much of a Mir fan, and I think he's highly overrated. I think Mitrione would have a good chance to beat Mir.

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