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UFC 111 has come and gone, and there's been a lot of discussion amongst fans and writers over the last 16 hours about what took place on the card. With some that I've agreed with and some that I haven't, here's what stood out from the event for me on Saturday night.
Georges St. Pierre is getting a bad rap; not a boring fighter
One of the main talking points from last night's event has been this notion that Georges St. Pierre is a boring fighter, and that because he couldn't finish Dan Hardy maybe he's not as good as people have said he is in the past.
I disagree with that notion entirely. True, St. Pierre didn't finish Hardy last night, but against just about any other fighter there were two spots where St. Pierre would have ended the fight. But because Hardy was able to survive two nasty submission attempts by GSP, somehow that has brought GSP into question.
When, on an off night and after an eight month layoff, St. Pierre can put together a performance in which his opponent doesn't have a second of offense against him, I think that he can be given a pass for not actually finishing the fight.
He was masterful in taking Hardy down, and comparisons to Jon Fitch from earlier in the night are unwarranted as GSP was constantly improving position and winning the battle every step of the way on the ground. He wasn't happy with himself for not finishing, but he'll be better than ever when he returns to action.
Frank Mir was not the man to test Shane Carwin
Frank Mir employed a terrible gameplan and didn't implement anything remotely resembling a challenge to Shane Carwin last night. Carwin was able to overpower him to the cage despite the added bulk that Mir added to his frame, and Carwin tagged him non-stop with short punches before Mir left himself open for the fight ending sequence that started with short uppercuts from Carwin.
The fight leaves the same questions that we had about Carwin coming into the fight. Mir pushed Carwin further into a fight than he had been before, but he didn't actually push the pace at all and in fact was bullied around the cage throughout the three and a half minutes the fight took place.
Mir's only hope to win this fight was to get it to the ground, as he wasn't going to be able to out-strike Carwin in the fight. He instead felt like staying on his feet and didn't attempt to get the fight to the ground.
With Carwin now set to face Brock Lesnar in July, we should finally have an answer to what Carwin can do when pushed on the ground and when he's not the bigger, bullying wrestler. These are things wondered about him heading into the Mir fight and they are questions that weren't answered. Still, that's what Carwin does. He looked as impressive as in any previous bout, and doing so with those questions still surrounding him was an even more impressive feat.
Dan Miragliotta shouldn't be reffing Title fights
Referee Dan Miragliotta had a rough performance at UFC 111. He was far too quick to respond to a restless New Jersey crowd and separated fighters actively working both on the cage in the clinch and on the ground, but the most egregious incident of referee ineptitude came in the Carwin-Mir fight.
Carwin had Mir just about out after the series of uppercuts he delivered to him and the subsequent punches he threw on the ground. Mir finally attempted to roll out and get to a better position but he got tagged again and went face down into the mat. Miragliotta needed to step in when Mir's hands were outstretched as he was in no position to defend the four to five more shots Mir took to the ear from the ridiculously powerful hands of Shane Carwin.
Miragliotta could have gotten Mir seriously injured, and allowed far too many unprotected blows to the head at the end of the fight. You can give him leeway for allowing Mir to attempt to recover after the initial flurry, but when Mir was left with his arms outstretched and not defending those final shots, and Miragliotta comes up and stands there watching while this is taking place, it's just unacceptable. If he can't handle the pressure of such a high profile fight he shouldn't be placed into those spots.
Bocek vs. Miller should have been the Fight of the Night
The great technical ground battle between Mark Bocek and Jim Miller should have been the "Fight of the Night" for this event. The sloppy back and forth brawl between Rodney Wallace and Jared Hamman was enjoyable to a point, but it wasn't nearly on the level of skill and ability showcased in the former fight.
The Wallace-Hamman fight simply didn't seem like a UFC level fight. Both fighters put everything they had into it and at times provided a fun fight, but the level of grappling and back and forth battling between Bocek and Miller was so much higher that it deserved the nod.
Jon Fitch may never get another Title shot
Jon Fitch wins fights. There's no doubt about that. But the way he's won his last four fights since losing to Georges St. Pierre has not inspired much fanfare, and he is the boring top control wrestler people have tried to peg St. Pierre as. Fans have already seen what he can provide against St. Pierre, so it doesn't make anyone want to see that fight again.
The one thing that might get him back to a shot is a fight with AKA teammate Josh Koscheck, but it's a fight the two refuse to make. UFC President Dana White called him out on that at the post fight press conference and said he must not want the Title shot that bad then. With others moving up the ranks, White will continue to pass him up and he may become the Yushin Okami of the welterweight division, where it doesn't matter how many fights he wins. He'll be stuck without a Title shot until he agrees to a fight with Fitch or loses, whichever comes first.
So overall, the event provided some very good action and an enjoyable night of fights. GSP is simply the dominant Champion we knew he was, and Hardy was simply not on his level on Saturday night. The other main thing to take from the card is that Shane Carwin and Brock Lesnar in July will be one hell of a major heavyweight fight after Carwin's destruction of Mir. The UFC's now got a few months to hype up Shane Carwin to the point where that UFC 116 event is one of the biggest the company has put on.
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Torch Editor Jamie Penick's detailed UFC 111 report with round by round results, star ratings and live analysis: [CLICK TO READ FULL ARTICLE]
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