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UFC 178 lived up to expectations and then some, with big wins from Dominick Cruz, Cat Zingano, Conor McGregor, and Donald Cerrone. Add in another dominant title win for Mighty Mouse, and a shocking, yet controversial, win for Yoel Romero. What were your overall reactions to how Saturday's card played out, and what was your favorite standout moment from the event?
RICH HANSEN, MMATORCH COLUMNIST
My favorite moment from UFC 178 actually hasn't happened. For the first time since March, when my DirecTV bill comes and is $60 higher than usual, I'm looking forward to not kicking myself in the ass for being stoopid enough to keep ordering $60 UFC PPVs. Sorry. UFC 178 was damn close to perfect, so I think I can turn off the cynical bastard spout for a few minutes.
My favorite moments were the emotions that were conveyed from Cat Zingano and Dominick Cruz. My Lord; with all of the hell those two fighters have gone through, to see the pure joy on their faces and in their voices in the aftermath of their victories... I mean, what can you say? Just wow. It's so hard to connect to so many drug abusing, lying, cheating, disingenuous, blank canvas fighters that permeate the smart, that when you get not just one but two genuine moments like that... It's moments like that that make people love sport, regardless of what sport. It's simple; sell the fighter, not the brand. Provide great people with great stories, and people will come. It's so simple.
Sure, "Mighty Mouse" Johnson is the best fighter in the world, but his refusal to put himself out there keeps people from even trying to care. Conor McGregor might be a phenom, might not be. But people are connecting with the fad, not the man. After years of being burnt by Chael Sonnen, people are going to be reluctant to fall in love with McGregor. They might love the ride, but the man, not so quick. People love to watch Cowboy fight, and they certainly love his fights, but there isn't that connection there. Maybe if he lets people in beyond the whole, "I like Budweiser, wakeboarding, and fighting every month," thing then yeah, he could elevate himself to a higher plane of existence as well. But for me, knowledgeable, passionate, jaded MMA Guy, I want real moments. Zingano and Cruz provided the two best moments of the year, and they did it on the same card, the best event of the year, UFC 178.
FRANK HYDEN, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR
I thought UFC 178 was fantastic. Everything delivered, and it was a night to remember for the UFC. My favorite moment is a tie between Demetrious Johnson dominating Chris Cariaso, and Dominick Cruz returning from injury looking better than ever against Takeya Mizugaki. I thought Johnson would be more cautious and fight a safe fight, but he came out and looked fantastic. Cruz returning the way he did was a feel-good moment for a guy who battled through severe injuries. That was awesome to see.
BRAD WALKER, MMATORCH COLUMNIST
The card was a ton of fun to watch, and my standout moment is the Yoel Romero vs. the stool incident. It's the single most negative thing on the card, but it was blatant and unduly favoring a chance to recover for Romero. Kennedy was in the center of the cage ready to go, and Romero and his corner played a little game of "oops we forgot the stool... and to get him off it" it was a blatant violation of sportsmanship, and I'm sure rules as well. Not that Kennedy was any better for the fingers in the glove moment just slightly before that happened. It was still a fun fight to watch with a crazy ending. But Stoolgate (it sounds filthy) will live on.
TOM STRONG, MMATORCH UK CONTRIBUTOR
It's been a while, but finally we had a stacked card on Saturday night which delivered on all fronts. They were quite a few stand out moments for me on the card, none more so than the return of Dominick Cruz. I don't confess to be his biggest fan, but after three years out of the Octagon due to injuries you couldn't help but get behind him.
Would he suffer from ring rust? Would he still be the same fighter that last fought in the Octagon almost three years ago? Would his knee hold up?
Takeya Mizugaki was no token gesture fight for Dominick Cruz on his return fight. Mizugaki was ranked #5 in the bantamweight division, and was riding a five fight winning streak before they entered the Octagon.
Though, despite all the reservations and concerns, Cruz made it look like he'd never been away, dismantling Mizugaki in just over one minute via KO. His footwork and speed looked as good as ever, and his finishing of Mizugaki has rightly given him a shot at his own title!
It was also great to see Cat Zingano return to the Octagon after her personal troubles away from the sport, with a very good win over Amanda Nunes.
On the flip side, there is no place in the sport for people like Yoel Romero and for what he and his team did on Saturday night. It's cheating, pure and simple. He clearly wasn't fit enough to carry on at the start of the third round, and gave himself precious seconds refusing to get off his stool and having vaseline wiped from his face. Bad call from an experienced ref like Big John who called it wrong in this instance. I'm no fan of Tim Kennedy, though I feel he's been cheated out of a victory!
CASH NORMAN, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR
My overall reaction was it was a great card. It would have been an outstanding card had Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier been participants. I was pleasantly surprised Dominick Cruz finished Takeya Mizugaki. While I look forward to the fight between T.J. Dillashaw and him, I don't ever want him to be champion again. Speaking about Cruz's movement and agility is much better than actually watching him utilize it. I think Cruz is a great guy, very articulate and analytical, but don't see him propelling the division forward, and still don't like watching him fight.
I love watching Yoel Romero fight, but since the event I have been arguing about glovegate and stoolgate nonstop. Tim Kennedy held Romero's gloves, which led him to land two uppercuts to stun him, thus precipitating stoolgate. Until that illegal tactic, Tim Kennedy was not in that fight. As someone who has been such an ardent adversary of PED cheats, I find it a bit hypocritical of Kennedy to cry about an incident how Romero cheated him out of a victory.
I had a chance to watch some of Conor McGregor's fights prior to coming into the UFC, and felt like he could be special. Let's be honest, McGregor had Dustin Poirier beat before they even stepped inside the Octagon, you could tell from the UFC Embedded vlogs that McGregor was already deep inside Poirier's head.
Cat Zingano's resiliency is absolutely amazing, but I have a hard time picturing her being able to apply those same tactics to Ronda Rousey. Although, I admire her toughness and grit, I can't see her making it out of the first round.
By far my favorite standout moment was the matchup between Cowboy Cerrone and Eddie Alvarez. I have always personally felt Alvarez would have a hard time matching up with fighters in the top five of the UFC lightweight division, and it turns out my feelings were correct. Although I would have liked to see Cerrone continue to hobble Alvarez and possibly earn a TKO victory rather than decison, I'm satisfied with his victory nonetheless.
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