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A fairly enthusiastic thumbs up. I'm happy for the Australian fans that they not only got their first UFC show, but also that it was enough of a success that Dana White has already claimed they'll be coming back annually. Everything was passable (Cro Cop taking The Hippo to the woodshed, Keith Jardine-Ryan Bader before the KO finish) to great (Joe Stevenson-George Sotiropoulos's fifteen minutes of grappling bliss, Cain Velasquez announcing with his fists that Australia and (maybe) the UFC Heavyweight Division are now "his house"), and this was the last holding-pattern show before the main courses start with UFC 111.
Cain Velasquez wasn't the only fighter to stamp his ticket to contender-ville. Ryan Bader, Sotiropoulos, and Wanderlei Silva may have all announced themselves as new top-10 fighters in their respective weight-classes (at least within the UFC). Chris Lytle picked up an "...of the Night" bonus and Stephan Bonnar fought hard in a losing effort. Some things never change.
Cro Cop did exactly what he needed to do, which was not lose. I'd still like to see a fight with Ben Rothwell, and if Mirko can get past Big Ben, I sure wouldn't mind seeing Cro Cop vs. Big Nog in the Octagon. Granted, neither fighter is likely to ever come close to a title shot again, but nostalgia=money in MMA. Might as well give us that fight before it's too late.
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LARAMEY LEET, MMATORCH COLUMNIST (9.0)
UFC 110 was a great card all together. From the prelims to the main card, it was great. The crowd interacted with every fight (intelligently). UFC 110 was unmissable for any MMA fan even though the card only had nine fights total.
I really wish that Dana White would have put the prelims on Spike this weekend. The prelims were packed with action. From Chris Lytle's Sub of the Night to Stephan Bonnar and Kyryzstof Sozynski's war the prelims had tons of action.
Mirko Cro Cop got back in the winning column (even though his opponent did not have half the talent as him). Keith Jardine is once again TKO'd in the Octagon and is now 6-6 in the UFC. Ryan Bader is still undefeated and put on a great fight against Jardine.
Joe Stevenson and George Sotiropoulos put on a grapplers masterpiece with George dominatting in every aspect of the fight, winning them the Fight of the Night. And who was not on the edge of their seat waiting for Wanderlie Silva to catch Michael Bisping with a flurry! It seemed Silva caught him with something at the end of every round.
And my favorite fight of the night was Cain Velasquez vs Antonio Nogueira. Cain's hype was completely real and his KO of Nog won him the Knockout of the Night and probably a title shot in the summer.
With Cain and Sotiropoulos dominating in their fights, they will be thrown into the title mix. UFC 110 lived up to all the hype and was an incredible card. We only missed two fights on the entire card and even those were great fights.
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ADAM SCHWARTZBARD, MMATORCH COLUMNIST (7.5)
I thought overall UFC 110 was a decent card. I really enjoyed the Bader-Jardine fight, I was extremely impressed with Bader and I think he proved he is ready for a major step up in the Light Heavyweight Division. The fact that he was able to finish the fight was very important, and I look forward to watching his next fight. I was also very impressed with Sotiropoulos, I did not expect him to dominate the way he did and get a huge victory in front of his countrymen. I am not sure what to think of Joe Daddy. His days of being relevant in the Lightweight Division seem to be behind him.
As for the two main events, the Silva fight went pretty much as I expected but without the knockout by Silva. I thought he looked good at 185, but by the end of the fight all I could think about was how many times Rogan brought up the improved breathing in his nose. I get it, and it definitely made a difference, I just thought it was blown way out of proportion.
What could I say about Velasquez? The man is a beast and he has thrust himself into championship contention. I picked Big Nog to win by submission, but this night belonged to Cain. I think it would benefit the UFC to give him the title shot versus Brock and have the winner of the Mir-Carwin fight the winner of that fight. I think that is the best way for the UFC to capitalize on a Heavyweight Division that is completely stacked right now.
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JASON AMADI, MMATORCH COLUMNIST (7.0)
Solid night of fights. This would have been an even more impressive night of fights had Cro Cop been able to take on Ben Rothwell as originally planned. Instead, we had to sit through a one-sided conservative beating by Cro Cop.
The only fight that kind of dragged a bit was Ryan Bader vs. Keith Jardine. That fight looked as if Bader and Jardine had an agreement for each fighter to throw one flurry and then circle off. Bader's KO of Jardine was impressive, but it was only an average performance by Bader before the finish.
Very impressive performances turned in by Cain Valasquez and George Sotiropoulos. Both are now firmly in title contention for their respective weight divisions, but obviously more so Valasquez.
Sotiropoulos has to be considered one of the most lethal ground fighters in the UFC, and I expect him to be thrown a serious contender like Sean Sherk or Tyson Griffin next.
Cain Valasqez has arrived, plain and simple. This was his breakout performance, and he destroyed Nogueira in impressive fashion. At this point I think a fight between Valasquez and Brock Lesnar is more interesting than Lesnar potentially taking on Frank Mir for the third time in six fights or a still unproven Shane Carwin.
I recommend this card to anyone who didn't see it last night.
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