UFC 102 Thoughts

Wow. Now that's how you round out a great month in the sport. Not a single title fight was on the card for UFC 102, but some definitely highlight reel action took place. More importantly, the dominoes were set up for future potential contenders in a couple of key weight classes. Of all the events this month, this PPV was by far the strongest, with an impressive collection of knockouts, submissions and all-out wars.

Onto my thoughts:

The Truth Hurts. Brandon Vera looked OK in his decision victory against Krzysztof "Spell Check Nightmare" Soszynski. But both guys just seemed very timid and gun-shy. Soszynski has recently stated that he's only just begun to get the mental aspect of MMA, and I think the pressure of A) being on a UFC live PPV card for the first time, and B) going up against a marquee name like Brandon Vera kept him from pulling the trigger. Then again, Vera didn't exactly blow any minds here. Still, he notches another win and looks to perhaps wrest the gatekeeper spot from Keith Jardine. (more on that later)

Great Expectations. My vote for KO of the year just changed from Dan Henderson's win over Michael Bisping at UFC 100 to Nate Marquardt making Demian Maia go airborne in 21 seconds. Damn. That was as beautifully timed a punch as I've ever seen, and major credit to Marquardt for holding back on some unnecessary ground n' pound after seeing Maia nearly in the fetal position. For Maia, he has little to be ashamed of in losing to a Top 5 middleweight, especially one who's already danced with the Spider. Marquardt lived up to his nickname, and Maia suffered an inevitable loss to a top contender. Both shall fight on.

What a Rosholt! Jake Rosholt looked great in his win against Chris Leben, showing vast improvement since his last outing. It was a helluva first win in the Octagon, and a very slick use of the arm triangle. Leben looked very rusty to me, in spite of the hometown crowd having his back. I'd guess the nine month layoff was too much time off for him, because he just didn't look as sharp as he's proven himself to be in past fights. It's a hard loss for "the Crippler," as it sends him further down the middleweight ladder with a second consecutive loss. As for Rosholt, he nabs a win against a name, and becomes slightly more visible in a sea of would-be contenders.

Broken Record, Shattered Jaw. God. Damn. Todd Duffee came off with a dominating win if ever I saw one... Tim Hague may not be in the upper echelon of heavyweights, but he's no slouch, either. That said, he was no match for Duffee's Shane Carwin impression. A new UFC record for fastest win is set, topping Don Frye's 1996 debut all the way back at UFC frickin' 8. It's still too early to say Duffee's a can't-miss prospect, but we'll sure be paying more attention to him moving forward.

Breaking the Cycle. This was probably the most even split in terms of who could win the entire card, but I had a feeling Thiago Silva would notch a KO. His style is much more aggressive than the very meticulous Keith Jardine, and I suspected he'd be looking to make a statement. It puts Silva back in contention talks, considering his only loss thus far has been to a top pound-for-pound fighter, who also happens to be the division champion. As for Jardine, I suspect he'll lose his title of "gatekeeper," but not his job. Dana White likes him for some reason, so he'll always be around. But now that he's had some time to face some top tier talent that hasn't been simmering in development (Forrest Griffin) or starting the downward slope of a career (Chuck Liddell), I think it's clear he won't be the stud some people claim he can be.

Tough break... I feel for Ed Herman, he was working hard in his fight against a very sharp Aaron Simpson, and was at least defending intelligently. But a long layoff is in his cards following his knee injury. as for Aaron Simpson, he finds himself slowly climbing up the ranks following a very impressive looking performance.

Worth the Wait. What more need be said? Calling that an entertaining battle would be a gross understatement. This may have been the only highly touted fight in the month of August to totally live up to the hype. Nogueira looked great. Two key quotes of the night were, "This looks like the Minotauro Nogueira of old," and "Most people feel the Frank Mir fight was an aberration." Both are pretty accurate. While Nogueira was dominant, it was far from an easy win. Couture looked good with his traditional dirty boxing technique, and his submission defense and escapes looked outstanding. He should have been submitted on at least two occasions (that D'Arce Choke looked nasty), but his tenacity against such a skilled Jiu-Jitsu fighter was truly impressive. Having been put in some of those holds, I know how hard they are to escape. Damn. That's years of training, that's all I can say. Nogueira looked very sharp, though. I was amazed how easily he swept Couture into the mount in the second, and I gave him all three rounds. Great, great fight.

Overall, this was a very strong card, and I went 3 for 5 in my main card predictions. This makes my average for the card 0.600, and 0.500 overall since UFC 101.

PTN, Minutiae (contender edition)...

Stormin' the gates. With Jardine's W-L-W-L pattern finally broken, he will probably no longer be the gatekeeper in the division. I could see a rematch with Forrest Griffin in the cards, but he's dreaming if he thinks he'll ever be a serious contender. As for Thiago, he's probably one more win away from title consideration. A win over the loser of Rashad/Rampage might make sense for him. It'd also make for a great slugfest.

Navigating the Web. Nate Marquardt's win has put him in the mix for a rematch with Anderson Silva, and deservedly so. He's grown tremendously as a fighter since his last title shot, and is easily the number two middleweight in UFC right now, if not in the world. Of course, Dan Henderson has also asserted himself as a potential fight for Silva, and has stated if he he's denied the shot, he's likely to move up to light heavyweight. He's also none too interested in the prospect of a fight with Marquardt to determine who gets the shot. As for Silva, he has expressed zero interest in both fighters as he's beaten both, and wants a solid challenge. I guess he doesn't realize that a rematch with either may not necessarily produce the same result as his second encounter with Rich Franklin, but it's hard to convince him otherwise. That said, both Henderson and Marquardt are deserving enough, and would produce solid challenges. Ultimately, the final decision will rest with Silva. Joe, not Anderson.

Moving on up. Minotauro Nogueira silenced whatever smattering of criticisms lingered after his fight with Frank Mir, and like Thiago Silva, is probably a fight away from a title shot. As for who that fight would be with, that's tricky. I could see him taking on the winner of the Dos Santos/Cro Cop fight. That's as sensible of a setup fight I could think of, short of a Mir rematch. Still, he's just a few rungs away from big Brock. If Brock can best Carwin, that is...

And moving back down. Following the news that Randy Couture signed a new six-fight deal with UFC, Couture announced his intention to move back down to light heavyweight. Short of retirement, this is the smartest thing he could do at this point, because he is probably at the point in his career where the heavyweight division is simply too big for him. At 220 lbs., he's a very small heavyweight compared to the Lesnars and Carwins of the world. But that said, he is about to re-enter the most competitive of all UFC's weight classes. I can't see him beating Lyoto Machida anymore than I could see him beating Anderson Silva, a "dream match" he's proposed. There's no point in a fourth fight with Chuck Liddell (should he return), but perhaps a potential fight with protege Forrest Griffin could generate some interest and excitement. I'd also love to see Randy take on Dan Henderson at 205. Hendo was, in a sense, Pride's version of Couture during its heyday, and I could see that being a phenomenal challenge for both men.

A lot of ramifications came out of this card, more so than any other this busy, busy month. Contenders have been born, and there seems to be an ongoing changing of the guard in some sense. The ramifications of this and other events over the last sixty days are leading us into what may be the most important year in the history of the sport.