UFC 130: Edgar vs. Maynard III

[JWGunslinger]

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Main Card

• Light Heavyweight Bout: Quinton Jackson vs. Matt Hamill
• Heavyweight Bout: Frank Mir vs. Roy Nelson
• Middleweight Bout: Brian Stann vs. Jorge Santiago
• Heavyweight Bout: Stefan Struve vs. Travis Browne
• Welterweight Bout: Thiago Alves vs. Rick Story

Preliminary Card (Spike TV)

• Bantamweight Bout: Miguel Torres vs. Demetrious Johnson
• Middleweight Bout: Kendall Grove vs. Tim Boetsch

Preliminary Card

• Lightweight Bout: Gleison Tibau vs. Rafaello Oliveira
• Bantamweight Bout: Renan Barao vs. Cole Escovedo
• Bantamweight Bout: Chris Cariaso vs. Michael McDonald

I know UFC 130 isnt for about a month but the wait inbetween 128 and 129 killed me so I need this to get me through the next month to 130. Lets hear what everyone thinks about the great matchups on this stacked card!

I would write a more detailed analysis but I just wrote it all out a minute ago and my laptop died so that zapped my writing energy.

Bart Palazewski vs Cody McKenzie
This will be Palazewski's first fight in the UFC since he came over after the WEC merger.While in the WEC he was on a 4 fight win streak including a win over the last lightweight champion of the WEC Anthony Pettis until he lost a split decision to Kamal Shalrous at the final WEC card.
McKenzie will be embarking on his third UFC outing since competing on the 12th season of The Ultimate Fighter. At the TUF 12 finale he defeated fellow cast member Aaron Wilkinson by Guillotine, bringing his MMA record to 12-0 with 11 by Guillotine. After that he faced crafty vet Yves Edwards at UFC Fight For The Troops 2 where he lost by rear naked choke after a spirited effort.
In this fight the strengths are very clear, Palazewski will enjoy a big advantage on the feet while McKenzie will be the better man on the ground. Due to the fact that all fights start on the feet, Bart has good takedown defense and McKenzie often stands when he shouldnt i'm going to have to say PALAZEWSKI BY TKO

Tim Boetsch vs Kendall Grove
This fight really does not excite me very much due to the fact that Tim Boetsch is in it. But Tim is on his second UFC run, so far he is 1-1. He is a cut and dry kickboxer and wrestler who holds notable wins over David Heath and Michael Patt.
Kendall Grove is the Ultimate Fighter season 3 winner and he will be looking to score a win here after recently losing a decision to former middleweight title challenger Demian Maia. Grove is very well rounded and I dont see him threatened really anywhere by Boetsch. Look for Grove to capitolize on Boetsch's weak game off his back and ground n pound for the win. GROVE BY TKO

Miguel Torres vs Demetrious Johnson
At one point in his career nobody thought Miguel Torres could not be defeated, he won the WEC Bantamweight title in his second fight in the promotion and went on to defend it successfully three times. He was then upset by Brian Bowles and defeated again by Joseph Benavidez. Since then he has won two straight fights including his UFC debut.
Johnson is a rising star on a three fight win streak including a major upset over japanese star Norifumi Yamamoto in his UFC debut. He has strong takedowns and a good top game which he will want to utilize to avoid Torres's strong stand up skills. Torres will most likely take this one but i'm going with the underdog. JOHNSON BY DECISION

Thiago Alves vs Rick Story
Can you say Fight of the Night? Rick Story is the ultimate underdog who continues to win fights he isnt supposed to. After losing his UFC debut to John Hathaway he has gone on a 5 fight win streak, a very impressive feat especially in a stacked division like 170. However he faces a very difficult task ahead in Thiago "Pitbull" Alves.
Alves in my opinion is the best pure muay thai practitioner in the welterweight division, 3rd to Shogun and Anderson Silva in MMA. He went on an impressive run through the welterweight's elite from 2006 to 2008, amassing a 7 fight win streak over big names like Karo Pasysian, Chris Lytle, former champ Matt Hughes and Josh Koscheck. After this run he hit a speedbump, losing two fights in a row to champion Georges St. Pierre and fellow contender Jon Fitch. Since then he has gone back to his winning ways, scoring a dominant win over John Howard. This seems to be the begining of another rise to the top for Pitbull and I believe his powerful technical Muay Thai will overwhelm Story's brawling style. ALVES BY DECISION

Brian Stann vs Jorge Santiago
This is the one fight on the card that will either have me throwing the remote at the tv or screaming for joy in the end. I am a huge Stann fan so my pick might be slighty biased, but I will try not to be. Brian Stann came into the UFC somewhat quietly for a former WEC champion coming in with a record of 6-1 with all first round finishes. He lost his debut by submission but then went on to win two fights including a fight against former WEC champ Steve Cantwell, avenging his only pre UFC loss. After this his weakness on the ground came up again when he had no answer for Phil Davis's wrestling and lost a decision. That fight was a major turning point for "All American" as he began improving all aspects of his game at Jackson's MMA Academy and made the drop to middleweight where he would be at less of a disadvantage. The move worked as he went to win a submission of the night against Mike Massenzio. Then he made the move that would skyrocket his career, he called out grizzled vet Chris Leben. Stann went into that fight as a heavy underdog and pulled off a major upset by scoring a tko in the first round.
Jorge Santiago also had a rocky start to his UFC career. He won his debut against Justin Levens by knockout but went on to get KO'd by Chris Leben and Alan Belcher. However his post UFC career was much different as he put together 11 wins with one loss, defeating notable names like Andrei Semenov, Jeremy Horn and Trevor Prangly. Also he won the Dream middleweight title and in his second defense won the fight of the year against Kazou Misaki.
This is going to be a very interesting fight, both are looking for success since reinventing themselves. Santiago definetly has more expeirience but Stann is very hungry and I see him fighting for the title in the near future. It could go either way but my honest pick is STANN BY KO

Travis Browne vs Stefan Struve
Browne made an impressive debut when he tko'd TUF vet James McSweeney. His next fight he managed to hang with heavyweight gatekeeper Cheick Kongo, he Drew with Kongo however he would have lost had his opponent not held the fence. He showed that he can deal with a legitimate heavyweight but he also showed a lack of cardio.
Struve a 5-2 UFC record but when he has a step up in competition he loses. He is not your typical heavyweight in that he is a towering 6'11 and weighs 253 lbs, and with this and his dutch kickboxing background he can really mess guys up.
In this fight I really like Struve as the skinny tall underdog and I believe he will use Browne's weak cardio to his advantage. STRUVE BY DECISION

Frank Mir vs Roy Nelson
Frank Mir is the former Heavyweight and former interim heavyweight champion. All but 2 of his professional fights have been in the UFC and he is known as one of the greatest heavyweight submission artists in history. After a loss to heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar and a knockout loss to Shane Carwin, Mir has put on over 20 lbs of muscle in order to survive against larger heavyweights. It gave him some trouble in his last fight with Mirko Cro Cop but he managed to finish him in the 3rd round.
Roy Nelson is the former IFL heavyweight champion and winner of season 10 of The Ultimate Fighter. Since coming off TUF he has won two knock out of the night's and his last fight and only UFC loss came by decision at the hands of Junior Dos Santos. Though he lost that fight he displayed alot of heart and a great chin. He has knock out power in his hands and his is an accomplished BJJ blackbelt under Renzo Graice who once defeated Mir in jiu jitsu competition.
This fight could go so many way it isnt funny, either man could win on the feet and on the ground. They both have the potential to knock the other out or submit the other. I will say that Frank is more technical on the feet but Roy has more KO power. The ground will definetly be a stalemate as both are world class blackbelts. However my only problem with Nelson is that he is not active enough on the feet. I see lots of punches that dont land, I see alot of clinching and I see MIR BY DECISION


Rampage Jackson vs Matt Hammil
I have to say this match up bothers me. First we were going to get a rematch that everyone wanted to see between Rampage and Rashad Evans, then Evans pulled out due to injury and was replaced by Thiago Silva but then Silva's urine tested positive for steroids and was pulled. Now the end result is what I see being a boring fight, atleast compared to what we were going to get. I say Rampage takes a decision and the only reason I dont say knock out is Hammil has a decent chin. RAMPAGE BY DECISION

Frankie Edgar vs Gray Maynard for the UFC Lightweight Championship
Frankie Edgar is the current UFC lightweight champion of the world and he never ceases to amaze me. He improves so much every single time he fights it's unreal. He came into the UFC with a record of 5-0 and a win over UFC contender Jim Miller. Since his UFC debut he has put together a record of 9-1-1, defeating such legends as BJ Penn and Sean Sherk with the only blemishes coming from a draw and a loss to #1 contender Gray Maynard.
Gray Maynard has certainly had a long road to the title, he has won 8 straight fights in the UFC with the only bad marks being a no conest where he slammed Rob Emerson into tapping due to broken ribs but also knocked himself out, and the draw to Frankie.
In their first fight Gray dominated a younger more "green" Edgar, in their second meeting it was a much closer contest. If gray hadnt spent an entire round head hunting he would have won that fight, but because he did Frankie gets another shot at beating him. Frankie doesnt have the same finishing power as Gray but he has the flashy stand up that judges love.The first was a loss, the second was a draw so I say unless Gray finishes him it is going to be EDGAR BY DECISION

 

[ArcherCC]

First off, nice post and analyst of the future fights. I agree with most of it, except for a few points.

1) Rampage Vs Hamil. I think this has the potential to be a great fight, The Hammer is a freakishly strong kid, and has amazing wrestling. Combine that with Rampage who loves to stand and bang, and I believe it leads to an interesting matchup. I do believe it to be The Hammer via TKO.

2) I think Skyscraper is going to finish this fight, he has shown recently that his GnP is devastating, and if he can learn to use his size, this could go badly for Travis.

 

[JWGunslinger]

Thank you Archer I appriciate the good input very much.

1) On Rampage vs Hammil I agree that he is an exellent wrestler and super strong but Rampage knows that took and because of that I believe he will be wary and not throw like he would against someone like Thiago Silva. So because of that I see them both being very cautious, you have to remember Rampage has exellent takedown defense(he stopped Dan Henderson's, an Olympic wrestler) and alot of clinch work.

2) I agree that Struve has improved alot and I like him alot, but Browne is a tough dude. You dont go to a decision with Cheick Kongo if you're soft. Also his ground and pound that was impressive was against a not so impressive fighter in Sean McCorkle.

 

[ArcherCC]

1) Rampage Vs hammer is one I have wanted to see for a while. If Rampage can keep Matt at range, he could win via TKO\KO, but if Matt can grab Rampage, god we have seen him bend guys in half one handed while upper cutting them so that could be a problem for Rampage. Just depends on a lot of factors, no matter who wins, I will be happy, I like both the guys so just yea.

2) That is a good point Struve did GnP out Sean, who yea just umm yea he has never impressed me, and Travis is alot better then Sean. But we defiantly can not dismiss Struve (not that you are, just saying is all), yea he has 4 losses, but the first was his second fight, and 2 others are JDS who has only lost once, and stopped everyone but Roy Nelson, and Struve's other loss is to the just mentioned Roy nelson, who god i hate, but he is a good fighter. Plus ya factor in Struve is only 23 and already 2-4 he is gonna be a good challenge of Travis.

(Side note All props to Travis for surviving 3 with the king o'nut shot Kongo.)

 

[Fizzy]

Should be a good card. I won't buy it, but I will watch it like I watch every card. I'll briefly go over the fights but will wait until the official thread to go in depth.

Hopefully Struve wins. I really like the guy and think he is one of the more exciting fighters in the sport. He always gets his ass kicked but comes back in nearly every fight. He is young, but his style does not make for a good, long career. Hopefully he shows some fucking defense for once and gives us another great performance.

Skipping up to the next interesting fight, I hope Torres wins. I want him to start making his way up to another title shot because he is one of my top three favorite BW's. It's just bias on why I think he will win. I'll post a better reason later in the month.

Stann should KO Stann, and Alves should KO Story. Alves is arguably the best striker at WW and is always exciting. He has great TDD, and I have become a fan of the guy. Not a fan of Story so I really hope Alves wins this.

Rooting for Nelson, vs Mir because I fucking hate Mir. I am just hoping Mir gets tapped because I hate how overhyped his BJJ is. I see Page beating Hamill. Hamil's biggest strength is his wrestling and while Page has shown he is susceptible to being held up against the cage for extended periods of time, I don't think Hamil will be able to get inside Page's boxing. I see him winning by either KO or decision.

The main event I want Faber to win, but I won't be mad if Cruz wins. I'm a huge Faber fan and I think he is a great guy for the sport to have. Cruz is also a great guy and a very good fighter. It's a good contrast in styles and right now I don't know who will actually win.

 

[JWGunslinger]

1) Yes he could win by TKO or KO, he certainly has the power. I'm just saying that both men are going to be wary of the other's strengths and for that reason I believe that it wont be an all out war, i think both are going to fight intelligently and tentativly. Matt has amazing strength when it comes to grappling but Rampage is one of the strongest men is the division and he punches harder than any other Light Heavyweight. I agree there are many factors and anything could happen, I personally hope there will be a finish but I believe it will go to a decision because Rampage know's Hammil is no push over and Hammil has a great chin. I also like both guys and as long as it's a good fight i'll be happy.

2) I would not dimiss Struve, I did when he fought Paul Buentello and I told myself I never would again. His losses are only to top guys, and he's a young guy with potential(and it's not like im saying he'll lose) but Travis is a tough fight. I believe he will win a tough standup war, it'll be a true Struve fight with plenty of blood and he'll come out with his hand raised.

 

[Cookie]

Holy fucking SHIT I am amped for Edgar/Maynard III. Their last fight was incredible and the moment it ended I was on board for the final installment of this trilogy. I think it's hilarious how nobody really gave a fuck about their last encounter and now this one is one of the most hyped upcoming fights. I don't think anybody expected that to happen yet here we are...

I really don't think Gray will have as good of an opportunity to beat Frankie as he did in the first round of their last fight so I'm really hoping that Edgar pulls out the win, probably by decision. I'm pulling for him 100%. His comeback from the first round of the last fight was enough to make me a big fan of his. I only wish I had hopped on the bandwagon sooner. I don't know if this fight can live up to their second encounter because that was simply epic but we'll soon find out. Plus it's always cool to see how people who have already fought each other game plan and adapt to fighting that same person again. There's still a score to be settled so the stakes are super high. It's for a title and ultimate bragging rights. Both guys will be bringing it 150% and both have a never say die attitude so I'm sure it'll be a war.

The rest of the card is pretty legit... none of the fights seem to fill the obligatory "pee break" spot. I'm hoping to see Rampage pick up a win. And I'm excited to see Thiago Alves fight again although it sucks he isn't on the main card. At least it'll be shown on Spike. He looked great in his last fight and I'm hoping to see him dominate.

 

[INDYjon22]

An undisclosed injury has forced “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 12 quarterfinalist Cody McKenzie to withdraw from his scheduled lightweight duel with Bart Palaszewski at UFC 130 on May 28 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. American Top Team’s Gleison Tibau was named as his replacement.

Based in Coconut Creek, Fla., Tibau last competed at UFC 128 in March, when he took a split decision from Kurt Pellegrino at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. The hulking 27-year-old Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt has delivered more than half (12) of his 22 professional wins by knockout, technical knockout or submission. Tibau owns an 8-5 mark inside the Octagon.

Palaszewski will enter his promotional debut with wins in four of his past five fights. The 27-year-old Pole last fought at WEC 53 in December, when he dropped a split decision to Kamal Shalorus at the Jobing.com Arena in Glendale, Ariz. A protégé of former WEC featherweight title contender Jeff Curran, Palaszewski has secured 27 of his 35 career victories by knockout, technical knockout or submission. Wins over WEC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis, one-time International Fight League lightweight titleholder Ryan Schultz and “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 12 alum Kyle Watson anchor his resume.

A rematch pairing lightweight champion Frankie Edgar with unbeaten challenger Gray Maynard will headline UFC 130. The two world-ranked fighters fought to a draw at UFC 125 on New Year’s Day. In addition, UFC 130 will also feature a showdown pitting one-time light heavyweight king Quinton “Rampage” Jackson against “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 3 semifinalist Matt Hamill and a heavyweight duel matching former champion Frank Mir with “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 10 winner Roy Nelson.

Some unfortunate injury news for UFC 130. I like McKenzie, he has a sick guillotine choke, but I love Gleison Tibau and can't wait to see him fight. He is just about as big as you can get and still make the 155 weight class and poses a challenge to just about anyone in the division. I have really been pulling for him to get on some sort of streak and make a run at the belt and as of late he has looked like he may be ready. He only has two loses since 2009 and those were to some of the other best Lightweights in the UFC right now, Melvin Guillard and Jim Miller. Hopefully, Tibau will look good and get a bump up in competition but Bart shouldn't be looked past. Bart is a very tough guy who could win this fight, no doubt about it. Should be a fun little scrap to watch.

 

[JWGunslinger]

I always have to do a double take when I see Tibau and remind myself that yes he is a lightweight, and remember to thank him for giving Caol Uno his walkin papers. I like his chances in this fight, Palazewski may be a scrapper with good KO power I know that Tibau takes him to the ground that he can control the fight from there. It's difficult for me because I really do like all these guys, i'm upset that Cody had to pull out because I love watching him fight. At at the same time i'm excited to see Gleison get back in there, and I like Palazewski too but unless he clips GT goin in it's going to be all Tibau. The only problem i've got is deciding whether it's going to be a dec or sub for GT.....I say TIBAU BY SUBMISSION

 

[Turd Ferguson]

Edgar vs. Maynard is off.

Injuries have sidelined both Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard, forcing the cancellation of UFC 130's main event fight, MMA Fighting has learned.

UFC president Dana White confirmed to MMA Fighting that both fighters are out.

According to sources with knowledge of the situation, Edgar had the more serious injury of the two, suffering two broken ribs during training, while Maynard suffered a knee injury.

The bout would have been the last of the trilogy. Maynard won the first bout in April 2008 in a unanimous decision. In January, the rematch ended in an all-time classic, with Maynard nearly knocking out the champion in the first round before Edgar rebounded with a gutsy performance to force a five-round draw.

Maynard-Edgar III is likely to happen in the future, but there is no timetable yet for its scheduling.

With no replacement fight, Quinton Jackson vs. Matt Hamill will be promoted to the main event, while Frank Mir vs. Roy Nelson is the co-main event.

UFC 130 takes place on May 28 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas

Goddammit... I was really looking forward to this fight. Edgar vs. Maynard II, which I just re-watched over the weekend, was such an awesome fight and I was really interested in seeing how the third fight would go, how they would approach the fight this time, etc.

Anthony Pettis is never going to get that title shot at this point.

Dana better pray Rampage wins. Hamill got murdered by Jones which pretty much makes him irrelevant in the title picture, and if he beats Rampage, that eliminates another top contender.

 

[INDYjon22]

It really does suck that both Edgar and Maynard had to pull out with the fight just a few weeks away. I was pretty excited for the third fight, especially seeing as I along with others was so surprised with how good the second fight ended up being. Alas it wasn't meant to be. I wish both guys a speedy recovery so that we can finally see the trilogy come to a conclusion and maybe see another excellent fight between both guys again.

That said, the card still looks amazing on paper. Sure, Rampage vs. Hamill isn't exactly a great main event but it should be a solid fight. Like Guy said, Dana really has to be hoping that Rampage comes out victorious though. Hamill is still a good 2 or 3 fights away from any sort of title shot and his loss (I mean his DQ win) to Jones really does not help his cause seeing as Jones made him look awful in their fight. If Hamill does defeat Rampage then the title picture will take a pretty big hit and will probably result in the winner of Shogun/Griffin II getting the possible push to a title shot. It'll be interesting to watch, that's for sure.

 

[Cookie]

NO!

I was looking so forward to this fight and it was pretty much the only reason I was going to buy the PPV. As disappointed as I am that the 130 card doesn't include Edgar/Maynard III anymore, I'd much rather see them both fight when they're as healthy as possible and not plagued by injuries. It's also a shame that it's so close to the actual event so we get a non-ME worthy match being promoted to the main event instead of having enough time to try and fill the spot with something else. All I can say is... Rampage better win.

 

[JWGunslinger]

It always hurts a card to lose the main event, but when the main event is expected to be the best fight of the night, is the final fight of an epic trilogy and their last fight was a fight of the year candidate in January then it hurts. This hurts the fans, it hurts the fighters, it hurts the company and it hurts the PPV buys. I know plenty of people who were going to buy 130 but because Edgar-Maynard 3 is off the card there is no chance in hell they are buying.

In my personal opinion(which I know alot of people will disagree with) Rampage-Hamill being pushed up to the main event is turning fans off just as mucha as losing Edgar vs Maynard. I hope this fight delivers beyond my expectations because I like both of them, but I cant help but see this fight being boring as hell. I know it was the easiest thing to do and I know that trying to find another fight with a fews weeks notice for a main event of a pay per view of all things would be insane. However I wish that Dana and Joe would throw another fight in there, or if not giving us a new main event then throwing another exciting fight on the main card. The perfect fight to fill that slot IMO is Anthony Pettis vs Clay Guida. There is no way that fight should be headlining a frickin TUF finale, not only is it going to deliver but it is also a very important fight for the lightweight division. I would love nothing more than to get that fight on the 130 card to spruce it up and give the fans something good to focus on other than the fact that they're losing an epic main event for a snoozer.

 

[JWGunslinger]

The injury bug continues to decimate UFC 130. Less than two weeks after Cody McKenzie was forced to pull out of a fight with Bart Palaszewski, it's now Bartimus that's being forced out himself. Original late replacement Gleison Tibau will now face a man who's making his return to the UFC after four straight wins back in Brazil, Rafaello "Tractor" Oliveira. The change was confirmed by the UFC's webpage today:

Bart Palaszewski is out of his UFC 130 bout with Gleison Tibau due to injury, said Dana White today. Coming off a four-fight win streak, Rafaello "Tractor" Oliveira has verbally agreed to make his UFC return and face Tibau in a lightweight battle of Brazilian-born BJJ black belts.

Oliveira went 1-2 in his original UFC run, with a decision win over John Gunderson sandwiched by decision losses to Nik Lentz and Andre Winner. Olivera vs. Tibau is likely to be placed on the facebook portion of the telecast, where the Palaszewski/Tibau fight was scheduled to be shown.

Who else is going to get injured before 130?
I'm going to have to go with Gleison on this one, he is a vet in the UFC now and is going to overpower Oliveira. I respect Oliveira but his last UFC run showed us that he's talented but once he gets to the big stage he loses his flair. Plus I am a fan of Tibau and I think he will take Rafaello down at will and dominate him to a decision or possibly score a TKO. I would have preferred Tibau-Palazewski but this fight will still(hopefully) be enjoyable.

 

[X]

Decent show tonight for the most part. The prelims were fun (Michael McDonald continues to impress) and I wasn't ever really bored with the fights tonight, apart from the end of the main event.

Rampage handled Hammill easily. Hammill was just wild and reckless and wound up telegraphing most of his strike attempts while Rampage just sat back all cool and calm while meticulously wearing him down. Kind of a boring fight though, and the fans let 'em know it.

Glad Mir beat Big Country. Nelson’s conditioning is just too shit for him to ever a be real threat in the UFC in my eyes. Mir totally outclassed him at every corner tonight.

Brian Stann looked awesome as well, he was all kinds of fired up and looked like a man on a mission. Probably had the fight of the night in my eyes.

Otherwise, not much of a show. Oh well, UFC did the best with the hand they were dealt on this one, not a bad show just not a very good one.

131 should blow this out of the water.

 

[Uncle Chester]

Some pretty enjoyable fights on the main card. Stann and Santiago was a nice fight with a great knockout and Browne killing Struve ws so fucking brutal. Good show nothing special however.

 

[Fizzy]

Well, I got around to watching the show and I was throughly impressed with it considering how the card was plagued with injuries. You guys say it wasn't special but I really thought for what the UFC was dealt, the card was very good. The UFC got what they wanted in Rampage beating Hammil and looking very good while doing so. Now Rampage is another challenger for Jones. Hammil didn't lose anything because he lost to a top 5 LHW. Win-win fight here.

Stann is looking like an actual threat to the MW division. He's a likable, well spoken guy who people will love. Santiago was supposed to be miles ahead of Stann both on the feet and on the ground and Stann looked great. Santiago is a very technical striker with a very good ground game, so Stann got a huge win there. Story can now be considered a top WW. For the longest time the UFC WW division's top 3 were GSP, Fitch, and Alves so it was a huge win for Story and it's nice to see a new face making waves in the division.

Overall, it may not have been the most exciting show ever but it was far from bad when you consider the shitty cards the UFC was dealt. I really enjoyed it and it was a great start for the stacked ass summer.

 

[Mekanik Kommandoh]

To mirror what Fizzy said, pretty decent show given the multiple hits it took.

A lot of people are saying that Rampage looked uninspired and though he didn't get a knock out, he still thoroughly dominated Hammil. Supposedly, he did it with a fractured hand, which is probably why he was more cautious. I thought it was a pretty good fight over all; not amazing, but seeing Rampage stuff takedown after takedown and check leg kicks (!) regularly was a sight to see. I thought the victory was good enough for him to get a shot at Jones. And Hammil shouldn't feel too badly about the loss. He was just outclassed and he had serous cajones to take the fight to begin with.

I've never had a huge problem with Nelson's weight, but I think it really hindered him last night. He was out of breath after the first damn round. I kind of like Mir, so it was nice to see a dominating victory out of him (that judo throw was amazing), but he won't beat anyone vying for a title currently. I think the winner of Big Nog/Shaub would be a suitable next opponent. And Nelson, eh, I really have no idea.

Awesome knock out by Browne. I'm a big Thiago Alves fan, but he totally screwed himself over last night by not moving forward and constantly allowing Story to clinch him on the cage and dictate the fight. If he would have been as aggressive as he was in round 3 in the first two rounds, he would have won rather handily. Oh well. It'll be interesting to see how well Story can handle himself in a fight with another top welterweight. Just don't expect me to cheer for him.

I love me some Brian Stann. He's the perfect clean cut American hero type with the added bonus of not being a huge dick. I'm not the most patriotic guy in the world, but after the win over Leben, I've found it impossible to not cheer for him. Just an incredible win.

I caught the Torres/Mighty Mouse fight and personally thought Torres got robbed. Yes, he was on his back for a lot of the fight, but he was actually doing something while he was there. It was a great performance from him and an absolute clinic showing how to fight off your back. But, alas, the judges just saw that Mighty Mouse was on top of him and gave him the fight. I mean, yeah, it was competitive, but still a stupid ass decision. This is coming from someone that doesn't even care about the bantamweight division...

In any case, definitely don't regret watching this one. Not a great card, but certainly serviceable given the circumstances surrounding it.