ufc 90 opinion
I honestly felt that Anderson Silva was simply playing around with Patrick Cote. It seemed that when the third round started that Silva was going to turn it on, but who really knows? I cannot tell if Silva was showboating or just egging Cote to make some sort of mistake, but I do feel that Silva was overdoing it just a little because I have to wonder if it was strategy or showboating? Many of my friends thought that Anderson didn't want another fight to end so soon, and that is why he was not as offensive as he could be.
Junior dos Santos is now one of my favorite fighters. Werdum looked SO out of shape that I felt that he was underestimating dos Santos. Dos Santos does train with Nogueira, so I hope that Junior is for real. Before the Werdum vs dos Santos fight, I totally thought that Werdum would win. However, when Werdum got into the cage and looked completely out of shape, I felt that Werdum might be in trouble. Junior dos Santos made some people rich because I saw dos Santos as high as a +1000 underdog.
Alves deserves a title fight. He looked awesome. His striking and takedown defense looked really good. He seemed to have taken a couple easy shots from Koscheck though. I do have to give it up to Koscheck for his resilience. Even though I don't think it will happen, I hope that this fight humbles Koscheck. I honestly feel that Koscheck was outclassed in this fight especially since Alves is clearly the better striker, and Koscheck could not take Alves to the ground even though he is a superior wrestler. I would like to see GSP vs Alves because Alves is one of the only fighters in Welterweight right now that has a fairly good chance against GSP.
Sherk vs Griffin was much more entertaining than I thought that it would be. This is definitely the most exciting Sean Sherk fight that I have seen. Sherk and Griffin are clones of each other. One would think that with Sherk's big yet compact frame, he would have more knockout power, but it does not seem like he does.
While I know that it is a part of MMA, I am still not a fan of one-dimensional wrestlers such as Gray "The Bully" Maynard. Once on the ground and in top position, it did not seem like to me that Maynard was trying to really pass guard or attempt to finish his opponent. I wouldn't mind the wrestlers so much if they had a more active ground game. At least Clementi was trying to pass, sweep, or get a submission, so Clementi was active even from the bottom. Even though Maynard beat Frankie Edgar, I cannot see him as a top-tier Lightweight because he comes off as too one-dimensional.
Junior dos Santos is now one of my favorite fighters. Werdum looked SO out of shape that I felt that he was underestimating dos Santos. Dos Santos does train with Nogueira, so I hope that Junior is for real. Before the Werdum vs dos Santos fight, I totally thought that Werdum would win. However, when Werdum got into the cage and looked completely out of shape, I felt that Werdum might be in trouble. Junior dos Santos made some people rich because I saw dos Santos as high as a +1000 underdog.
Alves deserves a title fight. He looked awesome. His striking and takedown defense looked really good. He seemed to have taken a couple easy shots from Koscheck though. I do have to give it up to Koscheck for his resilience. Even though I don't think it will happen, I hope that this fight humbles Koscheck. I honestly feel that Koscheck was outclassed in this fight especially since Alves is clearly the better striker, and Koscheck could not take Alves to the ground even though he is a superior wrestler. I would like to see GSP vs Alves because Alves is one of the only fighters in Welterweight right now that has a fairly good chance against GSP.
Sherk vs Griffin was much more entertaining than I thought that it would be. This is definitely the most exciting Sean Sherk fight that I have seen. Sherk and Griffin are clones of each other. One would think that with Sherk's big yet compact frame, he would have more knockout power, but it does not seem like he does.
While I know that it is a part of MMA, I am still not a fan of one-dimensional wrestlers such as Gray "The Bully" Maynard. Once on the ground and in top position, it did not seem like to me that Maynard was trying to really pass guard or attempt to finish his opponent. I wouldn't mind the wrestlers so much if they had a more active ground game. At least Clementi was trying to pass, sweep, or get a submission, so Clementi was active even from the bottom. Even though Maynard beat Frankie Edgar, I cannot see him as a top-tier Lightweight because he comes off as too one-dimensional.
Comments
Alves will be next in line to fight GSP after Georges beats the hell out of BJ Penn over in Ireland in early 2009. Look for them to hook it up in April/May of next year. That will be a great fight, possibly as good as GSP/Fitch. As for Koscheck, it's hard to figure out a strategy for an opponent in just two weeks, so I was not too surprised at him being overmatched. He is a better fighter then he showed last night, but is not yet ready to challenge for the belt. He should get Sanchez after Diego recovers, with the winner of that fight getting a shot.
Maynard was better than you think in that fight. It was an extremely technical bout, with Clementi throwing sub attempt after sub attempt at "the Bully". You cannot fault him for being very cautious while on the top, especially when one slip could leave him stuck in a triangle choke, or worse. My group of watchers were very pissed at the ref's constant admonitions to "work". They were working, it was just not in a fashion that the in-house fans wre readily able to see, hence the boos. It was entertaining to see the technical chess match they engaged in over the length of that fight and, while I am not a fan, I give MAynard props for coming out on top. He is nowhere near ready to move up into contention, though. I'd like to see him go up against a guy like Clay Guida, and see how he handles that buzz-saw. Not well, I would guess.
Unfortunate that Cote blew his knee out last night, although I do not think the result would have been different. Silva is a traditionally slow starter, as he spends most of the first round studying his opponent before engaging him. He got busier in the second round, and was probably setting up to move in close in the third. Cote seemed well able to handle the strikes from Spider, so I think he would have had to submit him to avoid the judges. Too bad for Patrick, because he did not look to be completely dominated like some were predicting.
I'm not convinced that Junior dos Santos is the real deal yet. He beat up a heavyweight who is in the process of bulking up to 265 and caught him with a big punch. Doesn't tell me that he can handle himself in the octogon.
I highly doubt we'll see that ref on a PPV ever again. It's ludicrous to think that if a takedown doesn't result in a submission within 15 seconds, they're not working hard enough.
Was anyone else rooting for a Cote sucker-knockout punch to Silva if he did take his hand?
Actually, I thought that hand was a genuine attempt at sportsmanship . . . Don't fault Cote for waving him off, though . . .
regardless, he is the best!
UFC 92 looks interesting:
Griffin vs. Evans
Nogueira vs. Mir
Wanderlei vs. Jackson