UFC 99: The Comeback - Thoughts

UFC 99: The Comeback – Reflections

 

As a somewhat critical fan of MMA I am always interested in what we learn from a major event.  Far from stagnant, the MMA universe is always moving and shaking but I want to learn something about fighters, rankings, and divisions with each major event. If I am not, the matchmaking needs work. Despite the main event being held at a weight that does not have a division between two guys coming off of loses and no titles on the line, UFC 99: The Comeback taught us a few things.

 

There is something unsettling about watching Wanderlei Silva lose a fight.  I think for those of us who followed his Pride career and wanted so badly to see him in the UFC, the most recent stint has been a bit heartbreaking.  Anyone who saw the performance that he put on with Rich Franklin should have felt this way, at least to some miniscule extent. Wandi has never been amazingly technical but his wild style was directly juxtaposed to Franklin’s much more precise striking, which is why Wandi took the L in this one.  To be honest, I had it 29-28 Wandi because I think he hurt Franklin more and pushed the pace. I didn’t give Franklin credit for the takedown at the end because it was empty; I never give anyone credit for empty takedowns unless they are part of the larger game plan and this one was nothing but opportunistic. My score doesn’t count though and I give credit where credit is due. Franklin fought a good fight and will move up the 205 rankings with the win. I am really down for Luis Cane vs Rich Franklin next. As for Wandi, I just hope we haven’t seen the last of him.

 

I am not sure we learned more about anyone than Cain Velasquez, who mauled Kongo for 15 minutes. A lot of detractors are dismissing him for displaying less than stellar punching power and more than questionable stand up defense. Even the Velasquez haters begrudgingly admit his recovery time looked solid though. He made Kongo look like a kid on the ground. With the recent Cro Cop news, I would love to see Cain vs Carwin next. These two guys seem to be paralleling each other right now in their rise and a meeting is inevitable. They are so similar in background but so different in execution that its tought to tell how it would really go.

 

Speaking of the Cro Cop news… wow.  Dana White learned something, his no one fight contract policy was a good one. He got used by Mr. Mirko, who was clearly booking himself a warm-up fight for the big run he is going to make in DREAM… wait what? What big match-ups does he have in DREAM?! If he was headed to M-1, Affliction, or Strikeforce I could understand him seeking out an arguably better crop of HWs to challenge himself with, but DREAM! This is disappointing and just a down right shitty thing to do. Not as much to the UFC or Dana White, but to the fans of Mirko Cro Cop and MMA in general. He stole a spot on the main card of a PPV from someone else, put on a bland performance, and then ran off to an organization where he will dwell in the mediocrity he has so masterfully performed as of late. That’s fine, the HW divisions in the states are picking up nicely and if Mirko doesn’t want to fight top guys then I don’t want to see him fight top guys. I will never begrudge a guy for his professional decisions. He is a full-grown man. I just don’t have to be a fan of his.

Cro Cop may have lost some fans but I think Dan Hardy might have earned himself some new ones. I have been fairly vocal about my belief that he was over hyped and would be outmatched by Davis. Nothing could have been further from the truth.  Hardy used his reach, his height, and his mind games with precision.  I never really minded the trash talk from Hardy because I thought it was clearly a tactical move to get himself a big fight and a mental edge.  It worked. Davis was not having any of the hand shaking afterwards, which is unfortunate but who could blame him. The thing Davis takes the most pride in (presumably outside his family) was mocked relentlessly. Its all over though. Davis will have to get over it and move on. Hardy will have to face a bigger challenge next.  Dan Hardy has earned his spot among UFC ranked WWs.  Kampmann vs Hardy anyone?

 

Hardy vs Davis was the only close decision I actually agreed with. Odd considering it was the only one that was not unanimous. My opinion on two of the three can be seen above but Fisher vs Uno was a whole different beast. I found the match fascinating. It was really a contest of two evenly matched, conflicting styled fighters.  At the end of the day I thought Fisher controlled the fight early but Uno took it later.  One could also argue that another minute or two in the third round would have allowed Uno to finish. He didn’t do enough in the time period though so he took the chance.  I hope to see Uno again, that is for sure.

 

Its been well documented that UFC 99 was a filler card. It was a filler card with a few ramifications on a few different divisions, but it was filler. No card headlined by two guys coming off of loses at a catch-weight can be put in the same category as most UFC cards. It set up the mood and kept everyone appeased going into UFC 100.  There is a lot of MMA ahead and this card will soon be a distant memory but it was fun while it lasted.