It has been a while since a UFC event has kicked up this much dust. Mobs of MMA fans threatened to take Silva’s head for wasting their $40 and 25 minutes. Scores more called for his belt and/or his license. No need to fear though, there are still plenty of reasonable people that are simply annoyed and a bit disappointed. Ohh yeah and one of the most dominant lightweights in the history of the sport lost his title… kind of a big deal if you ask me. So what did we learn? This is the question that we need to answer because if we learn nothing than what in the hell are we doing with this runaway train called MMA?
We learned that Mark Munoz can work hard and be tough when he needs to be. I have never been a big believer in Munoz but I like the fact that he is working with the Black House crew and showed some grit in this fight. He might have a bright future at Middleweight yet. Speaking of bright futures, Renzo Gracie may or may not have one in the UFC and by that I mean he likely doesn’t. Both Hughes and Gracie are well past their prime and while I will always have time for both men, the moves they can make in their division are limited. We’ll learn if the UFC is interested in further protecting Hughes when we hear about his next fight, but they are running out of safe/marketable options.
Guess what everyone… Franky Edger is the real deal. I have to admit to being a member of the throngs of nonbelievers. Edger was going to have nothing to offer Penn in my opinion and he was likely going to get tapped in the second or third round. Tasting my little helping of the crow I have to admit, it doesn’t taste as bad as I thought. Edger didn’t get lucky or see a terribly ill prepared Penn. His win is one that most are fairly comfortable with. It was close enough to spark discussion but it was not close enough to cause any sort of real uproar. In all, it is a nice mix-up to a division that was getting a bit stagnant. Edger could see a rematch with Penn or Maynard. He could host Florian’s third title shot. They are all viable options and for the first time in a while the LW division is a bit unpredictable.
We learned a lot about Anderson Silva and Demian Maia. Maia is tough as nails. The guy demonstrated poise, heart, and a lot of grit. I have a lot of time for Maia now, though I always did. Silva however lost more than he won in my book. I am not so much upset that he didn’t try harder to finish the fight. I am not even THAT upset that he clowned a respectable fighter for two rounds. The most frustrating thing for me is that Silva seemed to not take this fight seriously. The culmination of his clowning, his seemingly ill preparedness, and his inability to finish a fight that he seemed to have well in hand get to me, the combination. This is not something that upsets me nearly as much as it seems to upset anyone else but it is just disheartening. Perhaps I am not as invested as I get the event for free here in Korea, but I don’t think I would be in a rage over $40. I have paid for worse events and done no more than grumble a bit on the way to the bar. At the end of the day this, like his previous performances will blow over in favor of the “greatest of all time” talk and the impressiveness of his performances to come.
I guess what I am trying to say is that I enjoyed the show. Sure, Anderson Silva looked like a great big ass hole but let’s not write the guy off. He has been as entertaining as any fighter walking the planet. And lets not forget, his was not the only fight on the card. However, focusing on the positive is often harder than it sounds. With the biggest rematch in recent memory around the corner, it won’t be long till attention gets shifted back to where it belongs, the competition itself.
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