UFC 132 was one of the most exciting and entertaining cards of the year, delivering on all its promises and then some. It caps off a whirlwind of MMA activity over the past month and left fans with a mouthful to discuss following the final bell. So what did we learn from UFC 132?
Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber learned that they are very evenly matched. Putting aside the various scores that might have been considered reasonable for such a closely contested fight, Cruz looked really crisp and technically sound, even for him. He had locked onto this fight and was determined to win but Faber would not be denied his moments of success. He gave Cruz everything he could handle with good anticipation, fast hands, and various takedown attempts. If this fight isn’t run back immediately don’t expect Faber to have to jump through many hoops to get another title shot. This was 25 minutes of fighting well worth watching.
We learned that Wanderlei Silva might be done. I hate to fall into the traps of post fight hyperbole but seeing Silva KOed so quickly doesn’t sit well with me or any self respecting, long time MMA fan. All credit to Leben but this fight brought nothing but sadness and despair to my pathetic fan heart.
Speaking of Leben, we learned he has a huge boner for Silva (no homo). Leben couldn’t stop talking about Silva after laying him out (no homo). Rightfully so; a slugger like Leben had to admire Silva’s proper mauling days in pride and his relentless style. Although his man love (no homo) for Silva wasn’t the only thing that fueled his fire. Like a jilted lover, Leben got a surge of excitement when he heard the fans blow up (no homo) for Silva and his techno music entrance. He was self-admittedly jealous that they weren’t rooting for him. No matter how you cut it, this fight was a lot of hype and provided plenty of talking points after the fact but didn’t deliver but a short flurry in the cage (no homo).
Matt Wiman learned that not all judges are wrestling groupies. He was bound and determined to grind out a win over Dennis Siver but Siver avoided enough of those prolonged takedowns to earn a decision victory. I tend to agree with the judges; it is hard for me to give a round to a guy who fails on three takedown attempts in a round and then gets one. Hats off to both men, but give me a break with all the Matt Wiman got robbed nonsense. Ohhh and next time you take a lose Wimen, don’t run out of the ring ripping your hand from the ref’s like a pouting kid denied a wicked Star Wars Lego set – its not a good look.
GSP Learned that there is another contender on the horizon. Carlos Condit looked very impressive in his most recent victory. If the timing was right he might be fighting for the title but given that Diaz has been given that opportunity Condit will likely have to fight at least once more before the end of the year. Given his recent success there is no reason to believe that Condit might not secure himself a title shot sometime in 2012. The Natural Born Killer made short work of another rising contender and is one of the most noteworthy fighters to keep an eye on in the latter half of the year.
UFC lightweights learned the Melvin Guillard is turning the corner. Guillard has always been a freak athlete - 155 pounds of potential. It appears that he is finally turning the corner and in turn turning himself into a legitimate threat to the upper echelon of the division. Moving to Greg Jackson’s camp seems to have helped eliminate some of the oft criticized holes in his game. Before the move Guillard was criticized for being a “dumb fighter” in that he came in with terrible game plans and got baited into fighting to his opponents strengths. That doesn’t seem to be the case these days and the rest of the division has been put on notice. Melvin Guillard is here and is coming for the belt.
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