Loading ...Let the Attack Begin… Sort of…
BJ Penn: "Enough of Kenny's nonsense, I want to go hang out with Shane Victorino."
Hooray! Last Saturday UFC 101 was bestowed upon the world, and it was the first time the Ultimate Fighting Championship brought its exciting brand of action to the City of Brotherly Love. Yes, everyone by now knows that Philadelphia is the city AlmostAthletes supports (for better or worse) and basically calls home. Sadly, I couldn’t score a ticket to this momentous mixed-martial arts event, but regardless, I settled into my seat at a buddy’s house (thanks for the hospitality and beers, TG) in front of the TV anxiously anticipating a pretty decent card taking place in my backyard. The results?… Unfortunately, they were pretty uneventful—save for a couple events—and I was left feeling like I had just eaten Chinese food. Yep, I was still hungry. Granted, no matter what, I could watch MMA all day, but I was a touch disappointed by this event. Let me explain:
OK, for starters, just about every fight featured on the main card was rather slow and lopsided, with three of them ending in uninspired, unanimous decisions that were 30-27 across the board on every judge’s scorecard. I will probably take some heat for this, but UFC matchmaker Joe Silva or President Dana White might want to start telling fighters to step on the gas a little. Yes, I know that not all things can be controlled that way in the cage and that combatants have specific game plans during a bout, but there has been a good handful (too many) of plodding and listless matches left to the judges lately. That’s not what MMA is about. It’s about action.
Second, the fight between Amir Sadollah and Johnny Hendricks was stopped way too early. Sadollah was dropped with a punch twenty-nine seconds into the first round, and Hendricks pounced on him immediately, causing referee Dan Miragliotta to step in and stop the fight. The only problem is that Sadollah was on his way back up to his feet when this happened (I don’t care what Miragliotta says). Now, I know that the referee’s first responsibility is to protect the fighters, but there has to be a balancing act between that and giving a fighter a chance to recover. After all, fighters in the Octagon are warriors. They know what they’re getting into and they accept it. They don’t need a ref ruining their shot at glory just because they get touched up a bit. Besides, it’s a lot easier in MMA to see when a fighter’s lights go out. The officials need to relax a bit and let the guys fight. Anyone who wants to see an example of a good stoppage doesn’t need to look any further than last Sunday night’s WEC Bantamweight Title bout that saw Brian Bowles dethrone the champ Miguel Angel Torres. (Incidentally, I didn’t see this coming. Torres got KNOCKED OUT, and I didn’t think Bowles would be the man to beat the champ who hasn’t lost a fight in five years, only Torres’ second loss btw). Additionally, (I would be remiss if I didn’t at least mention it) BJ Penn’s lightweight title defense against Kenny Florian was a borefest. I don’t know what KenFlo was thinking with his game plan. Did he really think he was going to wear out a world class athlete like Penn? I actually laughed when Penn finally got tired of Florian’s act in the fourth round, simply threw him to the ground and choked him out.
There’s another thing I need to get off my chest, and I almost hate to mention it, because it may call into question my Philadelphia fandom. At one point, a brawl erupted in the crowd. I know, big surprise. I don’t know the details of what happened (if anyone does, please let me know), but during one fight announcer Joe Rogan actually stated, “No one in the building is paying attention to the fight in the Octagon right now.” This leads me to ask: Philly, can we reel it in a little bit? Don’t get me wrong, there’s a part of me that’s proud of the fact that we have a reputation as a rough and tough bunch of fans. However, there’s a fine line between being a dedicated and feral crowd and being a bunch of thugs and criminals. There was undoubtedly a ton of “tough guys” in the crowd sporting their Affliction and Tapout gear who thought it would be cool to start showcasing their “skills.” I can only hope that these punks were promptly stomped by security. Leave the fighting to the pros everyone, please.
Forrest Griffin: "Mommy! The bad man won't stop hurting me!"
Finally, here’s my biggest problem with UFC 101: Yes, the Anderson Silva/Forrest Griffin fight, if anyone can call it that. Let me preface this by saying that Forrest Griffin is my favorite fighter. Sadly, I don’t think I can call him that anymore. He dropped about ten slots Saturday. However, the saddest part of all this is that some are calling Anderson Silva’s performance his most impressive display of skills yet. I heartily disagree. I think it was more a case of Griffin completely embarrassing himself. I’m not trying to take anything away from Silva. It’s impossible to do so. He’s the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. But something strange was going on with Griffin. This was supposed to be the biggest challenge of Silva’s career. The middleweight champ had to come up in weight to take on a former light heavyweight title holder. We’re not talking about a slouch here. Win or lose, Griffin has had incredible fights with the UFC elite, including Quinton Jackson, Keith Jardine, Tito Ortiz, Mauricio Rua and Rashad Evans. Of course, he’s also responsible for the greatest fight in UFC history when he won The Ultimate Fighter Season 1 crown over Stephan Bonnar. So, what happened? Griffin was a joke against a smaller (albeit slicker) opponent who basically toyed with him for three minutes before knocking Griffin down for the third time in the first round (with a jab while retreating), thus calling for Griffin to VERBALLY TAP, pleading with Silva not to hit him anymore. That can’t happen. It was later revealed that Griffin’s jaw was dislocated, but I don’t care. This is a guy who fought with a broken arm once before. Griffin then sprinted back to the dressing room without saying a word, taking my tongue with him. I hope Griffin can rebound from this, but there’s a chance many folks saw his last appearance on the main card for a while that night, and there’s a chance I’m in the market for a new favorite fighter… and I’m still hungry.
I saw Bowles win coming. Just like Mike Brown pounding Faber.