UFC 85

Thiago Alves vs Matt Hughes
The only thing I really have to say about this fight is that it would have been so much better had Alves made weight. Alves looked a lot bigger in there then Hughes did and as much as I hate Hughes, I find it hard to give Alves a lot of credit for the win considering the advantage he went in with. Had Alves made weight and put in that sort of performance, he’d easily be the choice for the next shot at St-Pierre (assuming he gets by Fitch), but I think he needs to prove he can still make 170lbs before he deserves a shot at the title. The last thing any UFC fan wants to see is another incident like Travis Lutter vs Anderson Silva. Still Alves looked impressive and if he can make 170lbs I think he poses the biggest threat for St-Pierre based on his punching power.

Michael Bisping vs Jason Day
That was easily the best performance of Bisping’s career. Day’s a good fighter and he’s proved it with wins over good opposition in the past. The way Bisping went through him is extremely impressive. Bisping’s wrestling and ground and pound seem to be a lot more effective against the smaller fighters, and I think he can be a force at this weight division now that he doesn’t have to worry so much about Lay and Prey artists like Matt Hammill and Rashad Evans. Still, I’d like to see how Bisping handles a good middleweight wrestler who isn’t afraid to stand up with him like Captain Miserable was in Canada. Maybe the winner of the Tanner-Grove fight would be a good choice of opponent?

Marcus Davis vs Mike Swick
This fight went exactly how I thought it would. Swick was just a little bit better in every area of the fight, and he showed that he isn’t drained at welterweight. It’s the same thing with most fighters the first time they cut to a new weight division. Look at Rich Franklin’s performances against Jorge Rivera (the first time he made 185lbs) and in the rematch with Evan Tanner (the 2nd time he made 185lbs). They aren’t the same fighter. It’s all about experience. I still don’t think Swick is championship material, but he’s a good addition to the talent-ridden welterweight division.

Thales Leites vs Nate Marquadt
This fight went exactly how I thought it would go bar the two point deductions. Leites would open up strongly and Marquadt would have to survive some scary moments early before coming back due to superior conditioning. The first point deduction was definately called for (although I don’t agree with the rule, but thats another can of worms that I’ll save for another day), but the second one was a joke. Also, the judge who scored the fight for Marquadt is a complete moron. He scored the fight 28-27 Marquadt, meaning if you give Nate back the two points he lost due to fouls, then that judge scored all three rounds for Marquadt. How the fuck did Marquadt win that first round? Anyway, great fight, and I think these two should fight again as soon as possible!

Brandon Vera vs Fabricio Werdum
This fight was stopped way too soon. Before I get into that, I have to admit that I completely underrated Werdum’s game. Werdum is an excellent fighter who is more then just a wizard on the ground. Those takedowns were great and I think that even if the fight didn’t get stopped prematurely that Werdum would have gone on to win the fight. The fact of the matter though is that the fight was stopped way too early. Yes Vera was mounted and yes he wasn’t doing much back, but this is a professional fight of the highest order. You have to let Werdum hurt him before he stops him. Vera was doing all that you can do when a world class Brazilian Jiu Jitsu guy mounts you. At this level you can’t just stop the fight because the position is bad, the guy has to at least land something heavy. Should Herring beat Lesnar, I’d like to see Werdum-Herring for the next shot at Nogueira after he beats Mir.

Martin Kampmann vs Jorge Rivera
I knew Kampmann would get him early, I didn’t expect the fight to go to the ground though. Rivera should be kept around as a gate keeper because he’s a good test for any up and comer and if he loses his contract after he destroyed Kendall Grove then that would really suck. I feel sorry for Jorge because Grove was the one who got annhilated in a little over a minute but he’s the one in the main event fight while Rivera gets thrown to the wolves on a preliminary. Kampmann is a much needed addition to the UFC 185lb ranks.

Thiago Tavares vs Matt Wiman
Not my choice for fight of the night, but I’m not going to grumble over that decision because it was one hell of a fight. Wiman looked excellent and the finish was top notch. I didn’t really rate Wiman before this fight but I think he’ll be a handful for anyone who faces him in the future.

Luis Cane vs Jason Lambert
Cane’s a killer, theres no doubt about it. He looked excellent in his UFC debut before the disqualification, and to take out someone like Lambert in that fashion is impressive. I don’t think theres anyone who would be annoyed to see him on a main card in the not to distant future. I’d love to see Cane vs Matt Hammill or Stephan Bonnar in his next fight.

Kevin Burns vs Roan Carneiro
If there’s anyone in the World who picked the unheralded blue belt Kevin Burns to submit (or even beat) the world class black belt Roan Carneiro who isn’t related by blood to Kevin Burns I’d like to meet him. Results like this are why I love this sport.

Jess Liaudin vs Paul Taylor
Didn’t see this fight, so I can’t comment. I’ll edit when I do finally see it.

Antoni Hardonk vs Eddie Sanchez
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! That was awesome. Hearing this result before the card started made me a happy man. Hopefully Sanchez is given his marching orders because he’s not a world class fighter and he doesn’t belong in the UFC. The only way I would have enjoyed this better is if it was Andrei Arlovski who did the arse kicking and if it was on the main card.

Predictions Results
I had a shocker. Five right, Five wrong and one that doesn’t count because someone didn’t make weight. A bit of a fall from grace from my efforts at UFC 84 where I was 10 from 11 with most of the predictions in the right round. Still I did better then most and with fights like Burns-Carneiro and Tavares-Wiman going the way they did it makes things very difficult.