Haven't done one of these in a while, but this Ultimate Fight Night was pretty unique as a whopping nine fights off this card were made available. The first three on the card (Lentz/Lowe, Simpson/Miranda, Hendricks/Waldburger) were dark, but the UFC aired the remaining five undercard fights live on Facebook, followed by a live (or tape delayed, for us West Coasters) broadcast of the main card on Spike TV. Quick, random thoughts from the night.
- I didn't expect much from the first FB fight featuring Sean McCorkle and Christian Morecraft, but Morecraft actually looked decent on his way to a 2nd round submission. He was tagging McCorkle on the feet and showed some okay grappling as well before locking up a standing guillotine that put "Big Sexy" to sleep. I doubt he'll ever be of much consequence in the heavyweight division, and this fight was probably more notable for the sheer size of the competitors (6'6" 265 for Morecraft and 6'7" 266 for McCorkle), but Morecraft put on a good show and was rewarded with a victory.
- Michael McDonald vs Edwin Figueroa may have been my favorite fight of the night. Two young guns, 20 and 26 respectively, in an all out war. The standup exchanges were exciting with both men landing shots and neither backing down. McDonald had Figueroa in a bunch of tight spots on the ground, and even though it looked like he was going to finish a few times, Figueroa hung tough, refused to tap and managed to escape. Though he put in a great effort taking the fight on just six days notice, Figueroa didn't have enough as McDonald grabbed a convincing decision with a 30-27 verdict on all scorecards. Still, a super entertaining fight and a bright future for both guys.
- Figueroa had my favorite quote of the night after Joe Rogan asked how he handled taking the fight on such short notice. He said, "If God takes me to it, He'll take me through it." Such a simple truth that's so easily forgotten and would take away a lot of our stress and worry.
- John Hathaway nearly finished Kris "Savage" McCray early on in the fight with a leglock but ended up pulling out a split decision victory. It was a good, not great win in my opinion as, other than that initial submission attempt, Hathaway did not threaten to finish McCray in the fight. Still he was able to score on the feet and on the ground and remains a well-rounded threat in the welterweight division. Would like to see him take a step up in competition, which he's undoubtedly ready for.
- Really glad Chan Sung Jung, aka the Korean Zombie, picked up a win over Leonard Garcia in their rematch tonight. Many thought he should have won the first time around, and he left no doubt as he finished Garcia with a twister in the 2nd. I had never actually seen anyone do that before, and apparently it was the first time it's been used as a finish in the UFC so congrats to Jung for that. He obviously can hold his own on the feet and his grappling looked sick tonight. Hope to see him again on a main card soon.
- Amir Sadollah looked good in finishing DaMarques Johnson. Johnson took the fight on late notice and was game as usual, but Sadollah was really able to dominate in the 2nd round. He got taken down and hit a couple times but was never in trouble and kept calm until he was able to put Johnson down himself before controlling him and dropping punches and elbows until he got the win.
- I will never understand how Anthony "Rumble" Johnson cuts down from a walking weight of around 230 all the way to 170/171, but he does and he was able to use his strength to his advantage tonight. I, and most others I would assume, was expecting a slugfest, but aside from a big head kick that knocked Dan Hardy down in the 1st, Johnson focused on his takedowns and ground and pound to impose his will. Sometimes I forget how good his wrestling is as he's often content to bomb away on opponents, but Rumble used his size to his advantage, dragging Hardy down every round and keeping him there, sealing a dominant victory.
- In the main event, Phil "Mr. Wonderful" Davis was able to take a decision over Antoino Rogerio "Minotoro" Nogueira, overcoming a 1st round in which all his takedown attempts where stuffed. Lil Nog got the better of the standup exchanges, but Davis adapted in the 2nd and 3rd rounds, shooting for single instead of double-leg takedowns and scoring with them. I'm a little surprised Lil Nog didn't use his guard a little more offensively as it looked like he was more focused on defending from Davis's ground and pound and pushing him away to get back on his feet. I get that he (correctly) felt he had an advantage there, but he's a black belt and a Nogueira, so I would have thought he'd spend a little more time working his lethal guard play, especially towards the end of the fight when he had to know he was behind on the scorecards. Still, it was a good fight. Nogueira is clearly still relevant in the 205 division although he will probably never be a title contender. Davis is a #sowonderful up-and-comer with some serious skills but some serious work to do as well. I think he's ready to test himself against another world-ranked opponent.
Overall a nice night of fights. A couple snoozers here and there (Madsen/Russow, ugh), but several high-paced barnburners as well (Semerzier/Cacares was fun while it lasted). Good show, looking forward to GSP/Shields in April.
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