What fights have you watched today?

Nogueira Vs Couture.

Well this fight is a few years too late but it's like an ATG version of Frye Vs Shamrock. Two guys who are clearly faded but are both capable of great performances.

Some of the exchanges were straight out of a Rocky film. Even the grappling was very active.

Nog had a very poor showing against Mir but he demonstrated here he still is one of the top HW fighters out there.

 

Lesnar Vs Mir 2.

Lesnar was the champ but Mir was the clear number 1 with wins over Lesnar and Nog.

This fight went the way of the first, but only this time Mir couldn't sweep Lesnar as he was much more patient.

It was risky grappling with Mir but ultimately he had the strength to secure a good position meaning he could punch without fear of a submission coming his way.

What to make of Lesnar eh? At this point now he's beaten everyone he's fought and has wins over Herring, Couture and now Mir. Is it too early to call him a great, of course it is. But he looks like he's able to compete with elite names.

I still think he's a bit like a poor man's Coleman but his furious attacks are gonna be hell for anyone to deal with.

 

Just watched an insane amount of MMA from outside the UFC.

Melendez Vs Aoki. This was a complete domination between two champions and Melendez was the one who got the better of it. Outstruck Aoki with ease and showed a great takedown defence. He also was very willing to trade inside the guard of Aoki. With this win Melendez seals his legacy.

Aoki Vs Kawajiri. Tatsuya is one of the best LW fighters in history and Aoki seals his own legacy with this victory over him. Very quickly he shot for the takedown, isolated a leg and never let it go until he could force the tap. Great win here.

Overeem vs Rogers and Duffee. Alistair is a very strong HW fighter now and is mowing through relatively weak opposition hoping to get that Fedor fight he's craving. Blasted these two within a round.

Fedor Vs Werdum. Fedor has lost a step now, looking a bit faded in his last fights and only getting a bronze in the world sambo tournament. He comes out swinging and Werdum drops to the floor as he always does with his first solid punch, but unlike everyone else Fedor takes the bait, dives in for his G&P and gets caught in a triangle. Werdum locked it in and ended the run of Fedor as a world class fighter.

Shields Vs Henderson. Dan has a great round 1 dropping Shields heavily twice and nearly finishing him, in the second he takes the back of Shields and tries locking in a RNC but Jake sweeps him and dominates every second from then on. Henderson looked very much like an old man today but I think that has more to do with Shields than Hendo.

Aldo vs Faber. Aldo has beaten every great FW in history now to secure his status as the unquestionable goat. Aldo amputated the leg of Faber and from then on sat in cruise control to take a dominant victory. Can't believe he didn't finish Faber in this.

Mike Brown Vs Gambruyan. Brown has the prime knocked right out of him with this loss. I always felt we never saw a true fight between him and Faber but I think this loss means Faber will be classed as the better fighter.

Cruz Vs Bowles. Dominick Cruz dominates behind his agile movement and crisp striking. He looked very similar actually to Garbrandt when he finally lost his crown many years later.

Cruz Vs Benavidez. Very close fight this but I thought the right man won. Cruz has the edge when it comes to striking with his speed and movement and even in this fight he still looked every bit of a world class champion.

Diaz Vs Sakurai. Diaz is outstruck early on so takes it to the mat where he manages to outgrappled Sakurai and ultimately locks in an armbar adding another big name to his ledger.

Diaz Vs Noons. Diaz avenged the loss of the only other man to finish him with a very impressive points win. Diaz had a very aggressive style which is why if you don't finish him you'll always leave it open on the cards. After this win his fans claim he's essentially beaten everyone he faced, but I don't get the argument for him deserving the Sherk fight. The rest are close though.

 

Bisping vs Henderson.

Bisping is winning this fight behind his stick and move gameplan but he consistently circles in to the power of Henderson.

Midway through the second it's apparent that Henderson won't win this on points so he stalks forward more aggressively and with 3 minutes gone he lands a huge right hand knocking Bisping out cold before following with a diving punch which didn't really need to land.

 

The corner were right to scream at him because that's exactly what he ended up doing.

But whilst Henderson had found his range Bisping was far more active right up until the knockout imo.

 

Penn Vs Edgar.

I said before I felt Penn has slipped, but the performance he put in here and the performances in his last two fights make me think I was being a bit harsh writing him off early.

That being said I think this was his last great hurrah.

The fight was so hard to score, the rounds were very very close. BJ was more accurate and had better octagon control, but Edgar was so elusive and was the quicker man.

I don't begrudge Edgar this decision; he fought a very good fight. However I do think with different judges this could easily have been another successful defence for BJ.

Both fighters come out of this with credit. Edgar proved he belongs at this level and BJ showed why he's considered the best LW in history. I won't call this a robbery, but BJ was a big favourite for the rematch and that tells its own story.

The second fight was clearer for Edgar and it was obvious that Penn had slipped a bit by that point.

But still, with a clear victory over Penn you have to consider Edgar one of the goats in the division now.

 

Sherk Vs Dunham.

What a war. Also a bad decision, not sure I agree with the judges here.

 

Condit Vs MacDonald.

Great win by Condit this as he shows just why he has so much hype around him. MacDonald started the fight very well and it could be argued that Condit was in the verge of losing, but he finished very very strongly and ultimately forces the stoppage.

 

Pettis Vs Henderson.

Anthony stakes his claim for LW greatness by being the last WEC champ (the merger is now complete) over the very tough Benson Henderson.

Not to mention THAT head kick.

 

Condit Vs Hardy

Condit times a peach of a left hook and ends the fight early putting Hardy to sleep.

Condit is the start of a new wave of fighters now, contenders who are clearly better than some of the champions who came before them. Condit, Diaz and Shields are clearly 3 of the very best WW fighters in history but neither have ever been the best in the world.

But would you favour Sakurai or Newton over any of them?