1. I’ll admit it; I thought Edgar was overrated. He’s fast and has really good defense, but I figured he was just the perfect opponent for an under-motivated BJ Penn. Wrong. This was impressive, especially coming back after that first round.
2. On the other hand, as good as Maynard is, he really has to capitalize when he’s up like that. I’m looking forward to the third fight, but I fully expect Edgar to win.
3. Leben is a tough, tough man, but no one is more overrated. Stann looked impressive though, which I gather was the point.
4. Dana White is excellent at using former big names to get over new talent and putting two guys on the decline together to give one a boost. These matches, like Leben here and Vera below keep the UFC humming regardless of how big names rise and fall.
5. Brandon Vera and Thiago Silva really helped Silva out. Vera might not be elite anymore, but he’s still quite good and he was handled by Silva. Another win or two (depending on quality of opponent) and I can see Silva as ready for a title shot.
6. Nate Diaz getting owned by Dyong Hyun Kim straight up shocked me. I’m used to Diaz stealing rounds that Kim just wouldn’t give him, no matter how good he was. Diaz still has a bright future, but for Kim, the future is now.
7. What the hell was Clay Guida doing in this fight? I cannot believe he didn’t get winded with that much bobbing and weaving, but it clearly threw Gomi off and was effective. It would be amazingly strange if this re-invigorated his career.
8. Takanori Gomi did not look good, but it’s hard to blame him fully thanks to how strange Guida looked. I know he doesn’t deserve this, but for dream matches purposes, I’d really love to see Gomi vs. Penn as a semi-main event.
9. As unfortunate as a third match between Maynard and Edgar is for Anthony Pettis, the fight does need to happen, as Will Cooling points out. Imagine how frustrated Guida must be after this show’s huge win. It’s enough to make me wish UFC did tournaments like Pride.
10. Rating: 9/10. This was a very good show that was more than buoyed by the main event. Every fight was fast paced and interesting, and the main event was a classic, one of the few draws that were truly as close to perfectly even as anything fight can be.
