Sure, there were those heading into this weekend who found it to be their duty to defend the UFC 138 card even though we all know there was really nothing to defend. The UFC couldn’t even both to tell people on their website where on the dial this show could be found as they are obviously so over their relationship with Spike that they were more than happy to toss a major event under the bus. But if you are going to sacrifice a numbered event at the alter of Fox the least you can do to limit the collateral damage is build the most worthless card imaginable that also gives you a chance to sell some MMA starved fans some tickets. So, then with expectations at an all time low headed in it should come as no surprise that UFC 138 turned out to be a pretty damn good show after all. No it never hit the heights of 137 but that bar is pretty high, and the prelim card was a rather underwhelming affair, but once the bright lights of the Spike TV cameras came on everything came together as we saw 5 thrilling fights that all ended with dramatic stoppages. Here is a short list of what we know now that we didn’t know 24 hours ago…
In the midst of a confused Bantamweight picture Renan Barao should be the next challenger for Dominick Cruz.
With Urijah Faber taking part in a high stakes battle at UFC 139 against Brian Bowles we can assume that Dana White won’t be making any announcements about who Cruz’s next opponent will be until that fight has come and gone. The suits love Faber and the prospects of him as a title holder or, at the very least, completing a trilogy against Cruz is most likely their ideal scenario. But why not make him earn it a bit more first. He just had a title shot back in July and the man is 3-3 in his last 6. Meanwhile Baroa, while admittedly facing lesser opposition, is undefeated in his last 28 outings. Try and wrap your brain around that one for a second. Plus he just made the most of a high profile fight, stomping Brad Pickett and winning Fight of the Night honors in the process. To me it’s a no-brainer, Cruz vs. Barao and Faber can get a title shot if he gets past Bowles and one more top level Bantamweight. . .but then again the UFC’s bottom line isn’t exactly one of my responsibilities.
The Brits just don’t work a home field advantage the way the Brazilians do.
If we want to flashback to UFC 134 we will remember that those Brazilians who fought on their home turf went 7-1 against non-Brazilian opponents and I upset some colleagues of mine here at Inside Fights by calling shenanigans. Certainly Joe Silva rigged the card, right? Well maybe it is not oh so easy. The Brits tonight could only produce a totally mediocre 3-3 record (and one of those was against Eddie Faaloloto so it really shouldn’t count). Sure they swept the bonuses but what was going on here? I would argue that Joe Silva simply did a better job and didn’t go out of his way to ensure that the hometown crowd was pandered to. Jason Young, poor guy, got stuck with Michihiro Omigawa and we’ve already discussed the destruction of Brad Pickett by a guy who is seemingly unbeatable. Even Che Mills, who got the only knockout of the evening, was hardly a strong favorite coming into his bout against Chris Cope. I’m not saying that Silva should go out of his way to put the screws to those fighting in their native land only that an even deal should be the aim and that a 3-3 mark indicates that in this specific case he nailed it.
Mark Munoz Ain’t Playing.
It was a very silly version of me who picked against Munoz back at UFC 131 when he took on Demian Maia in Vancouver and I was driven to not make the same mistake again. I picked Munoz to win (via decision, oopsy) despite my desire to see the decision go the other way as I have come to recognize that this guy is really an incredible force and about one win away from a title shot in another division that is a royal mess right now. The likes of Rousimar Palhares, Anthony Johnson and Chris Weidman aren’t quite there yet and everybody else has already been skinned alive by Anderson Silva (except for Brian Stann, of course, who is coming off of a loss). In a few weeks we’ll get Michael Bisping vs. Jason Miller and really the only way to go after from there is to take the winner and square him up against the Filipino Wrecking Machine. As I sit here now, fresh from watching Munoz literally wreck Chris Leben’s face, I would say that he would probably do the same to either of them as well. May he be the man who gets first crack at the Anderson Silva/Chael Sonnen winner? He probably should be.
Those freakish Europeans the UFC keeps unearthing are all the same.
I kid, of course, but only slightly. If you are at all like me you would have seen similarities tonight between the performance of Papy Abedi and the last no name fighter from across the pond that the UFC decided to toss directly on to a main card, Jon Olav Einemo. Both came out of the gate looking like monsters who were going to terrorize the division for years to come. Their inherent violence and aggressiveness demanded that we pay attention. The only problem is that right around the time that we started to notice them (half way through the opening frame) they started to tank. Tonight the very unlucky Abedi was taking on Thiago Alves and for a while he seemed to be having success, that is until one well placed knee led to some brutal elbows to the head that lacerated the head of Abedi. After that it was only a matter of time before the experienced Alves was able to secure the back and choke him out. With both Einemo and Abedi I can’t wait to see their next fight, possibly against slightly lesser opposition so that we can really see what they are made of.
Eddie Faaloloto is the worst fighter to step inside the Octagon since James Toney.
It was really nice of the now 2-3 fighter to take one for the team and go out there and make Etim look good but it is really time he was sent on his way. He entered the UFC 2-0 and then had to start taking on real competition and has quickly seen his record sink to a sub-500 level. Rumors have dogged him from the beginning as to how he got the job in the firtt place but I can’t ever conceive of a conspiracy that would keep him employed after this debacle. I usually think that Silva and the UFC dump guys who could be developed in to stars too quickly but here I can only think of the roster spot that he is taking up that should belong to somebody with true talent. Etim appreciates the $70,000 check but it is time you were on your way
