Anyway, did anyone else enjoy UFC 87 as much as I did? I guess. That was, regardless of the three decision laden matches in the main card, was one of the better cards in MMA this year.
We kick things off on the main card with a middleweight match between Jason McDonald and grappling monster Demian Maia. I thought McDonald tried to grapple with Maia too much and as much as I respect Jason's ground game, it would really be foolish to try and stay with someone like Demian Maia on the ground. I think he would've had a better chance if it was standing.
Anyway, McDonald didn't do that bad on the ground, he had some slick escapes, a guillotine at one point and an RNC in another. Despite being choked out by Maia in the third, McDonald proved that he can hang and give some troubles to someone like Demian on the ground. It was the best fight on that event IMO (Especially for grappling lovers)
Next fight was a lightweight showdown between two contenders. Roger "El Matador" Huerta vs Ken Flo, Kenny Florian. I was very excited about this match when it was announced and I thought it was a bit of a letdown. While it was exciting, the match never really lived up to the hype as Florian went on to fight a technical fight. Stick and run, stick and run. Florian imposed a beautiful gameplan that halted Roger's momentum every now and then. Both guys have a beautiful future but I don't think neither of them are ready for BJ at LW right now.
Next up was the swing bout between Rob Emerson and Manvel "Anvil" Gamburyan. It was a quick 12 second knock out that knocked the doucheness out of Manvel's body. Big win for Rob.. I think he needed that win.
Brock Lesnar vs Heath Herring is up next. Brock is showing lots of improvement. His control is unbelievable and we all know now that he can punch. I thought he didn't capitalize on his position that much as he had Heath on his back and on the mount numerous times but he can't finish. But what the heck, it's only his third freakin' fight and I know he's going to improve more. After all, he did beat Heath Herring, a legit proven heavyweight in his third professional MMA bout.
Main event was between UFC Welterweight Champion Georges Rush St-Pierre as he takes on the consensus number 2 Welterweight Jon Fitch. Fitch came with an 8 fight win streak in this bout (Tied with Royce Gracie for most win streak in the UFC)
Turning point of the match is when GSP capitalized on a Fitch mistake and dropped him with a huge right hand. And since then, it's blah blah land for Jon Fitch as St-Pierre was just landing at will with jabs, back kicks, counter-hooks and leg kicks. St.Pierre was unbelievable that night.. for the very first time in the UFC, Fitch's guard was passed. Fitch was fucked up and he knows it.
But St.Pierre wasn't the only who was unbelievable last night, Fitch showed a gracious losing performance as well. He was just taking hits and hits and hits and he just kept coming back. He was a warrior. For him to take that kind of punishment and still smile after the match. He was just amazing.
Overall, it was a great event. I give it a 4/5 and could've easily been a five if it wasn't for the three decision matches on the featured matches.
Photo credits goes to MMAWEEKLY.COM
No comments:
Post a Comment