5 Observations Made By The Bulldozer at UFC 97

UFC 97 was a telling event. There were a few surprises and disappointments. Here are things I noticed watching the fights:

1.  Cheick Kongo was intimidated at the beginning of his fight against Antoni Hardonk.

Kongo proved in this fight that he is a legitimate contender in the heavyweight division.  Hardonk is no slouch but he is far from being considered elite among heavyweights. Kongo seemed to be very confident in his last two fights against weak opponents but he was hesitant and reluctant to start the fight against Hardonk. 

Hardonk actually controlled the first couple of minutes with some powerful leg kicks while stalking Kongo early on. 

The problem for Hardonk is that he stopped pushing forward and let Kongo gain confidence and take over the fight. Kongo is surely the better of these two fighters but if he were to hesitate against guys like Shane Carwin, Cain Velasquez or even Gabriel Gonzaga he would get pummeled into submission. 

I believe his next fight will be either against Gabriel Gonzaga or a rematch against Heath Herring. I think a matchup on that level will determine if Kongo is just a gatekeeper or a legitimate contender for the belt. My guess is that he is just a gatekeeper as his resume indicates thus far.

2.  Nate Quarry is the real deal and should face a tough opponent next.

Quarry showed that he could excel against a jiu-jitsu practioner despite being labeled as a a one-sided fighter. He took a tough guy in Jason MacDonald down and devastated him with brutal elbows leaving cuts all over MacDonald's forehead while sitting in his guard. 

While I don't consider him as a top 5 fighter in the middleweight division, I do think he could possibly challenge a guy like Thales Leites and maybe beat him if he does stay off the ground. He could possibly face either Leites or Nate Marquardt in the future. I believe he would lose to the latter if he did.

3.  Krzysztof Soszynski fits in very nicely in the already talented light heavyweight division.

Here is the thing with the light heavyweight division; with the exception of Lyoto Machida, any of the top 10 or so fighters can win or lose in a given night when stepping in the octagon with one another.  Soszynski posseses the toughness and the skill to compete with a lot of those guys. 

He is a solid striker and may be able to trade with a guy like Jardine but his real strength in comparison to his division is that he is good on the ground.  Once there, a kimora, Soszynski's favorite technique, seems almost inevitable to make an appearance. 

I think he provides a little variety to the natural sluggers of the division and soon we will have the opportunity to see where he really stands. A fight between Soszynski and Rua could be very exciting to watch.

4.  Liddell is done and Rua is back.

Dana White pretty much announced Liddell's retirement for him last night. Liddell is no longer a top 10 fighter in his division and despite still having the capability to beat some light heavyweights, he has fallen too far from the top to continue his career as a fighter. 

In 2008, I attributed Liddell's losses to the talent of his opponents rather than his demise and I thought he would rebound against Rua. Instead, he fell a step further and looked only like an average fighter. On the other hand, Mauricio Rua rebounded quite well from his previous fight against UFC forefather, Mark Coleman. 

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