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. 

He seemed very well conditioned and despite being hit with a few solid punches, he went along with his  game plan and weakened his pray with some well placed high leg kicks. I am still on the fence with him, but I think he proved that he isn't over the hill yet. 

Liddell will probably announce his retirement soon. Thanks to the Iceman for propelling the UFC and MMA forward into the view of mainstream America. MMA has come a long way since he emerged into the public eye. He is a legend of the sport and a class act.

 

5.  Anderson Silva cares only to win, not so much to entertain.

I think Silva proved on Saturday that he will do what it takes to win, no matter how uneventful it may be.  He was headed in the same direction with Patrick Cote as he ended up in with Thales Leites. If I jumped into the ring with him, I wouldn't be surprised if he let me backpedal my way to a decision faster than Kalib Starnes backpeddled himself out of respect in the MMA community.

With that said, it was not entirely his fault as Leites seemed content to lose via decision. I didn't see any effort from Leites in the 5th round despite the fact that he was obviously losing the fight.  He just kept falling on his back and pissing off Yves Lavigne.  I also blame the UFC for placing an unworthy opponent in the octagon for a title fight. 

I know the middleweight division may lack quality opponents for Anderson Silva but they could've done better.  It is true that Marquardt and Maia really emerged as true contenders after the title fight was announced, but Joe Silva could have pinned a guy like Yushin Okami against the Spider. 

Okami won't back down and actually has unfinished business with Anderson Silva after Okami won due to disqualification in the only time these two met in the ring.  With all the hype surrounding Damien Maia, I expect him to face his fellow countryman Anderson Silva for a title shot in the latter part of the summer or early fall.

 

The big stars of UFC 97 seemed to disappoint while others gained notoriety with their very strong efforts in Montreal.