Eight Things I Learned From UFC 100

1) Everything was on display big, including inept judging

UFC 100 began with a fireworks show between Yoshihiro Akiyama and Alan Belcher. The result was a split decision victory for Akiyama that many (including commentator Joe Rogan) did not agree with.

I scored the fight 29-28 Belcher, but after watching the fight again, I can understand giving Akiyama the 29-28 nod. What I do not understand is giving Akiyama the fight 30-27.

Belcher clearly did more damage in the second round. Yes, Akiyama took him down, but Belcher’s leg kicks were much more substantial than any blows that Akiyama landed on the ground.

It seems like every UFC card has a fight that brings to question the ‘round vs. total fight’ judging question, and UFC 100 was no different.

2) Brock Lesnar is the new Tito Ortiz

Stop me if you’ve heard this one: A wrestler with dominant ground-and-pound skills beats a rival, continues to trash talk after the victory, and issues a two-finger salute.

Brock Lesnar seems to share a lot with Tito Ortiz, the UFC’s original bad guy. Ortiz knows how to market himself, and as many people turned in to his events hoping to watch him take a beating as his actual fans did.

Following UFC 100, that torch has been passed to Lesnar, who has no problem playing to the negativity of the crowd. It was almost comical watching Lesnar control the crowd like puppets. He wanted boos, and the crowd obliged him with fervor.

Lesnar understands that it doesn’t matter if people like you, only if they want to watch you, and you will be hard pressed to find anyone that doesn’t want to see him again, even if it is only to hope he gets crushed.

Lesnar has even experienced his first tongue lashing from Dana White following his post-fight actions. I will bet the house that it isn’t the last time.

3) Greg Jackson needs his own show

Putting Greg Jackson on camera in between every round of the GSP/Alves fight was brilliant. Some of the things that he was telling Georges St. Pierre had the entire audience in stitches, and it was also fascinating to see his approach to coaching a top-level athlete.

The UFC and Spike TV need to give Jackson his own show. He is unquestionably one of the smartest trainers and game planners in the sport. Imagine getting a behind the scenes look at his training methods and his interactions with the likes of St. Pierre, Keith Jardine and Rashad Evans.

Jackson has the personality and sense of humor that audiences would flock to in droves. When I asked him on Friday what sorts of things he had been having St. Pierre do to prepare for Alves, he told me that he was having St. Pierre jump off of really tall buildings, to get rid of his fear. If he comes up with stuff like that off of the top of his head, I want to hear what he’ll say with time to prepare in front of a camera.

4) The Middleweight division is as muddled as ever

The UFC made a kneejerk reaction to the criticism of Anderson Silva/Thales Leites by putting Silva in a match with Forrest Griffin that has absolutely no title ramifications for the Middleweight division. Now, matchmaker Joe Silva must live with that short sited decision and make sense of an increasingly murky title picture.

By knocking out Michael Bisping in brutal fashion, Dan Henderson should have cemented himself a title shot. If only it were that simple.

The UFC’s biggest mistake was not giving Demian Maia a title shot at UFC 101. That would have cleared the way for the winner of Bisping/Henderson to face the winner of Maia/Silva sometime down the road. Undefeated at 10-0, Maia has submitted all five of his UFC opponents, an accomplishment deserving of far more praise than it has received.

As we all know, the UFC shied away from Maia after the Leites debacle, and we are now left in the position where there could be two number one contenders, provided that Maia dispatches of Nate Marquardt at UFC 102.

There has been talk of a number one contender match between Henderson and Maia/Marquardt, but that makes no sense. Silva will fight within the next month. That means that we would have to wait another four months for Henderson vs. Maia/Marquardt, followed by another four months before the title defense. That would mean that the Middleweight belt would not be defended for an entire year, which is unacceptable.

There is no easy solution to this debacle, but it does have a solution. If Maia defeats Marquardt, he should be given a title shot. Henderson can then face Marquardt, and the winner of that match can face the winner of Maia/Silva.

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