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This isn't going to be a long article, but after watching UFC 85 for the second time, I had some thoughts I wanted to get out of my head. Bedlam, by definition, is a place or situation of noisy uproar and confusion...

Thoughts After UFC 85: Bedlam

by Ryan Wales (Columnist)

22

1,886 reads

Game Recap

June 08, 2008


This isn't going to be a long article, but after watching UFC 85 for the second time, I had some thoughts I wanted to get out of my head.

Bedlam, by definition, is a place or situation of noisy uproar and confusion. In my opinion, that pretty much sums up the event.

The first televised match of the evening was Vera vs. Werdum. As soon as I saw who the referee was, I had a bad feeling in my stomach.

I am a self admitted Vera fan and I will not take anything away from Werdum. He won, and should be the number one contender. But I also feel the stoppage was a bad decision. Fifteen seconds left, Vera was talking and wasn't taking huge amounts of damage. For me, it's all about consistency. If the same ref is going to let Kimbo take twenty elbows in a row to the noggin, there is no way he should have stopped the Vera fight. But that's the fight game and sometime that's the way things shake out.

The Thales Leites vs. Nate Marquardt fight was one of the craziest things I've seen in a long time. Leites is one tough dude. He took a crazy amount of punishment. In my mind, he deserved to win because he made it through all three rounds. There are a lot of guys who wouldn't have made it through that fight. I would love to see a rematch between the two as a possible number one contender match.

Did anyone else catch Joe Rogan saying Herb Dean was now the best in the business after Big John retired? Dean promptly blew an elbow to the back of the head call to cost Marquardt the fight.

Jason Lambert looked like he had never fought a south-paw before and was overwhelmed by Luis Cane.

Bisping has to be put against a top ten middleweight for his next fight. He looked good, but Jason Day isn't top competition. I want to see Bisping vs Leben or Bisping vs. Maia.

Thiago Alves doesn't make weight, then beats Hughes. I'm starting to wonder if Alves is too big to consistently make weight. He has had problems before, he previously was suspended for taking a diuretic to help him lose weight.

I almost feel bad for Jon Fitch. He finally gets a shot at GSP and everyone is going to be talking about Alves vs. GSP.  It may not be such a bad thing for Fitch as we have seen GSP get distracted before. If GSP doesn't come into the Target Center totally focused Fitch, he may have a bad night.

If GSP does get by Mr. Fitch, i'm excited to see Alves vs. GSP. GSP is still my hands down favorite to win, but it would be a very interesting fight.

Welcome back Martin Kampmann! That kid looks like he was never injured. Kampmann is another guy that looks like he is moving up the mountain towards Anderson Silva. I hope that Kampmann gets a big test in his next fight and, if he can win a couple in a row, he should get a crack at the strap.

Finally, Goldie was hyping TUF being controversial several times and I'm intrigued to know what went down. Especially since Dana White is schedule to make a huge announcement on Thursday.

I have no choice but to wait and see.

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22 comments Last one added about 1 year ago — Leave a Comment

  1. Robert DesRoche about 1 year ago

    Bisping vs Kampmann! Bisping vs Maia won't happen unless they want to make Bisping wait another 5 months before his next fight (Maia fights in August against McDonald). And I'll take Alves' word that the reason he didn't make weight because he sprained his ankle 10 days before the fight. And I agree the Marquardt fight was insane.

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  2. Dorothy Willis about 1 year ago

    An interesting article Ryan. Alves looks like a world beater--he doesn't act like he thinks he can be beaten by anyone. Bisping seems to be on a whole new level. Herb Dean seemed to be jinxed by the comment about his excellence as a referee. Agreed, it was Bedlam.

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  3. Nick Tatum about 1 year ago

    Bisping should get a title shot before too much longer, but he does need to fight some top level competition to get there! He was a good fighter at 205 and seems l ike he will steem-roll most at 185. I wolnd't mind to see Bisping and Anderson Silva somewhere down the road! I would take Silva to win, but I think Bisping could give him a good fight!

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    • Ryan Wales about 1 year ago

      Agreed Nick, who would you like to see him fight?
      Personally I want to see Bisping vs. Leben.

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    • Robert DesRoche about 1 year ago

      I'd rather see Leben face Quarry; they're more on the same level (mainly because Quarry is still considered a guy working his way back up the ranks after his loss and injury vs Franklin which caused the long lay off). A win for Bisping over Leben doesn't say enough, at least to get him a title shot. Leben may have won 2 in a row over lower tier middleweights, but before that he lost to Starnes and McDonald... Bisping should fight a guy like Kampmann/Leitis/Marquardt next. Leben may seem like an exciting fight, and I can understand wanting the fight for that reason, but I think Bisping would probably take down Leben and ground and pound to the victory all the way. The fight made more sense when Bisping only had 1 fight at 185. At this point it would make more sense for the UFC to rush Bisping into fights that set him up for a title shot as fast as they can.

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    • Ryan Wales about 1 year ago

      @Robert I want someone to test Bispings Chin and I think Leben may be the guy to do it. Like I said before, Bisping should get Leben, then a top five guy, then another top five guy for a shot. But let me make this clear, in my mind he needs to get through some of the big boys before he should be considered for a shot.

      Quarry has the most robotic stand up I've seen in a long time and I think Bisping would pick him apart. I don't think rushing Bisping to a shot would be a good idea, but hey the UFC usually doesn't listen to me anyway.

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  4. Paul rthg about 1 year ago

    Yeah Bisping looks very settled at 185. I think its a combination of 2 things:

    a) smaller competition; he is fighting guys that are the same weight as he wasn't cutting any before
    b) because he now has to cut weight he is putting more effort into being healthier so he is in better condition.

    I would like him to get a title shot but agree that he needs another test. That said assuming he wins his next fight convincingly then I would imagine he would get a title shot straight after, as they are urnning out of contenders. I think that Franklin or Hendo should be his immediate target. A win over either would give him cement him as a top 10 even top 5 middleweight. But I don't mind a Bisping V Leben fight in the mean time!

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  5. Matt McEwen about 1 year ago

    Bisping's main problem looks like it is going to be a lack of power. It's been two fights in a row that he's won with flurries of combinations without landing any single shot that hurt his opponent.

    I think he might be in trouble against someone like Leben who we all know has a granite chin. If Leben feels you can't hurt him, he can walk right through you.

    And the talk about a title shot for Bisping is VERY premature. As it stands right now, Silva would finish him inside of the first round.

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    • Ryan Wales about 1 year ago

      It would be hard for Silva to finish him if Silva is at 205, which I think after Thursday he will be. But Bisping needs to fight Leben, then either Hendo, Franklin, Marquardt, Leites, Kampmann, Then get a shot at the vacated belt against another one from that group.

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  6. Jad Semaan about 1 year ago

    Let's not get ahead of ourselves in thinking Alves could take out GSP. A lot of people need to rewatch Alves vs Fitch, because what Fitch did to him is nothing compared to what GSP will do.

    I doubt Alves can catch GSP with a knee like he did to Karo and Hughes, unless GSP gets careless when shooting for a takedown. The champ will finish Alves within three rounds by sub or tko on the ground.

    GSP's wrestling, ground n' pound, cardio, and submission proficiency will be too much for Alves to handle. Hell, Alves was losing to Lytle on the feet before Lytle got cut and the fight was stopped. As long as GSP doesn't stand for too long and is careful with his takedowns, he won't have too much trouble with Alves.

    And I would love to see Bisping vs Leben or Maia. I would take Leben by k.o. or Maia by sub.

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  7. Jad Semaan about 1 year ago

    I wasn't necessarily talking to you Ryan, but other less-educated fans out there might not have seen the Alves-Fitch fight. And after seeing Alves k.o. Karo and Hughes, many casual fans might be thinking that he could beat GSP just as easily in a similar manner. But GSP is a couple notches above Karo and Hughes.

    Of course GSP-Alves would be entertaining, especially if you're a GSP fan. But Alves has a long way to go before he can compete with the big three at welterweight (GSP, Fitch, Koscheck). Strong wrestlers with good ground n' pound and subs will be Alves' downfall.

    In a couple of years, Alves could be a title threat, but he needs to work on his sprawl, otherwise he'll be on his back the whole fight against those guys. I would like to see him fight Diego Sanchez first. And GSP needs to stay focused on Fitch, otherwise we could see an upset.

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  8. dave jenkins about 1 year ago

    did I see someone on here state that Silva will be 205 after Thursday? I don't believe so. Maybe Wanderlai, but not Anderson. I think Bisping can hang with A.Silva if given the chance. I think Bisping's next opponent should be Rich Franklin, with the winner lined up to fight Silva for the title.

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    • Ryan Wales about 1 year ago

      Yes sir, that was me. It is rumored that one of the announcements made on Thursday will be that A. Silva is moving to 205. I have a friend who has some inside sources and he told me it's a done deal. Wand is already at 205 so I don't think it's him.

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  9. Jad Semaan about 1 year ago

    So what will happen to Silva's 185 lb. title? Will it be vacated? Because there are some up and coming jiu-jitsu guys in that division who might have a shot at Silva (Palhares, Maia, Leites, Almeida).

    But I would love to see Anderson fight the top guys at 205. Too bad he probably won't fight
    Machida since they are pals. But anyone else would be good. I think its time for Rashad to experience a loss. No better person to give you your first loss than Silva.

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  10. dave jenkins about 1 year ago

    I think that if he does indeed jump to 205, Bisping will be the next to hold the belt for the middleweight division.

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    • Ryan Wales about 1 year ago

      Bisping the next champ huh? I don't think he has the ground game to handle some of the guys coming up at 185. To even be considered for a shot he's going to have to outsrike guys like Franklin and Kampmann, or stop a guy like Hendo or Marquardt. Is his Jits good enough to survive Leites, Maia, Almeida, or Palhares? I just can't see him being the man, but thats the greatest thing about the sport, they have to fight to see who gets the strap.

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  11. Evan Ross about 1 year ago

    I have a hard time getting behind Bisping for some reason, perhaps it was after the Hamill decision. I think that he is shown to have trouble when opponents are aggressive back, but the time to put him against a real test is here. I would like to see him matched up against Palhares.

    As for Alves I am compelled to see him against GSP just because I can't remember the last time he fought a dominant striker like Alves. Penn is a very good striker but is a little more technical and I think possess less power.

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    • Ryan Wales about 1 year ago

      I'm excited to see what Palhares can do but it's a little early to give him Bisping. I want to see a little more of his stand-up before we annoint him the next big thing.

      Agreed Alves has more power than Penn, probally because he's twenty pounds heavier.

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